Sunday, September 25, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
The Protestant Reformation (Observing Strictly Luther)
The Protestant reformation was started by a monk/parish priest named Martin Luther. He studied the various teachings of the Catholic Church and found many of the church’s teachings false and heretical. The Catholic Church based the belief of salvation on works and the following of the rules. Martin Luther, after reading various scriptures and studying various writings, found that one is saved by faith alone, rather than works. He then wrote a document titled the 95 Theses. It basically stated all the problems in the Catholic Church, according to Luther, and the doctrine they taught as well as the practices they were doing. Since no one had ever dared to question the authority of the Catholic Church hierarchy, this caused much tension in the church.
When the church leaders heard about Luther’s questioning of the Catholic Church’s doctrine, they were filled with rage. Even though the Church hierarchy was furious with Luther, his 95 Theses were copied and published throughout all of Europe. Pope Leo X condemned Luther’s teachings as heresy. Luther was then called to the Diet of Worms on April 17th, 1521. He was to either recant his writings or to reaffirm them. On April 18th, Luther gave a speech saying that he would not recant his writings for that would go against his conscience and scripture. Sadly, Luther was declared an outlaw by the Emperor (Here I Stand).
Although this seemed like the end, it was not. It was only the beginning. Luther began to do more teaching and writing in the favor of Protestantism. Even after Luther, there were many other great theologians, pastors, teachers, etc. that carried on the reformation and continued to reform the already reformed church.
When the church leaders heard about Luther’s questioning of the Catholic Church’s doctrine, they were filled with rage. Even though the Church hierarchy was furious with Luther, his 95 Theses were copied and published throughout all of Europe. Pope Leo X condemned Luther’s teachings as heresy. Luther was then called to the Diet of Worms on April 17th, 1521. He was to either recant his writings or to reaffirm them. On April 18th, Luther gave a speech saying that he would not recant his writings for that would go against his conscience and scripture. Sadly, Luther was declared an outlaw by the Emperor (Here I Stand).
Although this seemed like the end, it was not. It was only the beginning. Luther began to do more teaching and writing in the favor of Protestantism. Even after Luther, there were many other great theologians, pastors, teachers, etc. that carried on the reformation and continued to reform the already reformed church.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Love: the Biblical View
Love: Some say “true love is your soul’s recognition of its counterpoint in another” (wedding Crashers), others say that true “love is patient, kind, and does not boast” (1st Corinthians 13). Others say that love is simply fun two people share until it becomes boring. Some say that true love does not exist. So, with all these views of love, what are we to conclude it really is? There really are three main types of love; Trinitarian Love (the love between all three members of the Trinity), Man’s love for the world and/or sin, and finally, the love between God and man.
First, Trinitarian Love, the love God has for Himself. John 5:20 says, “For the Father loves the Son-“, so we see that one member of the Trinity, God the Father, loves another member, God the Son. He is expressing love to His Son, and Himself. We believe God is Love, the only way God could be Love, is if He was Trinitarian, because love is something one gives to another. God is love because He has perfect love for Himself, the other members of the Trinity. God expresses Trinitarian Love.
Secondly, the love man has for the world/sin. In the beginning, man had free will to choose good or evil. When Adam ate the fruit he was told not to by God, all men lost free will and became enslaved to sin (Romans 5:12). In this situation, we see that man loved sin, and gave into the lies the world had to offer. Romans 3 is clear that no one is righteous and no one seeks God, because, of the love man has for sin and for things of this world. By our own works, we have enslaved ourselves to sin; this is called “the bondage of the will” (Martin Luther). Apart from Christ, there was absolutely no hope.
Finally, the love between God and man, God loves man. Arguably the most popular verse in the Bible is a great example of the love God has for man. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” This verse explicitly displays that God loves His creation so much that He sent His perfect Son to die for many sinful, evil, fallen, people. This displays just how strong this love is. Romans 5:8 says, “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” This is another clear example that God chose to redeem a fallen, evil group of sinners, out of love for us! By the sovereign grace of our Great God, we have been set free (Galatians 5:1). To complete my previous point that there WAS no hope, now there IS. Christ diverted the wrath of God onto Himself on the cross, taking the punishment of sin and imputing His righteousness on to us. Christ paid the penalty of sin so we could be set free from sin. How amazing is that? God literally poured out His wrath on His own Son, who is perfectly Holy and perfectly Just, so we could have eternal life. He chose to save us out of His good pleasure. Psalm 115:3 says that God, while in Heaven, does whatever He wants. “Even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.” Ephesians 1:4-6. This verse completely sums up God’s love for us. God, out of love predestined a group of evil sinners, to be adopted as sons with and through Christ, based solely on His sovereign will. That is true love.
Therefore, there are three main types of love; Trinitarian Love (the love between all three members of the Trinity), Man’s love for the world and/or sin, and finally, the love between God and man. Also, although there is much debate over the topic of love, we know what true love is because of God's Holy Word, the Bible.
-Soli Deo Gloria
First, Trinitarian Love, the love God has for Himself. John 5:20 says, “For the Father loves the Son-“, so we see that one member of the Trinity, God the Father, loves another member, God the Son. He is expressing love to His Son, and Himself. We believe God is Love, the only way God could be Love, is if He was Trinitarian, because love is something one gives to another. God is love because He has perfect love for Himself, the other members of the Trinity. God expresses Trinitarian Love.
Secondly, the love man has for the world/sin. In the beginning, man had free will to choose good or evil. When Adam ate the fruit he was told not to by God, all men lost free will and became enslaved to sin (Romans 5:12). In this situation, we see that man loved sin, and gave into the lies the world had to offer. Romans 3 is clear that no one is righteous and no one seeks God, because, of the love man has for sin and for things of this world. By our own works, we have enslaved ourselves to sin; this is called “the bondage of the will” (Martin Luther). Apart from Christ, there was absolutely no hope.
Finally, the love between God and man, God loves man. Arguably the most popular verse in the Bible is a great example of the love God has for man. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” This verse explicitly displays that God loves His creation so much that He sent His perfect Son to die for many sinful, evil, fallen, people. This displays just how strong this love is. Romans 5:8 says, “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” This is another clear example that God chose to redeem a fallen, evil group of sinners, out of love for us! By the sovereign grace of our Great God, we have been set free (Galatians 5:1). To complete my previous point that there WAS no hope, now there IS. Christ diverted the wrath of God onto Himself on the cross, taking the punishment of sin and imputing His righteousness on to us. Christ paid the penalty of sin so we could be set free from sin. How amazing is that? God literally poured out His wrath on His own Son, who is perfectly Holy and perfectly Just, so we could have eternal life. He chose to save us out of His good pleasure. Psalm 115:3 says that God, while in Heaven, does whatever He wants. “Even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.” Ephesians 1:4-6. This verse completely sums up God’s love for us. God, out of love predestined a group of evil sinners, to be adopted as sons with and through Christ, based solely on His sovereign will. That is true love.
Therefore, there are three main types of love; Trinitarian Love (the love between all three members of the Trinity), Man’s love for the world and/or sin, and finally, the love between God and man. Also, although there is much debate over the topic of love, we know what true love is because of God's Holy Word, the Bible.
-Soli Deo Gloria
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Trust in God
It has come to my attention, that today's economy is at a record worst and it is not looking good. We are not on the gold-standard anymore, we haven't been for decades, and the value of our dollar keeps dropping. Sadly the government has decided to abandon the basic concept of economics, that the more you have of something, the less valuable it is, and is printing more money. Hyper-inflation is so immanent. We are over 14 Trillion dollars in dept, and its only getting worse. On top of that, we owe China a very large amount of money, and if we cannot pay them back, it could cause war. I am telling to all of this, to try to instill the basic, and yet so difficult, concept of simply looking to Christ. This world is temporary. This nation is temporary, and whether its soon or not, the end is coming, and nothing else will matter, except Christ. In these times its tempting to become really obsessed with whats happening now, and that is okay, just remember that no matter what happens, God remains the same. It is so crucial that we do not find comfort in this world, or nation, but to trust in our Heavenly Father. No matter what happens, to this nation, or to this world, we must genuinely look to Christ in all things. I implore you to look to eternal things. Find comfort in this, that God, never changes, and He will be with us until the end. We must be satisfied in Him and not this world, or this nation. Look to Christ, and set your eyes upon eternal things. Trust in God, nothing else matters in the eyes of eternity.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
General Revelation (stolen from my facebook page)
Just recently I watched the video from the Prince of Egypt when Moses encounters the Burning Bush.. when I first saw the video, I thought to myself how awesome it would be to see God's Glory like Moses did, but then I realized that I do see His Glory every day. God's general revelation is everywhere in creation, He has revealed Himself to the whole world.. His invisible attributes have been analogically made visible through His creation, meaning that He has revealed things we cannot see, by using the things we can see.. we can get a feel for God's infinite character by looking out into the ocean, or we can see a fragment of God's Glory by looking up into the sky, we can even see God's creative design when we examine the infrastructure of the fish and sea creatures. we can also see that this magnificent design begs for a designer, and the only logical theory we can take from all this design, is that there is a transcendent Designer.. God is everywhere and has revealed Himself to everyone. Psalm 19:1 says, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork." God really is an Awesome God!
God has also revealed His law to everyone. We are born with a specific moral code, what we believe in our hearts is right and wrong without anyone telling us. In the former paragraph I explained "Mediate General Revelation", that God has revealed Himself to us outwardly, in this paragraph I intend to look at Immediate General Revelation". This means that God has given every man and woman, even the reprobate, a knowledge of Him. Romans 1 says that those who do not believe in God "suppress the truth". Romans 2:15 says that He has written His law (morals) on everyone's heart, so there is no excuse. God has revealed Himself in multiple ways to all of His creation, and all you have to do is look, and its there.
God has also revealed His law to everyone. We are born with a specific moral code, what we believe in our hearts is right and wrong without anyone telling us. In the former paragraph I explained "Mediate General Revelation", that God has revealed Himself to us outwardly, in this paragraph I intend to look at Immediate General Revelation". This means that God has given every man and woman, even the reprobate, a knowledge of Him. Romans 1 says that those who do not believe in God "suppress the truth". Romans 2:15 says that He has written His law (morals) on everyone's heart, so there is no excuse. God has revealed Himself in multiple ways to all of His creation, and all you have to do is look, and its there.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Who I am
My name is Zach Hayes. I am a junior at Wilmington Christian School. I am in love with Jesus and I am trying to express that love to others (its a slow learning process). I am a strong advocate of Covenant Reformed Theology, Libertarian Politics, and the Theistic Worldview. I love philosophy because it covers all the topics I just mentioned. This blog is basically my way to express my views of philosophy for all to see.
God Bless!
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