beliefs, philosophy, and such
Here is a breakdown of my philosophy--my beliefs on various spiritual, religious and cultural things. Have fun.
1. Salvation: given by God’s grace, worked through faith—God gives the grace to be regenerated to those He has chosen—that regenerated one now is able to see his sinful condition and recognize Christ’s atoning sacrifice— now he is able to accept, to receive Christ’s sacrifice in his place and be saved. Without the regeneration of God, a sinner when presented with God’s truth will always "choose" to reject it/ With the regeneration, the sinner will always "choose" to accept.
2. Baptism: baptism is by immersion (as the example of John/Jesus) for one who has been saved and wishes to publicly acknowledge it. It does not impart salvation, nor is it a part of salvation, but serves merely as an announcement of what has already taken place.
3. Church membership/attendance: church membership is very important for the well-being of a believer. Yet one should consider carefully which church is to be joined—one with which the believer agrees. Beyond that, the believer should regularly attend that church. While attending three services a week is a tradition of some, once a week (Sunday morning) is scripturally encouraged for the growth and stability of the believer. Also, there are times at which it may be impossible to attend church. That is excusable and is not sinful. Continual avoidance for no important reason, however, is severely detrimental and may indicate sin indulged in and wished to keep secret. It may also indicate a valley time through which a believer needs to be encouraged and admonished.
4. The Church: the church is a locally organized assembly of believers founded upon the truth that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God and dedicated to evangelism. The church should endeavour to teach and protect the truth as well as encourage and uplift the believer. (for more detail on this: The Nature of the Church)
5. Communion: the elements of the Lord’s supper are symbols of the Lord’s death given to remind us of His sacrifice. Like all symbols, they point to a mystical, deeper, truth, yet they do no contain any mysticality in themselves. Nor does the partaking of the elements impart any special grace. Merely they provide a physical reminder of an even which we did not see yet are witness to.
6. The Gospel: the gospel is the truth that Christ is the son of God who came as a man, who died (shedding his blood), who was buried and who rose again to pay for the sins of his people and justify them.
7. The will of God: before the creation of the world, of the universe, God laid out His plan. That plan is never thwarted, never altered by any action of man. God ordains all and His will is above all extending from the order of the heavens to individual actions both of believers and unbelievers. Salvation is not exempt from the sovereign will of God, contrary to the belief of many Christians.
8. The will of man: unsaved men and saved men have a will. For the unsaved man, that will is chained to sin, and while he can choose to do good works, he can never and will never choose to abandon sin and accept the grace and salvation of God. Salvation redeems man’s will to serve God and abandon sin. While all men’s wills are subject to the will of God (His ordained plan in action), from man’s point of view he must make choices in his life (exercise his will) and he is responsible for those choices and their consequences. Thus, although man’s will is never free (being either subject to sin or God), he is responsible for his "use" of it.
9. Denominations: denominations are a "necessary evil" of our time. They are necessary to distinguish differences in doctrine. But they do unnaturally divide the body of Christ. While no denomination is "more valid" than any other, some do seem to teach more in line with scripture than others. To be in a particular denomination is not more correct or scriptural than others.
10. Purpose of Believers: a believer is given this life to both enjoy god’s goodness and glorify His name. For different believers that means different things. Each believer is given different aptitudes and desires in order to serve God in different areas of life. Our purpose is to serve in those areas to the best of our capability, enjoying our work as a glory to Him.
11. Catholicism: while many aspects of Catholic doctrine are incorrect, there is still truth present. While many of the members of the Church are lost and oblivious (as they trust in works to save them), there are quite a number of believers in the Church. It is arrogant to assume that just because a person if Catholic, they are not a believer. Belief is based solely on the belief/acceptance in/of Christ’s atoning death, not what church you are in/a member of.
12. Marriage: marriage is an allegory of God’s relationship to us. It is not a distraction from God or Hid service, but an act of service that points toward God. It is a gift given to us to show us God—a spiritual, emotional, mental, physical bond that brings glory to God and glorifies His creation. It is not a mere function of earth, but a union that transcends physical, earthly manifestation. It is a small glimpse into the Paradise God desires for us.
13. Culture: it is the responsibility of believers to impact the culture of their . . . sphere. The idea that "separation" is taken so far by many Baptists. Yet we are told to be in the world, though not if it. We are to be actively involved in influencing our culture for God. For if we do not, who will? And if we do not, we are solely responsible for its decline. We are to be salt and light: salt which preserves and flavours and light which brightens. We cannot be that if we are not involved in culture. Those who withdraw into their separate circles are not salt and light though they believe they are.
14. Art: see Walking on Water by L’Engle. As creativity is our imageness, all good art (inc. literature and music) has the word/knowledge/inspiration of God. Thus even works by secular people can teach truth, even if they don’t realize they are teaching it.
15. Individual conviction: the Bible leaves many matters ambiguous. It is our job to take the principles of scripture and make prayerful decisions on these matters as we feel led by God and His word. Each believer, being in a different place and led to a different ministry in like, is led to different convictions and different levels of convictions. Unless they are in obvious violation of scripture or in sin, one should not judge the level of their "spirituality" based on how their convictions align with our own. Now one can know what God is doing with another person, or what He preparing them for. Individual conviction is what grace and the indwelling spirit is about. Outside of obvious scriptural comrades, the way a Christian walks in this life is between himself and God.
16. Holidays: Though some holidays have "pagan" origins, they are no longer associated with that having been "Christianized." As the Catholic doctrine states. . .the profane, touched by Christ, is made holy