Musings on Doctrine: Christian Beliefs Revisited by John C' de Baca (English) Pa

Description: Musings on Doctrine by John C' de Baca Have you ever wondered about the security of your own salvation? What about that of friends, family, and loved ones? Do you worry about going to hell? Or do some people get a free pass to heaven? And where did evil even come from, anyway? Was it really Eve’s fault, and do we really need to follow the Ten Commandments? For those believers wondering about Christian teachings and concerned about where this world is headed, Musings on Doctrine—Christian Beliefs Revisited can provide an incisive and critical look at Christian doctrine from an insider’s perspective. Offering answers straight from the Bible and devoid of myth and magic, author and pastor John C’ de Baca explores salvation, human uniqueness, Satan, hell, the end times, and other topics you thought you understood—all from the Bible itself. This is a readable, convincing revision of various mistaken beliefs that have become part and parcel of Christianity. Musings on Doctrine speaks to everyone, and it provides hope and encouragement in what the Bible really teaches. If you are sincere about finding the truth, you can find it. And while the truth may sometimes frustrate you—and even anger you by challenging long-held beliefs and misconceptions about God’s Word—it can also help your faith to soar. Either way, you won’t ever be the same. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description Have you ever wondered about the security of your own salvation? What about that of friends, family, and loved ones? Do you worry about going to hell? Or do some people get a free pass to heaven? And where did evil even come from, anyway? Was it really Eves fault, and do we really need to follow the Ten Commandments? For those believers wondering about Christian teachings and concerned about where this world is headed, Musings on Doctrine--Christian Beliefs Revisited can provide an incisive and critical look at Christian doctrine from an insiders perspective. Offering answers straight from the Bible and devoid of myth and magic, author and pastor John C de Baca explores salvation, human uniqueness, Satan, hell, the end times, and other topics you thought you understood--all from the Bible itself. This is a readable, convincing revision of various mistaken beliefs that have become part and parcel of Christianity. Musings on Doctrine speaks to everyone, and it provides hope and encouragement in what the Bible really teaches. If you are sincere about finding the truth, you can find it. And while the truth may sometimes frustrate you--and even anger you by challenging long-held beliefs and misconceptions about Gods Word--it can also help your faith to soar. Either way, you wont ever be the same. Excerpt from Book The Security of Salvation A Safe Danger? Dogs have an amazing sense of smell. They can sniff out drugs hidden in the most ingenious places. Thats how biblical truth is. Biblical truth is like a narco-dog trained to sniff out deceit and error. When it barks, its because it has found something illicit. If it barks at you, well, admit it. You must be hiding something erroneous. The problem, then, is not with Gods Word. Its with you. Dont shoot the dog. Get rid of whatever youre hiding thats illicit and false, and make friends with him. Pat him on the head. Scratch his back. Face it, the truth only barks at falsehood. But dont feel too bad if he barks at you. He barks loudly at the churches of Christianity too, all of them. And sadly, in most cases theyd rather shoot the dog than admit their errors. Their errors are old family friends. Theyve grown up with them. They love their lies, and give them the place of honor at the Lords table. In such company, the truth seems rude and impolite. But it must be told. Predestination and Security Where should we start? Lets begin with a question on which churches disagree. Can saved persons lose their salvation? Some say yes, some say no. Both sides wave the Bible in the others face. If they actually open it, its merely to parrot what they were taught, zealously and full of unction. The open Bible in their hand is mostly just a prop to support their posturing. They read with the eyes of their forebears, and impose their received tradition upon the various texts. ?We must not deviate from what weve been taught. It has already been interpreted correctly by our great past leaders,? each side claims, confidently, full of fervor. But has it? John Calvin was one of those leaders. Among other things, he promoted predestination, the idea that God in his sovereign and independent desire has irrevocably chosen and ordained specific individuals to salvation. And theres nothing anyone can do to change this predetermined destiny. Its a done deal, because God is sovereign. His chosen ones will absolutely receive Christ. God himself has decreed it. He ordained it long ago, and his word and will are set in stone. Many proponents of this idea go further and imagine that in his sovereignty God spoke everything to be. He decreed it all. All things will happen the way they were decreed. This notion ties a knot around the neck of human freedom and pulls it tight. God controls the decisions that individuals make. His picks will come to Christ and salvation without fail, for God decreed it. Their choice is Gods choice, made eons ago, and is fixed. And he picks a winner every time. Hes rigged the game. The flip side to this reasoning is that God has decreed all others to scream forever in the eternal fires of hell! What does that say about God? What does it say about Calvinism? Be honest. What does it say about God and Calvinism? In Denial Clearly, such a vile notion calls Gods character into serious question, and sets aside the whole of Gods Word. Would he really consign untold billions of helpless humans to unending torture, eon upon eon, simply because he can? Are hells horrendous, unending screams the music of heaven? Predestination coupled with the traditional doctrine of hell portrays God as a monster of enormous, infinite evil, a vengeful fiend offended because people supposedly didnt do things his way. But if predestination is true, they did do things his way! Is it not blasphemous? This hellish doctrine is regularly preached in many churches, passionately, oblivious to its implications, as if it honors God and shows him to be righteous and just. But blasphemy is never right worship, child. Making God into a vicious fiend does not honor him or please him. Nor does the Bible promote slavery. In chapter after chapter the Bible clearly supposes human freedom. In page after page and verse after verse it calls for individual responsibility, and invites people to make choices, good and intelligent ones. And of course, choices require the freedom to choose. The idea of individual predestination spits at human freedom and then slams the door in its face. It spits at Christ Jesus too. Was he not free? Jesus? invitation to life in Gods love is not restricted to an elite few, or to just his close friends. He calls to everyone who can hear his voice. Its for whosoever might believe (Isa. 55:1?3; John 3:16; Rev. 22:17). And whosoever includes you and me, and all our friends and neighbors, and first and second cousins. Heavens door is standing wide open. Inside is Christ Jesus, with his arms wide open as well. The gospel is an open call to one and all. Whosoever will, may come. Some will believe, and come. Others wont. But always, its an individuals decision. The choice cant be coerced, for then it wouldnt be a choice. It would be like the army sergeant who points and barks, ?We need three volunteers, so Im volunteering you, you, and you. Predestination would make the gospel a cheap gimmick, an act of false advertising. If Jesus? supper is limited to a few pre-selected guests, why does he invite everyone? Didnt he really mean whosoever? Is the gospel call a lie? Guests who accept his invitation, but who were not ordained unto salvation, will arrive only to be turned away, still hungry. Jesus will ignore their knock. They can ring all they want, but he just wont answer the doorbell. The hungry can just go away hungry. Thankfully, Christ is not the cheap, uncaring trickster that Calvinism makes him out to be. He promised not to turn anyone away (John 6:37). Jesus invites all who hear his voice to come and dine with him, to feast on choice morsels and tender delicacies. The Lords Supper table is not the place for playing the game of musical chairs. Theres room for everyone, and to spare. Choices scampered like squirrels among the trees in Eden, and frolicked everywhere in the well-worn pages of Israels history. The Law was all about choices. Morality is about choices. Human destiny itself hangs upon the choice of receiving or rejecting the Son (Rev. 22:17). The gospel presupposes freedom of choice. Freedom floods over the Bibles pages like the waters of Niagara flow over the falls. Predestination, then, is like a frog trying to swim back up the falls against the mighty torrents of the Spirit. Predestination implies a God of guile, the fraud God. This world becomes a con game. If individual salvation is entirely Gods decree with no chance for change, the gospel and indeed all of Gods dealings with humans are pretense and make-believe. God becomes the Great Pretender. The world becomes unreal. Without individual choice, humans are mere puppets. God becomes the Puppet Master. Reception of Christ becomes a jerk of the string, a joke to make the angels laugh. Trying to support the security of the believer with Calvinist predestination is like a cockroach trying to support the weight of the human who steps on it. Squish Details ISBN1489709185 Pages 222 Language English ISBN-10 1489709185 ISBN-13 9781489709189 Media Book Format Paperback Year 2016 Publication Date 2016-12-01 Imprint Liferich Subtitle Christian Beliefs Revisited Country of Publication United States Illustrations Illustrations, black and white Short Title Musings on Doctrine UK Release Date 2016-12-01 Author John C de Baca Publisher Liferich Audience General We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:101276772;

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