Good Morning Friends,
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his
mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand
against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but
against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark
world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so
that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and
after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of
truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in
place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel
of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith ...” (Ephesians
6:10-18)
There is a battle raging. It’s not being fought
with guns, swords and other weapons of human conflict. It’s being fought in
heavenly places against spiritual enemies and the only weapons and defenses
that count are spiritual in nature. It is a battle for the souls of men and
women. On one side of the battle is the devil and he is scheming with every
last ounce of wickedness that is in him trying to destroy men’s souls. On the
other side of the battle is the Lord and He is unleashing every bit of His
power and influence to bring men to Him for salvation and hope. We, and all
other humans, are right in the middle of the battle. We are the prize that is
being fought to control!
We have no choice about whether or not we want
to be involved in the conflict. The only choice is whether or not we will face
the conflict with the equipment we need to survive it. God stands ready to
provide all of the equipment we need! It’s His armor and He stands ready to
give it to us if we want it.
Notice the action words in Paul’s writing to
the Ephesians that speak of our responsibility to take from God the armor that
He is offering to us. “Put on,” “stand,” “put on,” “stand,” “stand,” “stand
firm,” “take up.” Those words represent our responsibility in the battle. None
of them speak of our devising the battle plan, creating the armor, or even doing
the fighting. All of them represent appeals to God for His help and His
provision for the battle, a standing with Him as He does the fighting and a
continual reliance upon His strength through prayer.
God will give us everything we need to survive
the battle – ours is to do the asking and the relying upon Him!
His, by Grace,
Steve
GOD'S WORD VERSUS BAPTIST DOCTRINE BY STEVE FINNELL
ReplyDeleteIf Baptist doctrine contradicts the word of God which one is correct?
Baptist Doctrine: Perseverance of the saints, AKA as once saved always saved.
God's Word: Galatians 5:1-4.... You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. (NKJV)
God's Word: Hebrews 6:4-6 4 For it is impossible......6 if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance.....(NKJV)
God's Word: Hebrews 3:12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; (NKJV)
God's Word: 1 Timothy 4:1...some will depart from the faith...(NKJV)
Christians can become lost.
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Baptist Doctrine: Water baptism is not essential for the forgiveness of sins and is not essential in order to be saved.
God's Word: Acts 2:38 ....and let everyone of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.....(NKJV)
God's Word: Mark 16:16 ....and is baptized will be saved...(NKJV)
God's Word: 1 Peter 3:21 There is an antitype which now saves us, namely baptism...(NKJV)
God's Word: Acts 22:16...Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins...(NKJV)
God's Word: Colossians 2:12 -13 buried with Him in baptism...13...having forgiven you all trespasses,(NKJV)
God's Word: Ephesians 5:25-27 ....Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it 26 that He might sanctify and wash it with the washing of water by the word,(NKJV)
God's Word: Romans 6:4-7 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death.......7 For he who has died has been freed from sin.(NKJV)
God's Word: John 3:5 Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.(NKJV)
Being immersed in water is an essential part of the gospel plan of salvation.
Galatians 1:8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. (NKJV)
The apostles did not preach Baptist doctrine, they preached the word of God.
Denominations were not formed so they could preach the apostles' doctrine. Denominations were formed so they could change the apostles' doctrine. If all denominations preached only God's word, there would be just one church, the church of Jesus Christ.
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