Why Do I Believe What I
Believe ? 12-04-14
Psalm
119:105 (NASB) Your word is a lamp to my
feet And a light to my path.
Have you ever asked yourself that question? I have..but first, the rest of
the story. When I first got saved I had a voracious appetite for God's written
Word. I couldn't get enough of it. I studied and read the Bible endlessly. As a
good friend about his salvation experience," When I got saved, I got saved!"
That describes my experience also. Once what had happened to me took hold,
nothing else mattered. I was totally absorbed and I saturated myself with the
things of God. Now as all of you seasoned Christians out there already know,
that feeling goes away after a while; and "walking the walk" takes it place.
After a few years of walking I found that I had some questions about what the
Word of God was saying. Now don't get me wrong..I didn't lose my faith in God Or
Jesus. Neither did I lose my faith in the men of God whose ministry and teaching
I was sitting under; but I had questions mostly about the consistency of the
Scripture. Here's an example. If we have eternal life
when we believe:
Romans
10:9 (NASB) 9 that if
you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that
God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
John 3:16
(NASB) 16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal
life.
Then why do we preach that it can be lost?
Matthew
10:22 (NASB) 22 "You will be hated by all because
of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be
saved.
Hebrews 3:6
(NASB) 6 but Christ was
faithful as a Son over His house—whose house we are, if we hold fast our
confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.
Consider this. If the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, with the subsequent
gifts, is a blessing that is given after salvation, a "second blessing" if you
will.
Acts
19:2 (NASB) 2 He said to
them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" And they said
to him, "No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit."
Then why does the Bible say this?
1 Corinthians 12:13 (NASB) 13
For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews
or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one
Spirit.
Are spiritual gifts(especially speaking in tongues) given to us for the
asking?) If we ask and are willing to receive, does God oblige? If so then why
this.
1
Corinthians 12:11 (NASB) 11
But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing
to each one individually just as He wills.
For most of my Christian life, I entertained these and other questions, but
in my mind only.I never discussed them, thinking that they really weren't
essential. I knew what I had been taught and believed.
Then a few years back during a very critical period something happened. Not
going into detail, I will give a brief summary. I spoke a prophecy over a person
and a situation I believed was from God. "Thus saith the Lord" I began..... That
prophecy was not fulfilled and remains unfilled as I speak. That day was the
starting point for me and my search for truth for my life. It has haunted me
many times since I "spoke it." I have asked for and received forgiveness from
God and have been delivered from condemnation(the self kind) and have moved on.
However, my question to myself(the title to this message) remains a work in
progress. My personal Bible study from that day to this is a quest to answer
that question to my self satisfaction.
A few weeks back I decided to write about doctrine. Now doctrine can be
divisive if you approach it with the perspective of I'm right and everybody else
is wrong. There are many different interpretations out there and I believe
everyone has a little bit of truth. However, if doctrine wasn't important, God
would not have included it in His Word would He? Jesus and the Cross is the
Divining Rod of doctrine. Once we start looking beyond Calvary,EVERYTHING IS
DOCTRINE! That being said there is some destructive doctrine being preached
these days that is bewildering and harmful to the faith of many good
Christians, both young and old. I hope you will enjoy and become interested in
what I have to say. I plan to take four or five basic doctrines that I believe
are important to our daily lives and discuss what I have come to believe. Agree
or disagree, you are free to do both. I hope you somehow are blessed by these
messages.
Psalm
119:11 (NASB) 11 Your
word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin
against You.
God Bless
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