THEOLOGY VI. Creeds

 Although Scripture is the standard for judging religious faith and practice, Creeds are also useful in instructing people in the faith. Creeds have generally been developed to counter challenges to the theology held by the Church. Consider two early creeds accepted widely in the Church.The Apostles Creed, used in Catholic and Protestant Churches (but not in the Eastern Orthodox Church), evolved from the Confessions of particular churches by the end of the second century. Notice the emphasis on the Trinity.

The true meaning of Christmas

The true meaning of Christmas is love. John 3:16-17 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” The true meaning of Christmas is the celebration of this incredible act of love.

The real Christmas story is the story of God’s becoming a human being in the Person of Jesus Christ. Why did God do such a thing? Because He loves us! Why was Christmas necessary? Because we needed a Savior! Why does God love us so much? Because He is love itself (1 John 4:8). Why do we celebrate Christmas each year? Out of gratitude for what God did for us, we remember His birth by giving each other gifts, worshipping Him, and being especially conscious of the poor and less fortunate.

The true meaning of Christmas is love. God loved His own and provided a way—the only Way—for us to spend eternity with Him. He gave His only Son to take our punishment for our sins. He paid the price in full, and we are free from condemnation when we accept that free gift of love. “But God demonstrated His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). (courtesy:www.GotQuestions.org)

THEOLOGY V. Inspiration of Scripture

We accept the thirty-nine Books of the Old Testament and the twenty-seven Books of the New Testament as the only infallible and authoritative Word of God. These are the “core” Books accepted by the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant Churches. Such Scripture is the final standard for judging faith and practice and all religious tradition.

Consider what the Bible says about itself:

“The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8 NIV). Over forty men were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write the Bible. These men were not writing like machines, not writing apart from their personalities. Instead, they wrote in their own styles. God inspired men to record his word throughout the centuries.

“20Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. 21For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:20,21 NIV).See also 2 Timothy 3:16,17.

Though the Bible was written over a long period of time by various men, the Books of the Bible agree on one theme: There is one God who rules the universe, and the one way to salvation is through Jesus Christ. See Deuteronomy 6:4 and John 14:6. Scripture is shown to be valid because the prophecies of the Bible are being fulfilled. See Deuteronomy 18:18-22; John 6:14. Also see the training module on this website entitled “Messianic Prophecy.” God said that he gave prophecy so that people could not claim that some idol has divine power. See Isaiah 48:3,5. Scripture is also shown to be valid because it accomplishes its purpose. See Isaiah 55:10,11. These claims for the validity of Scripture were given through some of the greatest prophets in the Old Testament: Moses and Isaiah. If we want to understand the truth of Scripture, we receive the Holy Spirit. See 1 Corinthians 2:9-13. We receive the Holy Spirit when we believe in Christ. See John 7:37-39. The Holy Spirit indwells us and guides us to the truth. (For details and for free course visit <www.missionstraining.org>)

Should we give gifts at Christmas?"

Answer: Many people take the idea of gift giving at Christmas back to the scripture in Matthew 2:10-11 which talks about the Magi (wise men) giving gifts to Jesus at his home: "When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh."

The Bible gives a wonderful story about the gift God gave us—Jesus Christ—and we can use it as an opportunity to present the gospel and to show love. Giving and receiving gifts can be part of fulfilling what Paul says about giving in 2 Corinthians 8:7-8, "But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving. I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others." Paul was talking to the churches who were giving him gifts (financial) so that he could keep on in the ministry. We can apply this same lesson to our own lives by giving to others, not just at Christmas, but year round!

So, can gift giving become the focus of Christmas instead of thanking the Lord for the gift of His Son (John 3:16)? Absolutely! Does giving gifts have to take away from the true meaning of Christmas? No, it does not. If we focus on the wonderful gift of salvation the Lord has given us (Isaiah 9:6), giving to others is a natural expression of that gratitude. The key is our focus. Is your focus on the gift, or on the ultimate gift-giver, our gracious Heavenly Father? "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights..." (James 1:17). ( from : www.GotQuestions.org )

Jesus - born to save the world

Friends, May God bless you to celebrate this forthcoming Christmas  with a different, with God’s blessing spiritually as we as physically. Christmas have been celebrated by Christians to mark the coming of Jesus Christ on earth to save the world from the bondage of SIN.

The coming of Jesus was first told by God to the Satan (producer of SIN) in the beginning of creation just after he(Satan) led the first Man and woman (Adam and Eve) fall in SIN. This is recorded in the Bible. “ ¹⁴ So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,“Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.¹⁵ And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:14-15)

Satan disguised himself as Serpent and led man to sin. So, God told Satan that One Man will be borne through Eve, who will crush his(Satan) head ( meaning He will put Satan dead). Here, the promised CHILD will be born from the seed of Eve(woman) but not from the seed of man. This was fulfilled when Jesus was born by Mary from the holy Spirit and not from her husband Joseph, as Joseph did not touched his wife Mary till Jesus was born.(see Matthew 1:25)

Read, “ ¹⁸ This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

²⁰ But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,because he will save his people from their sins.”

²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³ “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. ²⁵ But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.”Matthew 1: 18-25)

Friend,since the beginning God already knew you and me will sin or commit mistake – we are from the seed of sinful blood! That’s why God had already made a plan to save us from the bondage of sin and for us God’s plan had already been completed and our salvation work have already been completed by Jesus Christ. We only need to ‘believe in Jesus Christ’ to become God’s Child.

Write ‘Amen’ if you believe that you have become God’s Child because Jesus came to the world, died on the Cross and had risen again for you. May God bless you.

THEOLOGY

THEOLOGY

I. Theology Defined - Theology is “the study of God and the relations between God and the universe.”1 Christian Theology is this same study from a Christian perspective. Christian Theology examines the doctrines developed by the Christian Church.

THEOLOGY

IV. Canon of Scripture -The word canon comes from a Latin word meaning “measuring line or rule.”2 The Canon of Scripture refers to those Books accepted by the Church as being inspired by God. A Book that is a part of the canon is said to be canonical. The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and Protestant Churches all consider the books of the Bible accepted in the Jewish canon to be divinely inspired. Following the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in A.D. 70, a group of Jewish scholars gathered at Jabneh or Jamnia, a village about thirty miles west of Jerusalem, and from about A.D. 90 to A.D. 100, finalized the Jewish Canon.3 The Christian Church divides the twenty-four Books of the Jewish canon into thirty-nine Books.

In addition to these thirty-nine Books accepted by the three branches of the Christian Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Church considers some additional Books to be inspired. These additional Books are called Apocryphal (from a Greek word meaning hidden or secretive). The Apocrypha is not accepted in the Jewish canon. The Eastern Orthodox Church considers all fourteen of the Apocryphal Books found in the Septuagint to be inspired. The Septuagint is the version of the Old Testament that was translated from Hebrew to Greek during the third century BC.4 The Roman Catholic Church accepts eleven Books of the Apocrypha, but considers them to be “deuterocanonical,” or of secondary importance to the thirty-nine Books.5 The Protestant churches may consider the Apocrypha to be useful for historical purposes, but the Protestants do not believe that God inspired the Apocrypha.

In A.D. 367 Athanasius (ca. A.D. 296–373), Bishop of Alexandria, Egypt, sent a letter at Easter presenting the list of twenty-seven New Testament Books used widely in the church today. The same canon was approved in the west by a papal declaration in A.D. 405. In North Africa, this canon was endorsed at the Synods of Hippo (A.D. 393) and Carthage (A.D. 397). But a council of the entire

church never approved the canon. While the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant Churches all agree on the New Testament canon, the Ethiopian Church has a different canon.6 It is important to know when Scripture was completed. Although the Jewish Canon (Old Testament) was not in place until the close of the first century A.D., the Old Testament was completed prior to

its translation in the third century B.C. from Hebrew to the Greek Septuagint. So the Old Testament prophecies of Christ certainly were written centuries prior to the incarnation of Christ. These Messianic prophecies were not written after Jesus lived on earth.

The Books in the New Testament Canon were completed during the first century A.D. If they had been written hundreds of years later, some people would claim that they contain legends or errors. But they were written at a time when many people were alive who had seen Jesus—the greatest man who ever lived. No doubt these witnesses had vivid memories of the Messiah who spoke with great wisdom, healed all sorts of illnesses, and even raised the dead. These witnesses would have disputed the New Testament Books, if the Books had been false. In fact, the Church has rejected many false books that claim to be Scriptural. Such false books were written between 200 B.C. and 600 A.D. and are called The Pseudepigrapha (which means “the false writings”).

In the first century, some people in the church were using the New Testament Books. But it was not until the fourth century that these Books were canonized by most of the Christian Church.Consider some tests used by the Church for determining whether or not to include a Book in the New Testament Canon.

i. Did an Apostle write it or did someone associated with an Apostle write it?

ii. Is it Orthodox? Does it agree with the traditional teaching of Scripture?

iii. Is it applicable universally? Does it apply to the whole church or merely to some small group?

iv. Does it have the power to renew and sustain Christians?

The main branches of the Christian Church acknowledge that after the completion of the Old and New Testaments, no new Scripture has been given from God. Multiplied millions of Christians, guided by the Holy Spirit, agree on this. Since that time, however, some religious groups have formed, claiming to be Christian, but presenting a non-orthodox gospel. These religious groups claim to have new Scriptures that take precedence over the teaching of the Old and New Testaments. Consider what the

Bible says about such new doctrine:

18) I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. ( 19) And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his

share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. (Rev. 22:18,19 NIV)

(For details and for free course visit <www.missionstraining.org>)

SIN

The Greek word translated as “sin” means “to miss the mark.”

When we sin, we miss the mark or fall short of the standard set by God.

Sin originated in Satan (Isaiah 14:12-14), and entered the world through Adam and Eve. All people are sinners (see Romans 3:23). People do not like to admit that they are sinners.

 This is a primary reason that many people reject Christianity. If they accept Christ, they must turn away from sin. They don’t want to stop sinning. So they invent all sorts of reasons to deny the truth of Christianity.

Sin results in spiritual blindness (see John 9:39), a hardened conscience (see Ephesians 4:19), broken communication with God (see Proverbs 15:29), heartache and problems in the world, bondage and death (see Romans 6:20-23), and eternal separation from God (see Luke 12:15).

Confession of sin is necessary both for salvation (see Romans 10:9,10) and for daily fellowship—the daily walk with Christ (see John 13:6-10).

( find more in : www.missionstraining.org)

C. Discipleship for Leaders and Followers.

Different levels of training are given to disciples, depending upon their gifts and willingness to learn. Everyone in the church is important and has an important role in carrying out the work of the church. But relatively few members of the church are leaders, church planters, and evangelists. More extensive training is needed for these disciples who will plant and lead new churches.

Paul shared the Gospel with thousands of people, but he took only a few people with him on mission. He provided extensive training to a few people so that they could plant and lead churches. Timothy was one such disciple. Paul wrote the letters 1Timothy and 2 Timothy to train and encourage this disciple. Jesus taught crowds of people, but he gave extensive training to twelve disciples. Eleven of the Twelve Disciples then proved faithful and were able to reproduce themselves by making many other disciples.

How can we find church leaders to train? First, we pray intensely. Jesus prayed all night before selecting twelve disciples to train.

12 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. 13When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles. (Luke 6:12,13 NIV) Dr. Hudson Taylor, founder of China Inland Mission, was asked how he was able to recruit a thousand missionaries in the late nineteenth century to go to China. Taylor replied, “First, ‘Pray ye the Lord of the Harvest, that He will send forth laborers into His harvest.’”6"Second, to get laborers, ‘deepen the life of the layperson in the Scriptures, so they won’t say no to God.’”

7How can we “deepen the life of the layperson in the Scriptures?” Wayland B. Moore,who spent many years making disciples, writes that the Apostle Paul showed how to make disciples. Read Acts 20:17-38, in which Paul is talking to the leaders of the Ephesian church. Paul’s work in Ephesus reveals three principles for training disciples. First, there must be our penetrating presence—our fellowship. We must spend time in the world of the disciples. We adapt to their environment and culture. Paul spent three years training disciples in Ephesus. Second, we must have a parentheart—building a loving relationship with the church family. Paul was like a father to the church—providing spiritual food and training for its members. Acts 20:17-38 shows the love between Paul and the church. Third, we must be the pacesetter—modeling the faith. Acts 20:17-38 reveals that Paul was an excellent role model for the church [see also Philippians 4:9]. Disciples observe the lifestyle of the teacher. Jesus told his disciples, “Follow me” (Matt. 4:19), rather than “Just listen to me.”

8

1. Progress. Moore suggests an initial six-month long training in which you meet once weekly with a disciple. [Of course, some disciples may be with you much more than once weekly.] You check on the progress of the disciple, and make sure that all assignments are completed. At the close of six months, the disciple should be ready to train another disciple. Periodically, you then check on the progress of the two disciples.

2. Principles. You relate Scriptural principles to life, and discuss pre-assigned Bible study and Scripture memory.

3. Problems. You listen to the disciple, and use Scripture to solve problems.

4. Prayer. You pray together with the disciple, increasing the length of prayers as you know each other better.

5. Practice. You regularly take the disciple together with you for personal evangelism and other ministry.9 As we pray for leaders to train, we also observe to see who is willing and able to lead. When we develop cell groups or house churches, and ask people to help in the church, some people will appear to have gifts in leading and teaching. We can then ask them to help us with certain tasks, and see how they perform.We need to see the potential in ordinary people. God often uses people of low rank to accomplish his work (see 1 Cor. 1:26-29). Jesus chose common people to be his Apostles.

Remember that those who we train one-to-one will be of the same sex as ourselves.We can train people of the opposite sex in small groups. Typically, people our age or younger will respond best to our training.In addition to training leaders, we need to make disciples of the rest of the church.Such discipleship may occur through sermons and through small group Bible studies. Teachers within the church may lead such small groups. Also, we encourage each member of the church to be involved in the work of the church. We encourage the members to follow the Holy Spirit in choosing where they can best utilize their gifts in meeting the goals of the church. Also, we ask people to take certain roles within the church. (For details and for free course visit <www.missionstraining.org>)

Should Christians celebrate Christmas?”

Answer(Question.org) : The debate about whether or not Christians should celebrate Christmas has been raging for centuries. There are equally sincere and committed Christians on both sides of the issue, each with multiple reasons why or why not Christmas should be celebrated in Christian homes. But what does the Bible say? Does the Bible give clear direction as to whether Christmas is a holiday to be celebrated by Christians?
First, let’s look at the reasons why some Christians do not celebrate Christmas. One argument against Christmas is that the traditions surrounding the holiday have origins in paganism. Searching for reliable information on this topic is difficult because the origins of many of our traditions are so obscure that sources often contradict one another. Bells, candles, holly, and yuletide decorations are mentioned in the history of pagan worship, but the use of such in one’s home certainly does not indicate a return to paganism. While there are definitely pagan roots to some traditions, there are many more traditions associated with the true meaning of Christmas—the birth of the Savior of the world in Bethlehem. Bells are played to ring out the joyous news, candles are lit to remind us that Christ is the Light of the world (John 1:4-9), a star is placed on the top of a Christmas tree to remember the Star of Bethlehem, and gifts are exchanged to remind us of the gifts of the Magi to Jesus, the greatest gift of God to mankind.

Too Much of a Good Thing

By GodLife on December 2, 2012,From the series Prayer Letter

Scripture: "He will die for lack of self-control; he will be lost because of his great foolishness" (Proverbs 5:23)

Each year, we look forward to our festival of Thanksgiving in America. Being with family and celebrating God's blessings with visits, delicious food, family activities, and other fun. We have so much – both spiritual and physical -- to be grateful for!In the same way, giving gifts to friends and family for the Christmas season is a nice tradition. However, it has become a tremendous stress to many people as the holiday season becomes more and more packed with activities. Additionally, we've just taken time to be thankful for what we already have -- before rushing out to load up with more "things".

How much is too much? What would God say about the focus moving from celebrating Jesus’s birth to the desire for more stuff?We can learn a lot from the Bible about self-control… and the sad consequences of the lack thereof.

Freedom through Christ -As Christians, we have the great joy to live with the Holy Spirit as our guide. That means "the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23). Those are some excellent, nice traits; they are also some evidence of our allowing God to work in our lives.These lives should be Christian lives lived in freedom, because “you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don't use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love" (Galatians 5:13). In other words, we can work to better the lives of our fellows, rather than selfishly pursuing the things this world values.

Excercise Good Judgment -When we overindulge, it is so easy to get distracted from the way of the Lord and get caught up in the ways of the world. We Christians live in the world, but we should not be of the world.The Apostle Paul instructed his friends in Ephesus, "Don't be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs amongst yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts." (Ephesians 5:18-19).Paul wanted to be sure the Ephesian Christians kept their focus on the Lord, and that is a good standard for us today. We have to leave room for the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, and that won't happen if we've crammed our lives full of earthly pleasures.We must use good judgment. God gave us many good things in the world for our enjoyment. But that doesn't mean that we are allowed to use them to fall into the trap of having too much of a good thing! Let us use our Christ-based freedom to live a godly human experience, deciding when enough is enough.