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Written by William Dicks
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Thursday, 29 October 2009 12:55 |
The question that many Christians ask is "why the big deal about church history?" Many in today's evangelical church, from the conservative to those on the outskirts of evangelicalism like the charismatics, cannot see what is so important about knowing a little about church history! The claim by so many Christians today is that they do not need those that went before us, since they can simply be led by the Holy Spirit and let the Spirit guide them in the interpretation of the Bible.
History—the story of those that went before us—is "the story of those whose heirs we are…a long preface to our own life stories."1 The reason we can see so far is that we are standing on the shoulders of the giants that have gone before us. Only the conceited, the arrogant, see no need for church history. The conceited, the arrogant, are those who trample on the memory of the giants who have prepared the road on which we travel.
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Last Updated on Thursday, 29 October 2009 13:08 |
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Written by William Dicks
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Wednesday, 28 October 2009 06:04 |
1. Introduction
What is The Reformation and what is a Reformer?
The term Reformer is used to describe those men who desired to reach back to the foundations of the Word of God and the true Gospel of Jesus Christ in light of human traditions and ecclesiastical corruption. A reformer’s intention, when applied in this way to church history, was particularly seen in the reformation of the corrupted Roman Catholic Church.
The phrase The Reformation refers to that great restoration of the Biblical gospel and the resulting schism with the Roman Catholic Church that was initiated by Martin Luther on 31 October 1517, when he nailed his 95 theses of contention with the Roman Catholic Church.
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Written by William Dicks
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Tuesday, 27 October 2009 06:09 |
Just recently a message, entitled Hearing God’s Voice, was preached at our church by one of our own pastors. He cited Is 50:4-5, “4The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught. 5The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back.” (NIV) All verses read by him were read from the NIV.
His first point was that we should hear God for ourselves before we can hear God for others. This he got from Is 50:4-5.
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 27 October 2009 06:21 |
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Written by William Dicks
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Tuesday, 27 October 2009 06:21 |
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[18] This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, [19] holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, [20] among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.(1 Tim 1:18-20 ESV)
The statement was made in a sermon a short while ago that prophecy is a weapon of spiritual warfare, using 1 Tim 1:18-20. Adding 1 Tim 6:12, “12Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses (NASB),” it was said that “we are enforcing the victory of the cross.” Further, based on Rom 10:17, “17So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ (NASB),” we were told that the “prophetic word brings about faith.” What a misinterpretation of the verse!
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 27 October 2009 06:31 |
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Written by William Dicks
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Tuesday, 20 October 2009 05:47 |
1. Introduction
When it comes to interpreting Scripture, it is important to notice the style of writing and the genre used in the writing, for it will bear upon the way the specific writing needs to be interpreted. It is no use interpreting passages that fall into the symbolic genre as literal. You will start believing in horses that fly. It is no use taking history and interpreting it as doctrine, since that will lead to believing that a work of God is identified by how long it is around.
[38] So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; [39] but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!" So they took his advice, (Ac 5:38-39 ESV)
This is a historical account of what Gamaliel told the Jewish council concerning this new “faith.” Many today have exactly the same attitude concerning all kinds of groups. Most notably the Word-of-Faith (WOF) movement led by men such as Kenneth Copeland and also the Toronto Blessing (TB) led by men such as John Arnott. Should we take what Gamaliel said as a way of testing a work’s validity whether it is from God or not? Definitely not! Then we have to conclude that the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons and the Roman Catholic Institution are works of God, since they have been around for much longer than WOF and TB!
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 20 October 2009 05:50 |
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