Doctrine Thursday 4 & 5

I don't know what happened last week. I completely forgot to post the Shorter Catechism questions. It had been a long day at school and after class I got dressed up to go out to dinner for my roommate's birthday. I know, excuses excuses... I am sorry I forgot to do it, though!

So from last week we have:

23. What offices doth Christ execute as our Redeemer? Christ, as our Redeemer, executeth the offices of a prophet, of a priest, and of a king, both in his estate of humiliation and exaltation. (See: Acts 3:22, Hebrews 5:6, and Pslam 2:6)

24. How doth Christ execute the office of a prophet? Christ executeth the office of a prophet, in revealing to us,  by his Word and Spirit, the will of God for our salvation. (See: Hebrews 1:1-2 and John 16:13_

25. How doth Christ execute the office of a priest? Christ executeth the office of a priest, in his once offering up of himself a sacrifice, to satisfy Divine justice, and reconcile us to God; and in making continual intercession for us. (See Hebrews 4:14, Hebrews 9:28, Hebrews 7:25, and Colossians 1:20)

26. How doth Christ execute the office of a king? Christ executeth the office of a king, in subduing us to himself, in ruling and defending us, and in restraining and conquering all his and our enemies. (See 2 Corinthians 10:5, Matthew 11:29, and 2 Timothy 4:18)

Personally, I think I struggle the most with Christ as prophet. God knows all. Everything that has come before us, everything in our lives, and everything that is to come after us. And yet I want to control. I want to be center. I want to see results right now. Ultimately, I struggle with understanding how everything He ordains is for my good and for the good of His Kingdom. The mere thought of a being that knows ALL blows my mind. I can't fathom it. But in His word and in the Holy Spirit I put my faith that He does know, and He is in control. 


As for this week...I'm not going to do questions from the Shorter Catechism. This morning we discussed Arminianism and Calvanism. It was a hard discussion but interesting and ultimately good. I feel like the topics are far too deep to get into on my blog. These things are better saved for real face-to-face conversations and relationships. However, I'd like to open this up for discussion. If you have any thoughts on either side, feel free to share them.

As for myself I would say I'm not really a 5 point Calvanist...at least not without wrestling through things. I see biblical references that point toward Calvanism (and thus away from Arminianism) but it's still not easy. Nothing is clear cut, black and white.

So there it is, folks. Doctrine Thursday is back!

Doctrine Thursday (3)

So today I'm going to skip around a little bit. Some of the questions I'm going to post are thought provoking. A lot of the reason why I do this every Thursday is that it helps me process things to type them out. As I type, I think. As I think, I pray. It's good for me. So yes, there it is, folks. I do this more for me than for you. Sorry. But with that in mind, I'm justifying skipping around otherwise this week would be novel-length...and that would be no good at all.

Ok so this week from the Shorter Catechism:

10. How did God create man? God created man, male and female, after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures. (See: Genesis 1:27-28, Ephesians 4: 24)

Remember this post, not so long ago, where I confessed my confusion about being made in the image of God? It's no coincidence that I read through this question and its corresponding verses today. God answers our questions and responds to prayers!

14. What is sin? Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the Law of God. (See: Luke 10:31, Luke 22:61)

Sin is always so difficult, or awkward at the very least, to define. I love this answer because it's short, to the point, and makes sense. Basically there are two types of sin: not doing what He commands and doing what He forbids.


16. Did all mankind fall in Adam's first transgression? The covenant being made with Adam, not only for himself, but for his posterity; all mankind - descending from him by ordinary generation - sinned in him, and fell with him, in his first transgression. (See Romans 5:18-19, 1 Corinthians 15:22)

So all humans (except Jesus who was fully God AND fully man) are affected by the fall. None of us are exempt. No one is better than another.


18 and 19. Wherein consists the sinfulness and misery of that estate whereinto man fell? The sinfulness of that estate consists of the guilt of Adam's first sin, the want of original righteousness, AND all of the actual transgressions which proceed from it. All mankind by their fall also lost communion with God and are under His wrath and curse and so made liable to all miseries in this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell forever. (See: Ezekiel 18:4, Genesis 3:17, Psalm 9:17)

This one has a lot of rabbit holes that you can go down. I'm going to avoid that. It's enough to process in itself.

Doctrine Thursday Week 2

While there are still a few minutes remaining in Thursday:

Week 2:
4. What is God? God is a spirit - infinite, eternal, and unchangeable - in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. (See: John 4:24, Job11:7, Daniel 4:35, Psalm 90:2, and Psalm 102:26-27)

5. Are there more Gods than one? There is but one only, the living and true God. (See: Isaiah 45:5)

6. How many persons are there in the Godhead? There are three persons in the Godhead - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal and power and glory. (See:  Matthew 28:19 and Deuteronomy 6:4)


This may seem very basic and simple but I would argue that this is, well, essential and very convicting. It's humbling. It's powerful. Mull it over. Comment. Discuss. I'd love to hear your thoughts. I'd elaborate more but 1) there isn't much time left in Thursday and 2) I've had a long day and need some sleep.

What is the chief end of man?

Some of you are probably reciting the answer in your head...others are probably confused...still more are probably wondering what the heck kind of question is that.

Until a few weeks ago I was definitely in the confused category. A lot of things dealing with doctrine get ignored...by me. I know it's important, to an extent, but it always just seemed/seems too philosophical for my scientific thinking brain. Give me a study bible and some mellow music and I'm good to go.

Except studying doctrine is important. Can you be know God without studying doctrine*? Yes! Can you believe in Jesus without studying doctrine*? Yes! Can you be saved without studying doctrine*? YES! So why is it so important?
*doctrine here refers to books, studies, and information beyond what is presented in the bible. I do believe that knowing and believing truth, God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit as they are presented scripturally are very much essential to salvation.

(Note: A lot of what I'm writing is pulled from Steve Lammers' [a pastor in the PCA church] sermon which you can listen to here)

• Is Christianity defined merely by how we live or is there something more? It's something more...it's doctrine...it's truth.
• Healthy doctrine produces healthy/sound Godly living.
• Doctrine and truth matters.
• Truth accords with godliness.
• "Creeds" were built in the early church to summarize the truth - what we aught to believe.
• True teaching, as seen in the apostles, matters.
• How can you love Jesus without loving the truths/doctrines about Jesus.
• Biblical faith rests on truth.
• Biblical faith is not opposed to knowledge...it is almost synonymous with truth. It helps us interpret the truth. Biblical faith has to have truth in order to flourish.
• You don't have to hide from the truth. You don't have to ignore evidence to have faith.
• Biblical faith is digging into scripture and evidence to seek out what is true.

So...here it goes. I'm going to throw off this fear of doctrine and dive in. Why don't you join me? Every Thursday I'm going to post questions and answers from The Shorter Catechism. If you want, buy a copy for yourself. Pray through it. Seek scripture. Post comments and questions. Create discussion. Learn truth. I'll be doing much the same...let's do it together!

Week 1:

1. What is the chief end of man? Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever. (See 1 Corinthians 10:31; Revelation 7:15-17)

2. What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him? The word of God, which is contained in the scriptures of the old and new testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him. (See 2 Timothy 3:16; Ephesians 2:20)

3. What do the scriptures principally teach? The scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man. (See John 5:39; Ecclesiastes 12:13)

89. How is the word made effectual to salvation? The spirit of God maketh the reading, but especially the preaching of the word an effectual means of convincing and converting sinners, and of building them up to holiness and comfort, through faith, unto salvation. (See Pslam 19:7; 2 Timothy 3:16)

90. How is the word to be read and heard, that it may become effectual to salvation? That the word may become effectual to salvation, we must attend therunto with diligence, preparation, and prayer, receive it with faith and love, lay it up in our hearts and practice it in our lives. (See  Pslam 119:11 and 18; Hebrews 4:2; John 7:17)