Nowhere in Scripture do we find doctrine studied for its own sake or in isolation from life.
The inerrancy of Scripture means that scripture in the original manuscripts does not affirm anything that is contrary to fact.
The idea that all the words in Scripture are God’s words in such a way that to disbelieve or disobey any word of Scripture is to disbelieve or disobey God.
God fully knows himself and all things actual and possible in one simple and eternal act.
The clarity of Scripture means that the Bible is written in such a way that its teachings are able to be understood by all who will read it seeking God’s help and being willing to follow it.
God’s glory is the created brightness that surrounds God’s revelation of himself.
The pressure to conform to ‘politically correct’ speech is primarily a pressure not to use certain expressions. But when our freedom to use certain expressions is taken away, then our ability to think in certain ways is also curtailed.
Satan was the originator of sin.
Sin is any failure to conform to the moral law of God in act, attitude, or nature.
The devil’s characteristic has been to originate sin and tempt others to sin.
I think that ultimately we will attain much more depth of understanding of Scripture when we are able to study it in the company of a great number of scholars who all begin with the conviction that the Bible is completely true and absolutely authoritative.
In one sense the doctrine of the trinity is a mystery that we will never understand fully.
It is not just that we exist and God has always existed, it is also that God necessarily exists in an infinitely better, stronger, more excellent way. The difference between God’s being and ours is more than the difference between the sun and a candle, more than the difference between the ocean and a raindrop... God’s being is qualitatively different.
Do Christians in fact eagerly long for Christ’s return? The more Christians are caught up in enjoying the good things of this life, and the more they neglect genuine Christian fellowship and their personal relationship with Christ, the less they will long for his return.
It is healthy for us spiritually when we settle in our hearts the fact that God deserves all honor and glory from his creation, and that it is right for him to seek this honor.
God never calls people to disobey his Word. Our decision on this matter must be based on the objective teaching of the Bible, not on some person’s subjective experience, no matter how godly or sincere that person is. This egalitarian claim is another form of the question, Will we take Scripture.
When we realize that God is the perfection of all that we long for or desire, that he is the summation of everything beautiful or desirable, then we realize that the greatest joy of the life to come will be that we “shall see his face.
So important is the Bible as the primary means of grace that God gives to his people that Charles Hodge reminds us that throughout history true Christianity has flourished “just in proportion to the degree in which the Bible is known, and its truths are diffused among the people.
For this reason, Christ had to live a life of perfect obedience to God in order to earn righteousness for us. He had to obey the law for his whole life on our behalf so that the positive merits of his perfect obedience would be counted for us. Sometimes this is called Christ’s “active obedience,” while his suffering and dying for our sins is called his “passive obedience.”3.
God never calls people to disobey his Word. Our decision on this matter must be based on the objective teaching of the Bible, not on some person’s subjective experience, no matter how godly or sincere that person is. This egalitarian claim is another form of the question, Will we take Scripture or experience as our ultimate guide?