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SOUND DOCTRINE ... AND GOD

June 23, 2002 AM

Sermon Outline

Isa 45:20-22

INTRO: Do we have questions about God? Do we have questions for God? How do we think of God? Is God really there? I know that such a list of questions could continue. But the point is that most folks really would like to know more about God. And our sources of information are very limited. Perhaps that is why there are so many speculations, assumptions and viewpoints. Where do we go for reliable information? The Bible! It is there that we will find sound doctrine about God.

I. HE IS THE SOURCE OF SOUND DOCTRINE

A. First, by definition

1. Isa 45:19

2. what God says is true - Ps 119:160

3. if this is not true, we have no sound doctrine

B. Then, by revelation

1. if Gods truth is not revealed, we do not possess sound doctrine about Him

2. Deut 29:29 - 1 Cor 2:9-13

3. what God wants us to know about Him (etc.), He has revealed in scripture

II. HE IS THE CREATOR

A. True, there are those who question this

1. blind eyes are turned to searching questions

2. whence came matter? what (Who) is first cause?

3. laws of physics insist that universe is running down - so, Who wound it up?

B. The Bible answers the question!

1. Gen 1:1 ... God created...

2. Job 38:1-6 here are responses to ignorant, presumptuous men with their oh so limited wisdom

3. when the atheist has gone as far as he can, I can go further ... to God Who created all (Ps 102:25)

III. HE IS THE ONE TRUE GOD

A. In todays world (as the ancient) this is debated

1. the ancients believed in many gods - Acts 17:22,23

2. the names and folly of many of them are even noted in scripture! (Isa 44:17-20)

3. and today? the God of Buddhists, of Hindus, of Taoists? etc.

B. But the Bible makes something very clear

1. Isa 45:21 ... there is no God else beside Me ...

2. Jer 10:10-12 the true God ... the living God

3. 1 Thes 1:9,10 here is my hope in telling people of the one true God!

IV. HE IS THE GOD OF COVENANTS

A. Over time, my appreciation of this has magnified

1. Ps 105:8-12 takes us back to Gen 12:1-3

2. He made it; He kept it! the only way of integrity

3. Gal 3:7,8,17 takes us back to Gen 12:1-3

4. and having made it, He kept it in Christ - so, 3:26,27

B. And He expects us to keep our covenant with Him

1. note Ps 25:10 unto such as keep ...

2. Ps 103:17,18 clearly, there is condition here

3. Ps 50:5 one stands in special relationship (saints) to God through covenant sacrifice

4. Heb 9:28 (10:29) here is the covenant offering

5. Rom 6:3 and we enter the covenant relationship in baptism ... a covenant to be kept!

V. HE IS THE GOD WHOSE NAME MUST BE HALLOWED

A. Throughout the Bible His name is so significant

1. Isa 42:8 ...that is My name ...

2. Ps 23:3 ... for His names sake ...

3. Mt 6:9 ... hallowed be Thy name ...

B. Nothing done is for our glory ... but His

1. so, Ps 29:2 this is what we are all about

2. and Ps 111:9

3. is your life bringing glory to His name

CLOSE: Jno 17:4 - We glorify Him in doing what He commands!

Cecil A. Hutson

23 June 2002

God's Plan of Salvation

You must hear the gospel and then understand and recognize that you are lost without Jesus Christ no matter who you are and no matter what your background is. The Bible tells us that "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) Before you can be saved, you must understand that you are lost and that the only way to be saved is by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:8) Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6) "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:12) "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17)

You must believe and have faith in God because "without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." (Hebrews 11:6) But neither belief alone nor faith alone is sufficient to save. (James 2:19; James 2:24; Matthew 7:21)

You must repent of your sins. (Acts 3:19) But repentance alone is not enough. The so-called "Sinner's Prayer" that you hear so much about today from denominational preachers does not appear anywhere in the Bible. Indeed, nowhere in the Bible was anyone ever told to pray the "Sinner's Prayer" to be saved. By contrast, there are numerous examples showing that prayer alone does not save. Saul, for example, prayed following his meeting with Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:11), but Saul was still in his sins when Ananias met him three days later (Acts 22:16). Cornelius prayed to God always, and yet there was something else he needed to do to be saved (Acts 10:2, 6, 33, 48). If prayer alone did not save Saul or Cornelius, prayer alone will not save you. You must obey the gospel. (2 Thess. 1:8)

You must confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. (Romans 10:9-10) Note that you do NOT need to make Jesus "Lord of your life." Why? Because Jesus is already Lord of your life whether or not you have obeyed his gospel. Indeed, we obey him, not to make him Lord, but because he already is Lord. (Acts 2:36) Also, no one in the Bible was ever told to just "accept Jesus as your personal savior." We must confess that Jesus is the Son of God, but, as with faith and repentance, confession alone does not save. (Matthew 7:21)

Having believed, repented, and confessed that Jesus is the Son of God, you must be baptized for the remission of your sins. (Acts 2:38) It is at this point (and not before) that your sins are forgiven. (Acts 22:16) It is impossible to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ without teaching the absolute necessity of baptism for salvation. (Acts 8:35-36; Romans 6:3-4; 1 Peter 3:21) Anyone who responds to the question in Acts 2:37 with an answer that contradicts Acts 2:38 is NOT proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ!

Once you are saved, God adds you to his church and writes your name in the Book of Life. (Acts 2:47; Philippians 4:3) To continue in God's grace, you must continue to serve God faithfully until death. Unless they remain faithful, those who are in God's grace will fall from grace, and those whose names are in the Book of Life will have their names blotted out of that book. (Revelation 2:10; Revelation 3:5; Galatians 5:4)