THE AUGSBURG CONFESSION Article 18: Of Free Will: Concerning free will it is taught that to some extent man has freedom of will to lead a just and honourable life, to choose between things which reason comprehends; but without grace, assistance, and the operations of the Holy Spirit; he is unable to become pleasing to …
Tag: Heaven
Synod of Orange (AD. 529)
Canon 1: If anyone says that by the offence of Adam's transgression, not the whole man, that is according to body and soul, was changed for the worse, but believes that while the liberty of the soul endures without harm, the body only is exposed to corruption, he is deceived by the error of Pelagius and …
Do I Belong to Jesus?
The Marks of the Lord's People: 1. A certain love for God's word, house and day. 2. A desire for holiness. 3. A longing to be able to pray. 4. A mourning over a carnal heart. 5. A desire to love Christ. 6. A desire for fellowship with Christ. 7. A fear lest, these evidences …
Love Not the World!
Love Not the World! (1John 2:15). What is the world? A shadow; a deception; the enemy of God. What can it do for us? It may enchant, but it will deceive. It may please for a time but will sting in the end. It is an enemy's country; we must pass through it, but we should …
Snakes Alive!
Snakes alive! I’m nearly seventy-five; I’ll soon be gone, It won’t be long. The year I was born, in ’44, We’d just done won the war; Rule Britannia we sang wi’ lust, An under wur breath, the Gerries we’d cuss. Our hearts were filled wi’ wonderful glee, Now we can live and be really free; …
Soul Sleep!
One false teaching that we must firmly reject, is that of soul sleep. When man dies, the soul is separated from the body, but "when separated from the body (it) neither sleeps nor dies" (Second Helvetic Confession). A little later in the chapter, the Confession expressly "condemn(s) all who ridicule or by subtle arguments cast …
Not Ashamed of the Gospel!
Recently I was invited to visit Greece for an inside look at Gospel work among the tens of thousands of refugees there...The refugees I met in Athens are from some of the most war-ravaged and Gospel-destitute regions of the Middle East, including Syria, Afghanistan, and Iran. They fled here looking for a better life, and …
