I’m starting a new blog series on Christian church doctrine. First of all, let me say I’m not a biblical scholar or a pastor or anything like that. I’m just an old retired clod hopper who dearly loves the Lord and studying God’s word. I want everyone to feel the passion that I have for God. It consumes me. Our relationship with God is the only thing that matters because it’s the only thing that will last for all eternity. Everything else is just window dressing. God has blessed me by having the Holy Spirit move within my body to confirm he is with me always. The Holy Spirit gave me the ministry of reconciliation years ago by giving me an unquenchable thirst for God’s word, and then the relentless desire and drive to give my testimony of God through the written word.
Genesis 1:1 – In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:26 – Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness.”
That itch sponsored by God started as a letter-writing campaign to family and friends that eventually evolved into this blog site (www.onemoreforjesus.net). I live and breathe for the honor and privilege of “passively” witnessing for Christ to the nonbeliever on Christ’s behalf. My mantra every day is to save, “one more for Jesus.” I was saved at the age of twelve and indwelt by the Holy Spirit at that time. I was a back-slider for forty years before returning to fellowship with God. Once you belong to God he never lets you go. I’ve been actively serving my God for the last twenty years. Besides blogging, I’ve also leveraged my witness for Christ by distributing Chick tracts and Bibles for the last ten years, primarily to my seven prison ministries in four states. I also hand out Chick tracts wherever I go. Tracts are the cheapest, most effective way I know to reach the most people with the gospel.
Psalm 14:1 – The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none who does good.
Psalm 19:1 – The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.
These Christian tracts contain the gospel message in written form with the sinner’s prayer on the last page. My favorite Chick tract is, “This Was Your Life” but I also distribute, “The Greatest Story Ever Told.” They have hundreds of titles and you can read them all online at chick.com. Millions of nonbelievers have been saved unto eternal life in heaven through Chick tracts. I have saved over one hundred nonbelievers to heaven but my goal is to save many lost souls to heaven, just like it says in Daniel 12:3. What qualifies as “many?” God put the number 1000 in my head as my personal goal. I wasn’t sure if my goal to save 1000 lost souls came from me or God so I asked God about it in prayer. After several months of praying, God answered my prayers to let me know that saving a thousand nonbelievers to heaven qualifies as “many” in his eyes. God often answers our prayers through other men of God which is what happened in my case.
Daniel 12:3 – Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.
Proverbs 11:30 – The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.
I have a friend in Louisiana who witnesses for Christ and out of the blue he texted me that his personal goal is to save 1000 people to heaven before he dies. We had never shared our personal goals before but God used my brother in Christ to answer my prayers. God let me know if I saved 1000 people to heaven it would qualify as “many” in his eyes. That’s all I needed to know. I’m working hard to save nonbelievers and I have a long way to go but at least I have a goal to shoot for that is sanctioned by God. I don’t know what awaits me in heaven but I know it’ll be good because the Scriptures say God will give good gifts to his children. You have a choice to make. If you’re a Christian you can choose to either sit on your duff and do nothing, or you can choose to do “good works” for God by saving others to heaven to fulfill the Great Commission that Jesus Christ gave to all believers before he ascended back to heaven. If you do nothing you still get to go to heaven through faith but if you do the “good works” God has planned for you then you will please God, who will give you honor, glory, and riches on the last day. You have my testimony. Will you join me or not? The Christian material I’ll be covering in this blog series comes from my ongoing study of God’s word, as well as information contained in Willmington’s Guide to the Bible.
2 Timothy 3:14-15 – But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
Matthew 22:14 – (Jesus) – For many are called, but few are chosen.
What is doctrine? Doctrine is defined as the systematic gathering and presentation of the facts concerning any great body of truth. God’s word, our Holy Bible, is the doctrine that reveals the coming of Jesus Christ to redeem a fallen world from the clutches of Satan and save man unto eternal life in heaven through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Jesus paid the sin debt for all men, past, present, and future by his shed blood on the cross in our place. Each person still has to claim his salvation personally by confessing their faith in Jesus. Salvation is a two-part process. God did his part and he patiently waits for us to do our part. The problem is the whole world is under the sway of Satan, the evil one. Satan has put blinders over the eyes of nonbelievers so they cannot see the truth of God. To the nonbeliever, the Bible is just a book. As believers, we are commanded by God to witness for Christ; to rip away the blinders covering the eyes of the nonbeliever so they can see the truth of God and the light of his word. The scriptures say many are called but few are chosen. Believers are chosen by God. Why did God choose us? God chose us to give our testimony of him to the nonbeliever so that some might be saved unto eternal life in heaven. If you don’t save others you’re an empty vessel and a disappointment to the God who made you. You will be held accountable on the last day.
2 Timothy 2:15 – Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 – All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Biblical doctrine divides light from darkness, right from wrong, and life from death. If we don’t know these things we’re in serious trouble. That’s why it is imperative that every single person in the world reads God’s word for knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. Except for believers, mankind is lost and headed for hell and they don’t even know it. Nonbelievers are like sheep waiting to be slaughtered and Satan is the butcher. Studying the doctrines of the Bible will help to settle believers so that our faith in God is rock solid. Knowing Bible doctrine acquaints us with God’s eternal plan for man and our part in it. We need to know Bible doctrine thoroughly so we can edify nonbelievers about God and guide them to salvation by our witness for Christ. You cannot do what God requires of you until you know God’s instruction. As God says in his word, you’ll be like the blind leading the blind.
Matthew 15:13-14 – (Jesus) – Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.
Isaiah 46:9 – Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other; for I am God, and there is none like Me.
The greatest thoughts of the human mind must be, “Is there a God?” and, if so, “Who is God?” How we answer these questions in our mind affects everything we do in life and ultimately, it determines our eternal destiny; whether we wind up in heaven or hell. If we don’t get the “who” question right we’ll never answer all the other questions we have about life. There is no way to explain our existence without there being a God in heaven. We don’t make sense without God. The question then becomes, “Which God is real?” No world religion can prosper without the help of powerful spiritual beings, of which there are two; God and Satan. God is the author of both Judaism and Christianity because they define and worship the one true God. Satan has sponsored all the other fake religions and false gods throughout history to hide the truth of God from man so he can take their eternal souls down to the pit of hell forever. How do we know the right God? The evidence for the Christian God Jehovah is overwhelming whereas there is not one shred of evidence that supports any of the fake religions and false gods of Satan. Jehovah is God’s most common name, appearing 6,823 times in the Bible. It means, “The self-existent One.” Just follow the facts and you’ll know the truth of God for yourself. You have my testimony.
John 8:36 – (Jesus) – Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 – He (God) has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.
To help us out God has put eternity in our hearts so we know deep down there is a God in heaven and we have the urge to seek him out. We see evidence of this universal belief in God, or some higher power, because every tribe on earth has some idea of a supreme being. Psalm 19:1 says the truth of God is self-evident, so we have no excuse when we stand in judgment before Jesus Christ on the last day. Our God is a triune Godhead consisting of God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Ghost. This is a hard teaching which is confusing to believers and nonbelievers alike. It shouldn’t be. There is only one God, but in the unity of the Godhead there are three eternal and co-equal Persons, the same in substance, but distinct in subsistence. God is a Trinity, which convinces me even more that our God Jehovah is the one true God of creation and our Holy Father.