Started a class in church last night titled Theology 101! Very interesting stuff, our first lesson was on the word theology. The meaning of theology is the rational and systematic study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truth.
The three varieties of theology are Historical, Biblical, & Systematic.
We discussed Arminianism which there are five main tenets:
1) God elects or reproves on the basis of foreseen faith or unbelief,
2) Christ died for all men and for every man, although only believers are saved,
3) Man is so depraved that divine grace is necessary unto faith or any good deed,
4) This grace may be resisted,
5) Whether all who are truly regenerate will certainly persevere in the faith is a point which needs further investigation.
We then discussed Calvinism which has 5 main tenets:
1) Total depravity: that man is touched by sin in all parts of his being: body, soul, mind, and emotions,
2) Unconditional Election: that God’s favor to Man is completely by God’s free choice and has nothing to do with Man. It is completely undeserved by Man and is not based on anything God sees in man (Eph. 1:1-11),
3) Limited atonement: that Christ did not bear the sins of every individual who ever lived, but instead only bore the sins of those who were elected into salvation (John 10:11,15),
4) Irresistible grace: that God's call to someone for salvation cannot be resisted,
5) Perseverance of the saints: that it is not possible to lose one's salvation (John 10:27-28).
These are the 2 extreme beliefs. Most religions fall some where in the middle of the 2, this is referred to as "Free Will." This is the doctrine that an individual, regardless of forces external to him, can and does choose at least some of his actions.
We then talked about staments of faith. This is your personal religious beliefs that must be backed by scripture. The teacher suggested that all christian families or christians develop their statement of faith. This will provide a solid foundation for yourself and/or your children and why you have the beliefs you do. Statements of faith will differ among religions and individuals. Some things are more important to some then others are. Emphasize what's important to you in your statement of faith and include the scripture to back up these beliefs. Great piece of advice I got from the class.
In summary Life starts with theology. It is only after your second birth (SALVATION) that you are living. In order to be saved you must study and acknowledge the scripture and believe that it is the truth. The next step is doctrines are formed. This would be your position or beliefs after immersing yourself in the Bible. The next step is your ultimate outcom e of this, your statement of faith. Which leads to step 4 your morals and ethics. The final step is the decisions you make every second of the day and hopefully every decision is gloryifying God.
Last thought: You can choose to be born twice or die twice. I'm glad I chose Salvation! If you are reading this and have not chosen Jesus Christ read Romans 10:9&10--"that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead,you will be saved. 10-For with the heart one believes unto righteousnessand with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
GOD BLESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
