John Carter – November 19, 2017
- QUESTION: “How do you put together the God of Christmas with the God of the Great Judgment of the final day?”[1]
- “In this chapter, we will seek to discover the mainlines of the great story of the Bible—its metanarrative.”[2]
Soundness
- “It reliably and accurately interprets the parts in terms of the whole.”[3]
- 1 Timothy 1:10-11
- “We should want pastors who preach from the word of God, but we should also carefully listen to what the pastor says and determine whether what he says is according to the Word of God.”[4]
Complex or Controversial Doctrines
- “Churches should not think of themselves as so wise that they do better to avoid certain subjects.”[5]
The God of the Bible Is a Creating God[6]
- Emphasis: History
- “Much of the Bible is a long story about what goes on with God and the world he had made.”[7]
- “We must acknowledge that God is the Great Initiator, the Great Giver, the Creator of the world, the Creator of his people, the Author of our faith. He is a creating God.”[8]
The God of the Bible Is a Holy God[9]
- “He is not a morally indifferent God.”[10]
- “Everyone needs to ask himself, how can I relate to a holy God?”[11]
- “The living God has spoken, providing a way of reconciliation.”[12]
- Idea: Sacrifice
- “All the offerings had to be voluntary, costly, the offer’s own, and accompanied by confession of sins, according to God’s prescriptions.”[13]
- “The sacrifices showed that sin is serious and that it costs life.”[14]
- “Salvation and forgiveness are costly.”[15]
- “Are people basically bad or good? Our answers will determine what we think a church needs to do.”[16]
The God of the Bible Is a Faithful God[17]
- Exodus 34:6-7
- Romans 3:25-26
The God of the Bible Is a Loving God[18]
- “In the New Testament we find, then, that God keeps all of his promises because of his covenant love for his people.”[19]
- “Ultimately, our repentance and belief has more to do with God than with us.”[20]
- All the repentance and belief in the world can’t save you without God doing the saving. Our ability to believe is predicated n his decision to act.
- 1 John 4:10, 19
The God of the Bible Is a Sovereign God[21]
- “The hope of the whole world being put right, as God’s sovereign plan extends from Christ to his covenant people to creation itself.”[22]
- God’s promises mean nothing if he is unable to bring about the fulfillment of those promises.
- “John could sit on Patmos full of hope, because he knew what this God was like.”[23]
- “This kind of biblical theology is practical.”[24]
- 80 2nd full paragraph
Resisting God’s Sovereignty
- “Christians will have honest questions about God’s sovereignty. But a sustained, tenacious denial of God’s sovereignty should concern us.”[25]
- QUESTION: What would be the impact of a church leader not believing in the sovereignty of God?
“The story of the Bible is one story. For all its characters, plotlines, and authors, the unifying theme is the one true God making, loosing, rescuing, and keeping one people all for his own glory. This is biblical theology.”[26]
Unity, Diversity, and Charity
- “Every church decides where it requires complete agreement, where it permits limited disagreement, and where it allows complete liberty.”[27]
- QUESTION: What are examples of these three in this church body?
- 1 Corinthians 8:1
[1] P.65 – Nine Marks of a Healthy Church
[2] P.68 – Nine Marks of a Healthy Church
[3] P.70 – What is a Healthy Church?
[4] P.67-68 – Nine Marks of a Healthy Church
[5] P.72 – What is a Healthy Church?
[6] P.68 – Nine Marks of a Healthy Church
[7] P.68 – Nine Marks of a Healthy Church
[8] P.70 – Nine Marks of a Healthy Church
[9] P.70 – Nine Marks of a Healthy Church
[10] P.70 – Nine Marks of a Healthy Church
[11] P.71 – Nine Marks of a Healthy Church
[12] P.71 – Nine Marks of a Healthy Church
[13] P.72 – Nine Marks of a Healthy Church
[14] P.72 – Nine Marks of a Healthy Church
[15] P.72 – Nine Marks of a Healthy Church
[16] P.73 – Nine Marks of a Healthy Church
[17] P.73 – Nine Marks of a Healthy Church
[18] P.75 – Nine Marks of a Healthy Church
[19] P.77 – Nine Marks of a Healthy Church
[20] P.77 – Nine Marks of a Healthy Church
[21] P.77 – Nine Marks of a Healthy Church
[22] P.78 – Nine Marks of a Healthy Church
[23] P.79 – Nine Marks of a Healthy Church
[24] P.79 – Nine Marks of a Healthy Church
[25] P.73-74 – What is a Healthy Church?
[26] P.82 – Nine Marks of a Healthy Church
[27] P.71 – What is a Healthy Church?
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