If you remember earlier in this series, we saw many statements God (Yahweh) made about Himself, especially in the book of Isaiah. He alone is the True God. He alone has the power to declare future events. This part will focus especially on the last qualification that Yahweh made about Himself: as the One True God, He alone is worthy of worship! We will compare Yahweh’s statements about Himself regarding worship with statements about Jesus to see if He measures up to being the One True God, sharing the same being of Yahweh with the Father.
The Unbreakable Threefold Cord: A Defense of the Trinity (Part 3)
In Part 2 of this series, we observed that there are only two categories of the title god in the Bible. There is the category of true God (consisting of Yahweh alone) and false god consisting of everything else. One could be made “like God” or “as a god” to someone else if he is the representative of the true God, but this does not make him a true god by Yahweh’s definition of the term. A true god is worthy of worship, can proclaim the future, and created the universe.
The Unbreakable Threefold Cord: A Defense of the Trinity (Part 2)
In Part 1, we determined a working definition of the Trinity: God is one Being, three Persons. We carefully observed the difference in meaning between being and person, and how understanding these categories can annul the confusion that arises both among those who casually affirm the Trinity and those who deny it. Now, we will examine the challenges that Les Burch poses in his book It Isn’t The Way We Think It Is, chapter 5 “The Trinity–Help or Hindrance?”
The Unbreakable Threefold Cord: A Defense of the Trinity (Part 1)
And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken. –Ecclesiastes 4:12 The Trinity is a doctrinal understanding of the essence of God that has a long history of both ardent defense and constant attack. It is an official dogma of the Roman Catholic Church, and many Protestant denominations confess belief in it as well. Many creeds, confessions, and statements of faith have expressed it in different words ranging from a short sentence to paragraphs and pages. In recent years, many that confess the name of Christ are beginning to question the doctrine of the Trinity, and the numbers of those in other religions that reject this doctrine–such as Islam and Judaism–are growing.
A Get Out of Cult Free Card
Remember when you played the game of Monopoly when you were a kid? Well, this is not to say that adults don’t still play it, but when you were young, you had a lot less patience about things. Particularly, if you land on the “Go to Jail!” spot or you pick up a Chance or Community Chest card that tells you to “Go to jail! Do not pass ‘Go.’ Do not collect $200.” You hate being in jail because you miss turns. You want OUT right NOW! But… if you had a “Get Out of Jail FREE” card, you didn’t have to miss those turns and you could be back on the road to victory. The truth about tithing can
The Problem of “Income”
What if God taught in His Word that Christians owe a tithe of their income to the church? In fact, this is what many churchgoers believe because many preachers teach this. What’s so bad about that, anyway? Just use your W2 and move the the decimal point to the left one spot, right?
Tithing was only for the Old Covenant
Abreast the typical argument that tithing is an “eternal moral principal,” the only places in Scripture where tithing is actually commanded are under the auspices of the geopolitical nation of Israel, and only under the Old Covenant. Abram’s tithe to Melchizedek was according to an ancient Arab custom. Jacob’s tithe was a conditional vow to God to test that he was the recipient of God’s covenant promise. In neither case is anyone else commanded to do likewise. Indeed, if we are to take the accounts of Abram and Jacob at face value, we could not do what they did.
Freedom to Give: The Biblical Truth About Tithing
My first book is now available to the world! I emphasize first, because I plan to sharpen my skills and write as long as I have words to say. My next book is tentatively titled God’s Free Market: A Biblical Defense of Liberty and Capitalism. It will be a book that makes liberal use of Scripture to define and defend the conservative notion that free market capitalism is the most efficient and effective way for a people to prosper.