Christian Manuscript Submissions
Reformed Theology: Based On God's Word – Sola Scriptura
Author: Ralph E. Bass, Jr.
We have spoken of God’s revelation of Himself. That revelation is found almost exclusively in the Bible. Some things may be known about God through observing His creation. Romans 1:20 says this, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” “That which was made….” refers to His creation. Enough can be observed in God’s creation to make man “…without excuse.” However, not enough can be observed in creation to explain to man God’s solution to man’s sin problem.
A person has awareness of God via his or her own conscience. All appear to have a sense that a perfect One or perfect standard exists. But that awareness is insufficient to bridge the gulf of alienation between God and humanity. God has given us a divine revelation—the Bible—for that purpose.
The Bible is a record of God’s actions in communicating to man His own solution to their desperate condition. Ultimately that solution is found in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
We mortals have been tempted, ever since Adam’s Fall, to pursue salvation through our own efforts. Humanity is proud and defiant. As a part of our fallen nature, we compound our sin by arrogantly seeking to cover it with fig leaves—the efforts of our own hands (like Adam and Eve) —instead of a covering of skins made by the hand of God from a bloody sacrifice.
People are incapable of intuitively knowing what God requires for salvation, and what God Himself has done to meet that requirement. “Revelation” – God disclosing Himself to human beings is necessary to that end.
God insured that every word in the Bible would both express simultaneously the personality of its human writer and God’s divine purpose. It is a book without error in the original manuscripts. God has not only given a perfect revelation of Himself in the Bible; he has preserved it so that it achieves its divine purpose for us today. The Bible is a book of truth propositions or facts. It recounts how God created this earth and how mankind fell into sin. It explains God’s plan of salvation, from the first animal sacrifice covering Adam’s sin, to the ultimate fulfillment of that type in Jesus on the cross.
The Bible engenders or incites faith. However, God doesn’t ask us to exercise a blind or foolish faith. He makes it clear that faith in God is a reasonable action. But if God’s revelation of Himself were flawed, then it would be unreasonable to trust Him. If God could not be trusted to provide truthful answers to the question of origins and sin, how could He be trusted to tell us about things we could not necessarily verify? He could not. But the Bible is a book of verifiable propositions of God’s mighty acts in history. Such trustworthy facts make it reasonable for us to have faith in God. Faith in God is a reasonable act because God’s revelation is, like God, perfect. “As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless” Psalm 18:30. “The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple” (Psalm 19:7).
Of course, man in his fallen condition, instinctively hates God’s Word and attacks it with unrelenting vehemence, demanding that it be removed from our schools, courts and public displays. However, the Bible continues to stand as God’s supreme and perfect revelation of Himself to mankind.
Reformed theology is based solely on the Scripture. Although Reformed theology values history, tradition, creeds, and the councils of the church, it nevertheless finds its doctrines exclusively in the Bible. Man’s actions, traditions, statements, and pronouncements will fail, in fact often do so. Therefore, it is essential to believe authoritatively in God’s Word alone. Many Christian denominations and cults have popes, prophets, founders and extra Biblical books that add to the Bible. Reformed theology does not. For those of the Reformed faith the Bible alone is sufficient for “life and godliness.”
“The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture is the Scripture itself: and therefore, when there is a question about the true and full sense of any Scripture (which is not manifold, but one), it must be searched and known by other places that speak more clearly.” The Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter I, Paragraph 9
http://www.livinghopepress.com/Reformed_Theology__Based_on_God_s_Word_-_Sola_Scriptura.html
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/christianity-articles/reformed-theology-based-on-gods-word-sola-scriptura-1708336.html
About the Author
Ralph E. Bass, Jr. has an undergraduate degree, BA, in Bible from Bob Jones University, and several graduate degrees: a M.A. in Counseling from Webster University, a M.Div. in divinity studies from Erskine Theological Seminary, a Th.M. in theological studies from Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and a Th.D. in theological studies from Reformation International Theological Seminary. Dr. Bass was for a number of years a biblical counselor, a pastor, and as a teacher and school administrator in several Christian schools. He is married and has five children and seventeen grandchildren.
Tagged with: based on god s word • calvinism • election • god s sovereign choice • irresistible grace • limited atonement • perseverance of the saints preservation of the saints • presbyterian theology • reformed theology • sola scriptura • tulip
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Hi there,
It seems to me that this is a reliable, trustworthy way of attracting agents. I don’t know how effective it is as the only means of attracting attention, though.
Cheers
S
It sounds like you’ve answered your own question. If you don’t believe in the validity of the Koran, but you do believe in the validity of the Bible, you need to be Christian. Religion is about your beliefs, and it sounds like to me you don’t like or want to be Islam. So be Christian.
One must always realize that a belief in God does not necessarily equate to a believe in religion or for that matter in a literal interpretation of the bible or for that matter the bible at all.
Robert,
There have been so many times that I wanted to email you regarding your answers and regretted that your email was disabled.
I just wanted to let you know that I enjoy your answers very much regarding the Catholic faith. Your answers are always so knowledgeable, well-informed, thorough and respectful.
Thank you so much for helping to defend our great faith and teach the truth to those who are misinformed. Your contributions are significant and much appreciated.
They say that because they have established a good formula to extract lots of money from gullible guilty people.
What do you think about these idiots that believe in God?
Johannes Kepler [1571-1630]
Astronomy/Laws of Planetary Motion
“I had the intention of becoming a theologian…but now I see how God is, by my endeavors, also glorified in astronomy, for ‘the heavens declare the glory of God.'”
“I am a Christian…I believe… only and alone in the service of Jesus Christ…In Him is all refuge, all solace.”
“Let my name perish if only the name of God the Father is thereby elevated.”
“[God] is the kind Creator who brought forth nature out of nothing.”
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Blaise Pascal [1623-1662]
Scientist noted for work in physics, hydrostatics, vacuums; inventor of mechanical calculator
“Jesus Christ, I have separated myself from Him:
I have fled from Him, denied Him, crucified Him.
Let me never be separated from Him.
We keep hold of Him only by the ways taught in the Gospel.
Renunciation, total and sweet.
Total submission to Jesus Christ…”
{from a manuscript dated Monday November 23, 1654 and found in his own handwriting in his coat at his death}
“Knowing God without knowing our own wretchedness engenders pride. Knowing our own wretchedness without knowing God engenders despair.” [Pascal – Pensees no 527]
*Also famous for “Pascal’s Wager”–a powerful defense of the Christian faith
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Robert Boyle [1627-1691]
Founder of Modern Chemistry/Gas Dynamics
Governor of Missionary organization for propagating the gospel in New England
Personally financed the translation of the Bible into Irish, Turkish, and Arabic
Author of “The Christian Virtuoso” reflecting on the study of nature for Christians
Author of Christian devotional book, “Occasional Reflections”
His will after his death financed the “Boyle Lectures” which were lectures in defense of Christianity
“From a knowledge of His work, we shall know Him”
“Christ’s passion, His death, His resurrection and ascension, and all of those wonderful works which He did during His stay upon earth, in order to confirm mankind in the belief of His being God as well as man.”
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Sir Isaac Newton [1642-1727]
Mathematician, Physicist
Inventor of calculus
Law of universal gravitation
Newton’s three laws of motion:
1) Law of inertia 2) Force=mass*acceleration 3) Principle of action and reaction
Published “Newton’s Prophecies of Daniel”
after his study and translation of the Book of Daniel [in the Bible]
“About the time of the end, a body of men will be raised up who will turn their attention to the Prophecies, and insist upon their literal interpretation, in the midst of much clamor and opposition.”
“There are more sure marks of authenticity in the Bible than in any profane history.”
” This thing [a scale model of our solar system] is but a puny imitation of a much grander system whose laws you know, and I am not able to convince you that this mere toy is without a designer and maker; yet you, as an atheist, profess to believe that the great original from which the design is taken has come into being without either designer or maker! Now tell me by what sort of reasoning do you reach such an incongruous conclusion?”
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Sir William Herschel [1738-1822]
Astronomist. Discovered Uranus, several nebulae, and binary stars.
First to accurately describe the Milky Way Galaxy
“All human discoveries seem to be made only for the purpose of confirming more and more
the Truths contained in the Sacred Scriptures.”
“The undevout astronomer must be mad.”
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Samuel Morse [1791-1872]
Inventor of the telegraph [Morse’s sketch of the railway telegraph above]
“Education without religion is in danger of substituting wild theories for the simple commonsense rules of Christianity.”
First message sent by the electric telegraph:
“What hath God wrought”
{This is found in the Bible; Numbers 23:23}
{The message was sent from the Supreme Court Room in the Capitol to the railway depot at Baltimore; May 24, 1844}
{In one letter, Samuel Morse wrote “What hath GOD wrought” by capitalizing and underlining “GOD” twice!}
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Michael Faraday [1791-1867]
Inventor of the electric generator and the transformer
Discovered Benzene–used to make plastics, nylon and dyes
Produced the first test tubes
Described Field Theory
*Hailed by Albert Einstein as the foundation for his own scientific discoveries*
Elder in his church for over 20 years
“Speculations? I have none. I am resting on certainties. ‘I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.'”
“A Christian finds his guide in the Word of God, and commits the keeping of his soul into the hands of God. He looks for no assurance beyond what the Word can give him, and if his mind is troubled by the cares and fears which assail him, he can go nowhere but in prayer to the throne of
grace and to Scripture.”
“Since peace is alone in the gift of God; and as it is He who gives it, why should we be afraid? His unspeakable gift in His beloved Son is the ground of no doubtful hope.” –[1861 letter]
“The Bible, and it alone, with nothing added to it nor taken away from it by man, is the sole and sufficient guide for each individual, at all times and in all circumstances…For faith in the divinity and work of Christ is the gift of God, and the evidence of this faith is obedience to the commandment of Christ.”
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Matthew Maury [1806-1873]
The “Father” of oceanography
Aided in the laying of the first trans-Atlantic cable
Maury believed Psalm 8:8, which speaks of the “paths of the seas” , and he discovered “oceanic currents”
Maury described atmospheric circulation and showed that it was already described in Ecclesiastes 1:6
Maury showed Job 28:25 to be true with respect to the weight of the winds.
“The Bible is true and science is true, and therefore each, if truly read, but proves the truth of the other.”
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James Prescott Joule [1818-1889]
Described the First Law of Thermodynamics: The Law of Conservation of Energy
[American Biochemist Isaac Asimov said that the First Law of Thermodynamics is
“one of the most important generalizations in the history of science”]
Kinetic Theory of Gases
“Joule-Thomson” effect–the basis of refrigeration
A unit of energy [work] in physics is now called a “joule”
“It is evident that an acquaintance with natural laws means no less than
an acquaintance with the mind of God therein expressed.”
“Order is manifestly maintained in the universe…governed by the sovereign will of God”
“After the knowledge of, and obedience to, the will of God, the next aim must be to know something of His attributes of wisdom, power, and goodness as evidenced by His handiwork.”
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James Clerk Maxwell [1831-1879]
Statistical Thermodynamics, Field equations of electricity, magnetism, light
” No theory of evolution can be formed to account for the similarity of molecules,
for evolution necessarily implies continuous change.”
“Almighty God, Who has created man in Thine own image, and made him a living soul that he might seek after Thee,
and have dominion over Thy creatures, teach us to study the works of Thy hands, that we may subdue the earth to our use, and strengthen the reason for Thy service; so to receive Thy blessed Word, that we may believe on Him Who Thou has sent, to give us the knowledge of salvation and the remission of our sins. All of which we ask in the name of the same Jesus Christ, our Lord.” {prayer written by Maxwell and found amongst his notes}
Maxwell was an elder in the church he helped establish near his home.
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Louis Pasteur [1822-1895]
Father of Microbiology, developed “pasteurization”
“The more I study nature, the more I stand amazed at the work of the Creator.”
“Science brings men nearer to God.”
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Jean-Henri Fabre [1823-1915]
Entomology, Biology
Author of 8-volume series “Souvenirs Entomologiques”
detailing the behavior and life history of many species
“Without Him, I understand nothing; without Him, all is darkness…Every period has its manias.
I regard Atheism as a mania. It is the malady of the age.
You could take my skin from me more easily than my faith in God.”
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Sir Joseph Lister [1827-1912]
Father of antiseptic surgery, first to wire fractures, developed dissolving sutures
“I am a believer in the fundamental doctrines of Christianity”
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Lord Kelvin [William Thomson] [1824-1907]
Physicist, Laws of Thermodynamics, Absolute temperature scale, inventor
“With regard to the origin of life, science…positively affirms creative power.”
“Overwhelmingly strong proofs of intelligent and benevolent design lie around us…
the atheistic idea is so non-sensical that I cannot put it into words.”
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George Washington Carver [c. 1864-1943]
agricultural chemist, inventor of over 300 products
“Without my Savior, I am nothing.”
“I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station,
through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in.”
“God is going to reveal to us things he never revealed before if we put our hands in his. No books ever go into my laboratory, a thing I am to do and the way of doing it are revealed me.”
Why does the typical Westerner shiver when thinking of the Crusades?
The Crusades were a series of defensive wars against Islamic aggression in the Middle Ages and attempts to recapture the Holy Land from Muslim conquerors in order to allow safe pilgrimage and to protect and maintain the Christian presence there. Jerusalem had been Christian for hundreds of years when Caliph Omar seized it, and following that victory, Muslims warred their way into Egypt, other parts of Africa, Spain, Sicily, and Greece, leaving Christians dead and churches in ruins. They stole lands in the area now known as Turkey, destroying Catholic communities founded by St. Paul himself. They siezed Constantinople — the “second Rome” — and threatened the Balkans. They warred their way as far north as Vienna, Austria and Tours, France.
Referring to a battle which took place in A.D. 1243, the Arabian manuscript entitled Essulouk li Mariset il Muluk (“The Road to Knowledge of the Return of Kings”) had this to say:
When they [Muslims] had despoiled all the country near to Damascus, they advanced to Jerusalem, took it by storm, and put all the Christians to the sword. The women and girls, having suffered every insult from a brutal disorderly soldiery, were loaded with chains. They destroyed the church of the Holy Sepulchre; and when they found nothing among the living, to glut their rage, they opened the tombs of the Christians, took out the bodies, and burnt them.
Not too shocking considering the Qu’ran teaches:
Q.9: 29 ”Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, even if they are of the People of the Book [Jews and Christians 1], until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.”
and
Surah 47:4: “When ye meet the unbelievers, smite at their necks”
and
Surah 4:74: “To him who fighteth in the cause of Allah” [whether he is slain or gets victory] “soon shall we give him a reward of great value.”
In other words, Christians are to “convert, submit, or die” 2.
The Hadith (in Abu Huraira) tells us the “prophet” said, “I have been ordered to fight with the people till they say, ‘None has the right to be worshipped but Allah,’ and whoever says, ‘None has the right to be worshipped but Allah,’ his life and property will be saved by me except for Islamic law, and his accounts will be with Allah, (either to punish him or to forgive him.)”
The inherent evil of the Muslim religion does not mean that all who call themselves “Muslims” are evil! Many Muslims are of the same sort, religiously speaking, as many “Christians”; they don’t take their religion that seriously, are merely “cultural Muslims,” have enough natural virtue to try to explain away and defuse the Qu’ran’s exhortations to violence, or are simply ignorant about Islam’s violent history. May God bless, not their religion, but them, bringing them to all Truth, Who is Christ — not only a Prophet, but the Son of the Living God. Salaam.
Why are Catholics hated for defending Christendom?
The story begins around 650 C.E. with the first, unsuccessful siege of Constantinople, and continues with the invasion and occupation, sometimes for hundreds of years, of many European countries. Italy, Sicily, Portugal, France, Spain, Austria, Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia, Hungary, Rumania, Wallachia, Albania, Moldavia, Bulgaria, Greece, Armenia, Georgia, Poland, the Ukraine, and eastern and southern Russia were all battlefields where Islam conquered or was conquered in violent conflicts marked by cruelty, bloodlust, and a fearful loss of life, spread over considerably more than a thousand years.
For over a century and a half the world had forgotten this fact, since most Muslim countries were politically impotent and ruled mainly as the colonies or protectorates of European powers.
… European history has remained transfixed on the Christian Crusades of the eleventh to the thirteenth century, it has largely ignored these Muslim attacks and invasions…When accusing the West of imperialism, Muslims are obsessed with the crusades, but have forgotten their own longer and more gruesome Jihad.
I have searched for answers on the original question……..that there is much to learn about the history of the Crusades
and a lot of myths.
Should I become a Muslim or Christian? I may believe in Christianity but Im just making sure. Bible unchanged?
Many Muslims believe the Qur’an is perfect. The way it is meshed together and thanks to Uthman…I would think otherwise. At least in comparison to the bible, it is highly unlikely to be the preserved word of the creator.
The bible is backed by thousands of manuscripts. The dead sea scrolls verify today’s Old Testament. The Isaiah scroll they found shows the Cyrus prophecy was not changed after the fact…the bible is the word of all the prophets. There’s no way by logic I can consider the quran, one book 600 years later in arabia by some terrorists torturing and beheading and slaying those who reject the many many offerings of conversion to muhammad (yes this is the truth. I have studied the qu’ran. Islam means “submission”. I’m not trying to offend muslims because this is the what Islam means so they should admit it normally as I’m discussing religion normally here).
The New Testament is reliable as being inspired by the Holy Spirit to tell St Paul the truth & interview eyewitneses
I just wondered how I should investigate the manuscript stuff or whatever. Just investigate both religions to identify the true one. Being a person without self esteem and all I hoped there was a loving creator who sent His son to die for me and see that he too knows how it is to be pained and rejected and lonely. So I know there is a love there. But I must make sure Islam really is false. I mean what if 9/11 and all the terrorism happens for no reason? Allah on the other hand can take away the regret in that…sounds sick I know, but Lord: thy will be done.
You see there’s just this thing about Islam bringing me on…the way they dress, ramadhan, the muslim way of life. I love listening to recitations of the qur’an. The vocals have a distincy beauty in the way of singing. It makes me feel like it is from god
How effective is ChristianManuscriptSubmissions.com? Christian Manuscript Submissions?
Does anyone have any personal experience or inside knowledge of the effectiveness of the online Christian Manuscript Submissions website to attract attention of publishers and literary agents (for my non-fiction sports book).