19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Matthew 28:19
 
14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
2 Corinthians 13:14
 
11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.
John 14:11

6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.
1 Corinthians 8:6

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth… 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
John 1:14,18
 
26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.
John 15:26
 
6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”
Galatians 4:6

In Question 8, we discussed how God is one. He is one God that stands alone as our Sovereign. In Question 9, we see that our one God is multiple “persons”. Question 9 then requests, “How many persons are there in the Godhead?” The answer is plainly seen throughout the Scriptures and is concisely declared here in the catechism: “There are three persons in the godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one God, the same in essence, equal in power and glory."

In Chapter 2, section 3 of the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, it declares quite the remarkable understanding of the Trinity, “This divine and infinite Being consists of three real persons, the Father, the Word or Son, and the Holy Spirit.  These three have the same substance, power, and eternity, each having the whole divine essence without this essence being divided.  The Father is not derived from anyone, neither begotten nor proceeding. The Son is eternally begotten of the Father.  The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.  All three are infinite and without beginning and are therefore only one God, who is not to be divided in nature and being. Yet these three are distinguished by several distinctive characteristics and personal relations. This truth of the Trinity is the foundation of all of our fellowship with God and of our comforting dependence on him.”

Though the Trinity is a grand and marvelous mystery, this confession of faith aids us in understanding our infinite God. Praise our triune God today for all that He is and all that He does!

4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one."
Deut. 6:4

"But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earthquakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation."
Jeremiah 10:10

Last time with question 7, we discussed some core characteristics of God. The 1695 London Baptist Catechism gave some great characteristics/attributes of God. This was determined from clear scripture interpretation, but this begs the question, “Are there more gods than one?” Can more than one being fulfill all these necessary characteristics and also be a god? The biblical answer is no. “There is but one only, the living and true God.”

From the get-go in Genesis 1 to the very end of Revelation, God’s Word is clear, there is only one God, the living and true God. Take the foundational passage of Deuteronomy 6:4, the starting of the Jewish Shema,

4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."

More on what it means for God to be one in our next question and answer, but for now, we must understand that there is only one God. “God has all life, glory, goodness and blessedness in and of himself, and He alone is all-sufficient in himself. He does not need any other creatures, nor does He derive any necessary glory, power or resource from them. God’s glory is demonstrated by God in creatures such as humans, by them, to them, and upon them. Yet, it is important for us to note as the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith in Chapter 2, section 2 says, “He has absolute sovereign rule over all creatures, to act through them, for them, or upon them as he pleases.”
 
This is important because God stands alone. He is sovereign over all His creation. He is uncontested and does all He pleases according to His will. In the previously studied characteristics with question 7, we learned he is “He is absolutely holy in all his plans, in all his works, and in all his commands. All Angels and human beings owe to him all the worship, service, or obedience that creatures owe to the Creator and whatever else he is pleased to require of them. (Chap. 2, section 2).”

He is our God, and He is the only one. Let’s worship Him deeply this week as we grow in our study of Him.

John 4:24
24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Job 11:7-9
7  “Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty? 8  It is higher than heaven—what can you do? Deeper than Sheol—what can you know? 9  Its measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea.

Psalm 110:2
2  The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies!

James 1:17
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

Exodus 3:14
14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”

Psalm 147:5
5  Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.

Revelation 4:8
8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,
“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”

Revelation 15:4
4  Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

Exodus 34:6
6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,


Today we discuss, “What is God?” The 1695 Baptist catechism beautifully summarizes a much larger comprehensive section of the 1689 London Baptist Confession. Memorizing such a question and answer is so beneficial and helps us gain a confident foundation of who God is.
The catechism says, “A. God is a Spirit (John 4:24), infinite (Job 11:7, 8, 9), eternal (Ps. 110:2), and unchangeable (Jas. 1:17) in his being (Ex. 3:14), wisdom (Ps. 147:5), power (Rev. 4:8), holiness (Rev. 15:4), justice, goodness, and truth (Ex. 34:6).”

But this catechism summarizes chapter two, section 1 & 2.

1) The Lord our God is one, the only living and true God.1  He is self-existent2 and infinite in being and perfection. His essence cannot be understood by anyone but him.3  He is a perfectly pure spirit.4  He is invisible and has no body, parts, or changeable emotions.a He alone has immortality, dwelling in light that no one can approach.5  He is unchangeable,6 immense,b,7 eternal,8 incomprehensible, almighty,9 in every way infinite, absolutely holy,10 perfectly wise, wholly free, completely absolute. He works all things according to the counsel of his own unchangeable and completely righteous will11 for his own glory.12  He is most loving, gracious, merciful, and patient. He overflows with goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. He rewards those who seek him diligently.13  At the same time, he is perfectly just and terrifying in his judgments.14  He hates all sin15 and will certainly not clear the guilty.16

(a)passions
(b)transcends all space
11 Corinthians 8:4, 6; Deuteronomy 6:4. 2Jeremiah 10:10; Isaiah 48:12. 3Exodus 3:14. 4John 4:24. 51 Timothy 1:17; Deuteronomy 4:15, 16. 6Malachi 3:6. 71 Kings 8:27; Jeremiah 23:23. 8Psalm 90:2. 9Genesis 17:1. 10Isaiah 6:3. 11Psalm 115:3; Isaiah 46:10. 12Proverbs 16:4; Romans 11:36. 13Exodus 34:6, 7; Hebrews 11:6. 14Nehemiah 9:32, 33. 15Psalm 5:5, 6. 16Exodus 34:7; Nahum 1:2, 3.
 


2) God has all life,17 glory,18 goodness,19 and blessedness in and of himself; he alone is all-sufficient in himself. He does not need any creature he has made nor does he derive any glory from them.20  Instead, he demonstrates his own glory in them, by them, to them, and upon them. He alone is the source of all being, and everything is from him, through him, and to him.21  He has absolute sovereign rule over all creatures, to act through them, for them, or upon them as he pleases.22  In his sight everything is open and visible.23  His knowledge is infinite and infallible. It does not depend upon any creature, so for him nothing is contingent or uncertain.24  He is absolutely holy in all his plans, in all his works,25 and in all his commands. Angels and human beings owe to him all the worship,26 service, or obedience that creatures owe to the Creator and whatever else he is pleased to require of them.

17John 5:26. 18Psalm 148:13. 19Psalm 119:68. 20Job 22:2, 3. 21Romans 11:34–36. 22Daniel 4:25, 34, 35. 23Hebrews 4:13. 24Ezekiel 11:5; Acts 15:18. 25Psalm 145:17. 26Revelation 5:12–14.


These attributes and characteristics of God show his majesty and uniqueness. Each attribute could be each own post, but maybe in another series. As the catechism told us before, our existence revolves around Him. He creates us, He purposes us, and as we will learn later, He makes us humans in His image, after His own likeness. In this respect for this post, He gives us His communicable attributes. More on that in a later post within this series.

Take some time to dive deeper into these noted attributes of God. This is the God we serve and worship. He is the living and true God

2 Timothy 1:13
"13 What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus."

2 Timothy 3:15-16
"15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,"

Today we get to discuss, “What the Scriptures primarily contain?” Their primary contents are to teach us what to believe about God and what duty God requires of man. He is our God and our duty, our purpose, is wholly to our LORD. It is in the Scriptures that we learn who God is and what he requires of us.

Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 1:13 that what he teaches and was heard from Him was in accordance to the sound teaching grounded in the confidence and love in Christ Jesus. He continues later on in 2 Timothy 3:15 saying that from infancy timothy had known the Scriptures, which made Timothy wise for salvation in the faith. It is through the Scriptures that Timothy was to be taught, rebuked, corrected and trained in righteousness. The same is true for each of us.

The 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith says,
“The testimony of the church of God may stir and persuade us to adopt a high and reverent respect for the Holy Scriptures. Moreover, the heavenliness of the contents, the power of the system of truth, the majesty of the style, the harmony of all the parts, the central focus on giving all glory to God, the full revelation of the only way of salvation, and many other incomparable qualities and complete perfections, all provide abundant evidence that the Scriptures are the Word of God. Even so, our full persuasion and assurance of the infallible truth and divine authority of the Scriptures comes from the internal work of the Holy Spirit bearing witness by and with the Word in our hearts.”

All glory to our LORD. His Word is truth. His Word guides us to Him.

John 5:38
38 nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent.

John 17:17-18
17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.

Revelation 1:3
3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.

Acts 8:30
30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.

Our question for today is a great one, may all men make use of the Holy Scriptures. The answer is, not only should they, but they are also commanded and exhorted to read, hear, and understand the holy scriptures.

The authors of this catechism long ago gave these passages and their context as proof to this declaration. The apostle John tells us in John 17:17-18 that God will sanctify us with the truth, and that truth is His Word. Last time we discussed that the 66 books of the Bible had purpose to bring us to a standard that God had for us, both in faith and in obedience to Him. Next time we will dive deeper into what is contained in the Scriptures.

For now, be encouraged that the holy scriptures are set apart as God’s Word. We can have assurance of these amazing truths, and that we are commanded to partake in the reading and hearing of God’s Word. Let us do so today!

16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
2 Timothy 3:16

20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,
Ephesians 2:20

In our last question and answer we discussed the two revelations in which God reveals himself, the general and special revelation. In the general sense, we see that God’s creation screams His glory for all to see and hear. God also specially reveals Himself to many by His own decree and will. This special revelation is necessary to intimately know God and be saved by Him. It is through the Word of God and the Spirit of God that His special revelation is seen and heard. This is how we may know God.

The catechism now more deeply explores the usage of the Word of God to reveal God to those He chooses. Question four tells us that the Word of God is Old Testament and New Testament. Though this is not explicitly said in the catechism, The 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith declares both the Old and New Testaments are made up of the 66 books of the Bible that we currently hold to be Scripture. This is shown in detail in chapter one, section two.

Sadly, many throughout history have tried to distort the scriptures by adding to or subtracting from the Word of God. Such additions in the past were sometimes included the Apocrypha, as well as other collections such as the Pseudepigrapha. Such claims are unwarranted. These two groupings do not fit the qualifications of Scripture and even at times differ from the truths of scripture. Therefore, they have no authority in the church of God and are not used in any way different from other human writings. Therefore, Baptists hold to the canonized 66 books, and for very good reasons. One day, I will make a detailed post giving clear reasons for this, because it is quite encouraging and reassuring knowledge for all to have.

For our purposes in this post, our catechism proclaims the purpose of Scripture. Scripture is God’s certain standard or “rule” for faith and obedience. Where do we learn what faith is and amounts to? Where do we learn what obedience is and amounts to? Scripture, the 66 inerrant books that God divinely wrote through men of His choosing. It is breathed out by God through the prophets and apostles (2 Tim. 3:16; Eph. 2:10) for teaching, reproof, correction and training in righteousness. Essentially all matters of the Christian faith. It is our certain standard from God.

Take this amazing encouragement with you for the rest of the day. We will dive deeper into Scripture’s purpose and contents in the coming days. Take some time to dive into God’s Word today. Search the treasures of our certain rule.

General Revelation of God
19 because that which is known about God is evident [a]within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
Romans 1:19-20

The heavens tell of the glory of God;
And their expanse declares the work of His hands.
2 Day to day pours forth speech,
And night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words;
Their voice is not heard.
Psalm 19:1-3

24 The God who made the world and everything that is in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made by hands;
Acts 17:24

Yesterday we discussed how we are to believe there is a God and it is a sinful disobedience and folly to not believe in Him. Now that we know we are to believe in Him, today we learn how we can know there is a God!

We learn in this answer that from the nature of man to the works of God throughout Creation, we can generally see the presence of a God. In Romans 1:20, we see his presence explained throughout creation. When we gaze upon His work, it is impossible to not see a general sense of the Creator’s attributes, especially His eternal power and divinity.

Psalm 19:1-3 tells us that from the night sky and the times of days and night, we see the glory of God being magnified for us, a beacon pointing to Him.

Acts 17:24 affirms that God is the creator of the heavens and the earth, and something created points to a creator. He doesn’t dwell in houses made by men, but dwells in Heaven and earth that He created.

This helps us generally know God exists, but we learn in the second half of the question that to truly know God, He must be specially revealed to us through the word and work of God’s Spirit. The Spirit of God will effectually call people to God, not only to know Him but to save people from their sins against Him.

Special Revelation of God
10 For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.
1 Corinthians 2:10

15 and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is [a]inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for [b]rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness;
2 Timothy 3:15-16

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 2:10 and his surrounding context of that verse, that we are led by the Spirit to see Christ. Paul tells us that we know Christ through His crucifixion. It is through Jesus that we have forgiveness. It is through the Spirit of God that God calls us to Christ. Those He calls will answer the call. They will come to the Lord and Savior for the forgiveness of their sins. God will be our salvation.

We also see through 2 Timothy 3:15-16 that often times the word of God is used by the Spirit of God to bring people to repentance and salvation in Jesus. Paul attributes the Word of God, our Scriptures as being the wisdom that leads people to Jesus and His salvation for us. All scripture is God breathed and used to teach, rebuke, correct, and train.

The Spirit of God reveals who God is. Not only should God be known, but He makes it so we can intimately know Him! Amazing!

6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
Hebrews 11:6

1  The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;
there is none who does good.
Psalm 14:1

The 1695 Catechism continues with question two by asking “Should everyone believe there is a God?” It is a great follow-up to “who is the greatest being?” If God is the greatest being, then everyone should believe He exists, and it would be a great detriment to their life not to believe He exists.

Hebrews 11:6 tells us that it is actually impossible to please Him without first believing in His existence, and then also believing that He rewards those who seek Him.

Psalm 14:1 takes it even farther. Not only is it foolish that someone would deny God’s existence, but the psalmist says there is no one good apart from God. Left to our own devices, we are corrupt and do abominable actions. We not only should believe in God… We need to believe in God. Without God we will be stuck in sin and folly.

This is a convicting encouragement. There is hope, and that hope is set on the great and wonderful foundation of God! He is a living God and He rewards those who seek Him!

6  Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel
and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
“I am the first and I am the last;
besides me there is no god."
-Isaiah 44:6

12  “Listen to me, O Jacob,
and Israel, whom I called!
I am he; I am the first,
and I am the last.
-Isaiah 48:12

9  For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth;
you are exalted far above all gods.
-Psalm 97:9

The 1695 Baptist Catechism comes in a question and answer format to help the reader learn. Each question and answer helps progress the narrative of scripture and our understanding of it in a systematic way. This catechism starts off its trove of knowledge and wisdom by pointing believers to God. "Who is the chiefest, or greatest being? God.

There is no one even close. He is the first and the last. No one is beside Him. He is exalted far above any created being any false god we could craft.


What a God we serve. What a God deserving of our worship. As we progress through the catechism we will learn more about God, who He is and what He expects of His creation.

A confession of their own faith is an important aspect of any Christian’s life. Possessing and confessing a confident faith in Jesus as our Lord, and also our savior, is a crucial decision in any follower’s life. Along the paths of history, many believers have banded together to make a formal confessions of faith that unify like-minded followers of Jesus.

Among other confessions, the Presbyterians have the beautifully written Westminster Confession of Faith and its catechisms. Among others, the Lutherans have the Augsburg Confession and its catechisms. The various Reformed churches ascribe to the Three Forms of Unity: Belgic Confession of Faith, the Canons of Dort, and the Heidelberg Catechism. The Baptists who want to unify together with like-minded Baptists, they have primarily used the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith and the 1695 London Baptist Catechism.

Baptists who have researched the rich history behind their denominations know that historical Baptists were often a confessional people. Baptists did their best to stand firm in the Word of God, holding to the inerrancy and supremacy of the Scriptures. To do this, like many of the other sects of the Christian faith, Baptists used a confession of faith to unify with their fellow brothers and sisters in the Baptist faith. C.H. Spurgeon, a famous Victorian Baptist preacher once said this in the 1855 reprint of the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith,

          “This little volume is not issued as an authoritative rule, or code of faith, whereby you are to be fettered, but as an assistance to you in controversy, a confirmation in faith, and a means of edification in righteousness. …Cleave fast to the Word of God which is here mapped out for you.”
         
This quote truly highlights the beautiful purpose of confessions of the faith and their catechisms. They truly do help map out the Word of God and help us cleave fast to our faith in Jesus. They make it easy to systematize our faith and show how the Scriptures lead us to the convictions and conclusions we hold to. Is being confessional in this way necessary to be a believer? By no means! But it sure does help.

Not every Baptist subscribes to a confession of faith. Not every Baptist family or church catechizes their children and new believers. Yet, throughout our Baptist history, this has been a major role in formulating our organized faith as a sect of Christianity. Whether you want to subscribe to a confession unifying you with a larger group of believers, or you are just curious about what certain Baptists believe, come with me on this journey through the 1695 Baptist Catechism. We will cover one question and answer of this catechism each day. This series on this catechism will expand your thoughts on systematic theology and how your faith fits into every aspect of your life. It is a journey that you will not regret.

It is a journey that you will bring you closer to God.

The Bible speaks of many individuals who wrestle with God as they struggle. Sometimes these struggles are due to the consequences of their sin. Other times the struggle is with the sovereign will of God as they try to cope, not knowing the next step, but still trying to trust God anyway. This healthy tension is seen throughout the Word of God. Here are a few examples to show how God compassionately reasons with those in His care, growing them patiently according to His will.

In the book of Job, God says in 38:1,

The book of Job shows a man who is righteous by faith. Yet, through the permission of God, Satan strikes down aspects of Job’s life: his family, his wealth, his provisions, and parts of his health.  His own wife tells Job to curse God and die. After all this, he has to endure three friends who ultimately give well intentioned, but bad advice. God answers over 4 chapters, Job, what do you know of how I run the universe? How can you know how everything fits into my plan? 
In chapter 42, Job responds in awe as he accepts how little he knows compared to God. God then responds to Job’s three friends, declaring his burning anger against them in 42:7, following up with a restoration of Job’s fortune and then some in 42:10.

Around the time of Job, another couple named Abraham and Sarah had received a promise from the LORD that Sarah would no longer be barren but would be blessed with a son and she shall become nations (Gen. 17:15-21). It is amazing how many times Abraham struggled as he heard God speak promises to Him. Abraham is such a relatable man, a sinning saint of God, saved by righteous of faith founded in God’s works, not his own.

Sarah laughed at the promise of Isaac and struggled to believe that she could be used in such a way (Gen. 18:10-15). Abraham advocated to the LORD for potential righteous in Sodom (Gen. 18:22-33). On many other occasions,  Abraham’s story is filled with amazing struggles as he follows the will of God.

At a later time, one of Jacob’s wives named Leah was hated by Jacob, so God opened her womb and closed her sister Rachel’s womb. Leah struggled with Jacob’s favoritism, and it clearly overflows into her spirituality. She names her children according to those struggles and how the LORD fits into them according to her perspective.

Jacob himself appears to have physically wrestled with God because he received a physical lifelong injury. This wrestling with God starts with the command to return to the land of his fathers and his kindred, and that the LORD would be with him (Gen. 31:3). As Jacob approached his homeland, Esau came to see him with a massive following. Jacob consistently sent gifts and messengers ahead of himself toward Esau, but the night before God wrestles with Jacob until morning. Jacob’s anxiety from his past mistakes and sin was colliding with his current desire to obey God and repent in his remorse.

One final example to share is from King David during the sickness of his baby. The prophet Nathan rebuked David for his sin against God when David impregnated his friend’s wife, sent his friend off to die, and then covered it up (2 Sam. 12). After his rebuke, King David lay on the floor, fasting and praying as he sought after God. For seven days this went on in this manner until his child died as promised. David would learn of this death through his servants and go on to say one of the most profound accepting statements of consequences,

Though there are many more in the Word of God, these occasions of wrestling with God are not exclusive to the pages of Scripture. Every person will spiritually wrestle with God as they go through life following Him. It is important for each of us to recognize this. We are called to grow in Him… to imitate Christ and be refined through the process of sanctification. There will be many struggles and we must not neglect their importance as the Spirit guides us.

I have wrestled with God many times since I became a follower of Jesus Christ. I remember my first notable wrestling match was when I was commanded by my pastor to read through the New Testament in 21 days and report back to him each day what I was learning and how I came to the conclusions I had. God’s regenerative power breathed new life into me by the time I got to John 21, but shortly after I encountered my first crisis of faith in Romans 9.

Days after becoming a follower of Jesus, I encountered. God’s sovereign choice to save some, while passing over others. I remember coming to my pastor in tears and a restless night of chewing on the first several chapters of Romans. I remember crying out to God to help me understand deeper, to give me clarity and comfort. It was then I learned of the concepts behind Calvinism vs. Arminianism, despite never before hearing of this debate or their theological points. As a new follower, I could not escape what was clearly tensioned in Scripture and I had to wrestle with God in my desperate search for truth.

We will all wrestle with God at one point or another. Knowing this, you must not neglect these opportunities or run from them. You need to stand firm and seek truth. If I had read God’s Word, glazing over passages that conflicted with my worldview, or tried to explain them away, or sought a church that fit my worldview, I would not have grown as much. When you struggle, you need to seek truth not comfort. You need to seek God's way. How do we know God's way?

There is a helpful Confession of Faith called the Westminster Shorter Catechism, which is a document that summarizes Christian doctrine into 107 questions and answers with their Scripture proofs. This catechism is regarded as one of the easiest to memorize, because of its concise accuracy. It has had a profound influence on Church history and is still impactful to this day. It points us to God's way of understanding Him, God and ourselves.

In the first three Q&A we see that our chief purpose as individuals and as mankind is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. We know how to appropriately glorify and enjoy Him because of His Word found in the Old and New Testaments. We then discover that the purpose of Scripture is succinctly summarized by showing us what man is to believe about God, as well as the duties God requires of man.

For the purpose of discussion today, that means you should seek to glorify God and enjoy him even in your struggles. When you seek truth in those struggles, go to the Word of God above all else. Wrestle directly with God in His word and in constant prayer with Him. Glorify God and enjoy Him even when the direction of your life doesn’t make sense.


For the Glory of God,
Derek Cozine

The Bible is quite clear on the importance of deep genuine relationships. Some passages speak of the reward and consequences on the choice to seek wise men:

^{“Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.”
         -Proverbs 3:5-6
“The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.”
         -Proverbs 12:15
My favorite says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”
        -Proverbs 27:17}

There have been many times that I have been sharpened by godly men. It is rarely comfortable and smooth. It can be, but think about the process of sharpening iron. Two methods a blacksmith would use are sharpening stones and honing rods.
         
With a sharpening stone the blacksmith would sharpen the blade by forcing the metal against the stone and grinding away the dull portions of the blade. The dull portions are then strategically ground down, specks falling away until the remaining blade is sharp. By removing the dullness, a new edge is formed. As the author of Proverbs 27:17 intends, consider your life that dull blade. Our choices and our nature have made us dull in sin. However, as a new creation in Jesus Christ, we are called to imitate Christ and be holy as He is holy (1 Peter 1:13-19).

Our sharpening is not a command to simply do, because we are bored and need to stay busy. It is not a command to do because we are told to and that’s it. No, dull blades are dangerous. They require more force to use, more effort, and can harm yourself or others if you slip or mess up. Our lives need similar care, the care of another man to come alongside us and grind off the dull edges of our sin and immaturity through deep friendships, discipleship, and mentorships.
God has placed many men in my life that have help briefly sharpen me in one area. Others have stayed in my life for years, growing with me. Yet there is a distinct, solemn call to be regularly sharpened as a follower of Jesus Christ.

^{“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming.”
         -Colossians 3:1-6}

One who has been raised with Christ sets their perspective to the things above and puts to death what is earthly in them. Seek out godly men who can point out the dullness of sin and immaturity, helping you grind it away for God’s glory. Such men will become a treasure from God.

For the Glory of God,
Derek Cozine