Infinite Diversity Infinite Combinations

For the past 2 or 3 weeks, the Christian Internet/Social Media has been abuzz with chatter about the Gubbmit revealing that space aliens exist & are demons. First of all, this all comes across as yet another conspiracy theory working its way through some quarters of American Evangelicalism.     Second, why would space aliens be demons.      Maybe some are & some aren’t.    So what if some of them are.     Demons are still beings who left their positions of power & authority (Jude).   Most importantly why is a challenge for our faith as Christians?     According to the Bible, the purpose of the created order is to testify to God’s existence, attributes, & authority (Romans 1:18 - 32).    God is not tribal, territorial spirit.     God is universal.     He created everyone & everything every-when-&-where.      That means that if extr...
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What is the Gospel? (Part 4)

What is the Gospel?  That depends on the meaning of the question.  

1. What must I do to be regenerate?  Answer: Nothing! Regeneration precedes both saving repentance & saving faith.  (I John 5, Romans 8)

2. What must I do to be justified?  Answer: (1) Be regenerate (2) Lay down your rooted works righteousness. (Romans 9:30 - 10:4) turn to the LORD (ONLY!!) Romans 10:5 - 13, Joel 2:32) because of what Christ has accomplished (Hebrews). 

3. What must I do to be salvifically sanctified?  Answer: (1) Be regenerate (2) Lay down your rooted works righteousness. (Romans 9:30 - 10:4) turn to the LORD (ONLY!!) Romans 10:5 - 13, Joel 2:32) because of what Christ has accomplished (Hebrews).  Depend on God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8,9; Phil.2:12 - 13, 2 Corinthians 7:1)

4. Is it really true that Christ rose from the dead, or is it a myth?  Also, if Christ really did rise from the dead, did He rise figuratively or literally, and was His resurrection ghostly (spiritually) or physically (corpo-pneumatically).  Answers:  According to 1 Corinthians 15: (1) It is a historical fact.  It is no myth. (2) He rose literally & tangibly.  His resurrection is figurative only insofar as the language we use about its meaning is sometimes ufigurative.   For example, His death & resurrection make Him the Gate to eternal life (John 10:7), but that doesn’t mean He Himself is a literal gate. (3) His resurrection is physical & bodily.  He was not a ghost when He appeared to the witnesses listed in the Bible.  

Why write this article?  Because we live in an age in which Ecclesiastical Tradition has a stranglehold on the Evangelical mind, & since the days of Athanasius’ Creed (the 5th or 6th century AD\CE) Christians have so emphasized Christology that they have become notorious for saying, “This is the catholic faith:one cannot be saved without believing it firmly and faithfully.”   The result is that in answer to the question “What must I do to be regenerate &|or justified?” They answer with “believe a species of theologically accurate Christology,” on the one hand, yet deny that doctrinal propositions constitute a (or the) proper object of faith relative to justification.  

May God bless us all, each & every one and “Go & sin no more.”

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