Wednesday, August 31, 2011

I Believe--The BJU Creed

You know it. We say it every day in chapel.

"I believe in the inspiration of the Bible (both the Old and the New Testaments). The creation of man by the direct act of God. The incarnation and virgin birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. His Identification as the Son of God. His vicarious atonement for the sins of man kind by the shedding of His blood on the cross. The Resurrection of His body from the tomb. His power to save men from sins. The new birth through the regeneration of the Holy Spirit. And the gift of eternal life by the grace of God."

(Yes, it is good to practice writing it out. We all will have to in our Bible classes in a couple of weeks).

What does that mean to you? When you recite it, do you think about what you are saying? This is what makes us as Christians who we are. This sets us apart from other people. Other religions.

1. The inspiration of the Bible--the whole thing was written by God. Which means we can trust every word it says. Every promise of God, (I will never leave you, I will hear your prayers, I go to prepare a place for you), every story, every miracle of Christ, and the crucifixion and Resurrection, all of it is true. I can trust the Word of God.

2. the Creation of Man--God created us. And not just through evolution or a big bang. It was direct, and it was personal. God literally reached down and formed man with His own hands. Is that cool or what?

3. The incarnation and Virgin birth--God became man. He understands what it is like to be hot, or tired, or hungry, or what it means to deal with annoying people around us. And if He could do it perfectly, we can trust Him with our human-type problems.

4. His identification as the son of God--not only does Jesus understand our Human problems, He can do something about it. Because He is God, He can help us with our sin problem. Jesus was a man, but He was God. He couldn't sin. He didn't sin. Which means He can take away our sin.

5. His death on the cross--Because of His love for us, and because He was human and understood our need for a Saviour, and because He is God and can do this, Jesus took our punishment. How often do we as Christians just glaze over the fact that Jesus Christ, the God of all creation was born to die. He came to this earth and died so we could live. Forever. He took every sin every person on earth (past, present, and future) ever committed.

6. His Resurrection--the only way that Christ's death is important is because of what happened 3 days later. Christ conquered death by rising from the grave. While other people came back from the dead, Christ is the only person who brought Himself back from the dead. And in doing so, He defeated death and Satan for ever. We have the victory!!!

7. His power to save men from sin. I mean, come on. IF you were to rise from the dead, you should be able to do SOMETHING cool. Jesus can forgive men of their sins! Every single person! All over the world! At all points in history! That sin you committed 5 minutes, Jesus can forgive it! He forgives me, and I can have a relationship with Him.

8. The New birth--If Any man is in Christ, He is a new creature. We as Christians are called to be different. And sometimes, being different is cool. I remember my fun the next morning. We will  be able to look back on our lives with no regrets of drugs, sex, and alcohol. Because we are in Christ and the Holy Spirit has changed us. At least, He should be changing us. He wants to. Just let him.

9. The gift of eternal life--I don't know about you, but living forever in a world that isn't under the curse with other perfect people, singing the praises of God sounds pretty cool. And it's all because of God's amazing grace!

What do you think of when you say it? Do you think when you say it?

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