Demonology: Part Three (duties of demons)

Posted: July 3, 2007 | Author: | Filed under: Demonology, Theology | Leave a comment

Duties of Demons
· Obey Satan and serve his purposes
° Their Industry
° Evil spirits
° Never cease in promoting satanic deception and wickedness
° Participate in the character and devotion of their leader
· Divert Men from the Truth
° Blind men to spiritual truth
· 2 Corinthians 4:2-4
· 1 Timothy 4:1-4
· 1 John 4:1-4
· Disabling the Body
° Dumbness
· Matthew 9:32-33
· Matthew 12:22
· Mark 9:17-29
° Blindness
· Matthew 12:22
° Deformity
· Luke 13:11-17
° Trouble attributed to “a spirit”
· Luke 13:11
° Regarded as an agent of Satan
· Luke 13:16
° Epilepsy
· Matthew 17:15-18
° Word of God does not attribute all physical illnesses to demons
° Clearly distinguishes natural ailments from demonic ailments
· Matthew 4:24
· Mark 1:32
· Luke 7:21
· Luke 9:1

Demonology: Part Two (attributes of demons)

Posted: July 3, 2007 | Author: | Filed under: Demonology, Theology | Leave a comment

Attributes of Demons
· Intellectual and Voluntary Agents
° Luke 4:34
° Mark 5:10
· They Think, Speak, and Act
° Acts 19:15-16
· Through a person over whom they have acquired control
· Through a Spiritistic Medium
° Physical Phenomena
· Levitations
· Telekinesis
° Psychic Phenomena
· Spiritistic visions
· Automatic writing
· Speaking in trance
· Tumble moving
° Metaphysical Phenomena
· Ghosts
° Magic Phenomena
· Magic persecution
· Magic defense
° Cultic Phenomena
· Spiritistic cults

· Intellect
 ° Demons Know Who Jesus Christ Is
· Mark 1:24
° “Son of the Most High God”
· Mark 5:7
° Bow before him
· Mark 5:6
° Demons do not display a holy or saving knowledge of Christ
· James 2:19
° Doctrine of demons
· 1 Timothy 4:1-3
° Discern between those who are sealed by God
· Revelation 9:4
° Comprehend
· The future
· Their own doom
° Matthew 8:29
· Speech
° Evidence of personality in communication
· Demons spoke to Christ
· Christ spoke to the Demons
° Luke 4:33-35, 41
° Luke 8:28, 30
· Action
° Implored Christ for favors
· Luke 8:28
· Mark 5:7
° Unclean spirits worship Christ
· Mark 3:11
° Obey Christ
· Matthew 8:16
· Emotion
° Fear
· Luke 8:28
° Trembling
· James 2:19
· Will
° Implored Jesus to send them into swine
· Luke 8:32
° Every spirit is subject and under the sovereignty of Christ
· 1 Peter 3:22
· Supernatural Strength
° Controlling men
· Acts 19:16
· Mark 5:3
° Afflicting men
· Revelation 9:1-11
° Demon locust described painfully tormenting men to the point of them preferring to die
° One-third of mankind killed
· Revelation 9:13-19
· Ruled By Satan
 ° “the Devil and his angels”
° Matthew 25:41
° The Prince of demons
· Luke 11:15
· Matthew 12:24
° Beelzebub
· “lord of flies”
· “lord of the dwelling”
· Title given to one of the gods of the Philistines
· Purely Spiritual Beings
° Matthew 8:16
°Luke 10:17, 20
· Consistency
 ° A “spirit” does not have flesh and bones
° Luke 24:39

Demonology: Part One (introduction and titles of demons)

Posted: July 3, 2007 | Author: | Filed under: Demonology, Theology | Leave a comment

Introduction
· This demonology section is a compilation of statements and scriptures that help the Christian understand the Biblical perspective of demonology. The goal is to effectively look at the doctrine of demonology and remove all prejudices and see what the scriptures indicate. The conclusion of this section will examine the New Demonology Movement and refute the unbiblical doctrines. These will be in the later parts of this section on demonology.

Biblical Titles Given to Demons
· Blind and mute spirit
° Matthew 12:22
· Deaf and dumb [mute] spirit
° Mark 9:25
· Deaf spirit
° Mark 9:17
· Demon
° Matthew 9:33; 11:18; 12:24; 17:18; Mark 7:26, 29-30; Luke 4:35; 8:29; 9:42; 11:14; John 7:20; 8:48-49, 52; 10:20-21
· Devil’s angels
° Matthew 25:41
· Dragon’s angels
° Revelation 12:7, 9
· Dumb [mute] spirit
° Luke 11:14
· Evil spirit
° 1 Samuel 16:14-16, 23; 18:10; 19:9; Luke 7:12; 8:2; Acts 19:12,13,15,16 · Familiar spirit: owb – necromancer
°Leviticus 19:31; 20:6, 27; Deuteronomy 18:11; 1 Samuel 28:3, 7-9; 2 Kings 21:6; 23:24; 1 Chronicles 10:13; 2 Chronicles 33:6; Isaiah 8:19; 19:3; 29:4
· Foul spirit
° Mark 9:25; Revelation 18:2
· Lying spirit
° 1 Kings 22:23; 2 Chronicles 18:22
· “Ministers of righteousness”
° 2 Corinthians 11:14-15
· Seducing spirits
° 1 Timothy 4:1
· Spirit of divination
° Acts 16:16
· Spirit of infirmity
° Luke 13:11
· Unclean spirit, used 28 times: akathartos – foul, unclean
° Matthew 10:1; 12:43; Mark 1:23, 26-27; 3:11, 30; 5:2, 8, 13; 6:7; 7:25; Luke 4:33, 36; 6:18; 8:29; 9:42; 11:24; Acts 5:16; 8:7; 10:14, 28; 11:8; 1 Corinthians 7:14; 2 Corinthians 6:17; Ephesians 5:5; Revelation 16:13; 18:2

Tim Keller on why Doctrine is important

Posted: June 20, 2007 | Author: | Filed under: Theology, Tim Keller | Leave a comment

Mark Driscoll on why Theology is important

Posted: June 20, 2007 | Author: | Filed under: Mark Driscoll, Theology | Leave a comment

Theology Quiz: Who are you?

Posted: May 29, 2007 | Author: | Filed under: Theology | 1 Comment
You scored as Jonathan Edwards, You’re the original hellfire-and brimstone preacher and you take God’s justice very seriously. You are passionate about preaching and an accomplished theologian.

Jonathan Edwards
73%

Karl Barth
67%

Friedrich Schleiermacher
60%

Anselm
60%

Martin Luther
53%

John Calvin
33%

Augustine
20%

Charles Finney
7%

Jürgen Moltmann
0%

Paul Tillich
0%

Which theologian are you?
created with QuizFarm.com

Tattoos and the Bible

Posted: December 15, 2006 | Author: | Filed under: Anthropology, Tattoos, Theology | 4 Comments

Many, if not all of us, in the world of tattoo have had Leviticus 19:28 thrown in our faces “You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the Lord.” Usually it is meant to condemn either our profession or our obviously decorated skin. So what is a Christian tattooist or tattoo enthusiast to say? Is tattooing indeed defiling the temple of the Holy Spirit? Are we callously ignoring God’s commandment? Let’s shed some light on the subject by looking at it through Scriptural doctrines the law with its conviction, and grace with its freedom. First, by researching references to Leviticus 19:28, we find it refers to a heathen practice meant to invoke the attention of pagan gods and usually by means of cutting oneself to “prove” one’s sincerity (see also Lev. 21:5, Jer. 16:6, and Deut. 14:1). It was an attempt to make one worthy to approach some graven image of a god through self-abasement. God rightly admonished His chosen people not to follow the pagan rituals of such false “religions”. However, some critics will still hold fast to the literal letter of the law and conclude that regardless of its textual meaning, the act of tattooing is still forbidden granted, the entire Bible is indeed the inspired literal Word of the living God, but it also represents a progressive revelation of its Author His nature, His grace and His plan for redemption. Taken in the context of God’s plan to restore mankind into fellowship with Him, the law was given to show us that we could not redeem ourselves by our own efforts. Paul writes in Romans that the law that it was given to reveal sin will justify no man. Only through faith in the free gift of God’s grace, found in the sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ, can man be justified (ROM 3:20-26). In fact, Jesus actually redeemed us from the law and its curse (Gal. 3:13, see also Gal. 3:22). But if one wants to live by the law the Old Covenant then one must keep all of it (Jas. 2:10). Transgressing any part of the law means we are guilty of transgressing all of it. According to Levitical law, we may not eat the meat of rabbits or pigs (Lev. 11:6-7), nor lobsters, crabs, prawns, oysters or clams (Lev. 11:10-12). Hybrid breeding of livestock and mixing linen and wool in fabrics is prohibited (Lev. 19:19). Shaving the sides of your head (being clean shaven) or disfiguring the edges of your beard (trimming) is also forbidden (Lev. 19:27). So if you’ve ever eaten a pork sandwich, dined on Maine lobster, trimmed your beard or worn wool blend suit or have gotten a tattoo you’re guilty under the law! Thank God that He has provided a better way for us to be reconciled to Him! A New Covenant! Romans 5:1-2 says we are justified by faith, given right standing with God through the Lord Jesus Christ (see also Rom. 5:8-11). The entire 5th chapter of Galatians deals with this issue contrasting the law and liberty, the lusts of the flesh and the fruits of the Spirit. Under the New Covenant, all the law is fulfilled in loving God with all your heart, soul and mind and loving your neighbor as yourself (Matt. 22:36-40). Jesus fulfilled the law and now our right standing with God is based upon His right standing. Our righteousness is based upon His righteousness not on the law. Galatians 2:21 puts it this way, “I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.” In Paul’s day there was controversy over whether a believer would be defiled by eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols. Paul addressed this at length. In his understanding, the eating of that meat was neither good nor bad of itself. It was the attitude of the heart that was important. Heart motive either cleansed the meat or condemned the eater. Yet while all things were legal to Paul, not all things were without consequences. (Read the 14th chapter of Romans and I Corinthians, chapter 8.) Paul affirmed the freedom we have in Christ, but he also warned us to beware that our liberty does not become a stumbling block for others. With liberty comes responsibility. A word of caution: do not flaunt your Christian freedom. One man’s freedom can be another’s downfall. Yeah, so what about our body being the “temple” of God? Doesn’t tattooing defile it? Well, let’s look at the context of those scriptures (I Cor. 3:16, 6:19, II Cor. 6:16). In the first instance, Paul is addressing envy, strife and division in the church at Corinth and warning them to be careful of what is built upon the foundation laid down by Jesus lest the temple be defiled. In chapter 6, he refers to sexual immorality as defiling the temple of the body. In II Corinthians Paul warns against tainting the bodily temple with idol worship. Jesus Himself said in Matthew 15:11 that it is what comes out of the mouth of man that defiles him that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Matt.12: 34-35). It is the love, purity and faith that come out of your heart that keeps your temple holy or it is the strife, immorality and unbelief within your heart that defiles it. Personally, I don’t see what all the fuss is about. As Christians we should take dead aim at the devil and his unholy minions, not at brothers and sisters in the Lord who happen to be decorated (or those who are not). Paul himself advises us not to engage in foolish disputes and arguments over the law. He calls it useless and unprofitable (Titus3: 9).

5 Point Calvinism

Posted: December 11, 2006 | Author: | Filed under: Calvinism, Doctrines of Grace, Theology | Leave a comment

The first point that is argued for Calvinism is total depravity. Total depravity is a major foundation for soteriology. Its definition is being capable of nothing but sin and is completely dead spiritually. This started when Adam ate of the tree in the Garden and brought spiritual death upon all humanity. Everyone born into the world is sinful. “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” Psalm 51:5. And throughout the entire scriptures the idea of total depravity is taught. Passages like Gen. 2:16-17; Rom. 5:12; Eph. 2:1-3; Col. 2:13; Ps. 51:5; Ps. 58:3; Gen. 6:5; Gen. 8:21; Rom. 8:7-8; John 8:34,44; Rom. 6:20; 2 Chron. 6:36; Ps. 143:2; Prov. 20:9; Jer. 13:23; John 6:65. But total depravity is clearly seen in Romans 5:6-21. After reading that passage you cannot tell me that a person is not totally depraved. With words like helpless, condemnation to all, transgression, and sinful there is no other interpretation other than that man is utterly depraved and helpless apart from God. “I am bound to the doctrine of the depravity of the human heart, because I find myself depraved in heart, and have daily proofs that in my flesh there dwelleth no good thing.” Spurgeon
Next in the argument for Calvinism is limited atonement (not unconditional election as is taught in the acrostic TULIP because this is the order in soteriology). Limited atonement is not that Christ died only for the elect, but that Christ died more for the elect to purchase them and bring them into a new covenant. If you say that Christ’ death did the same thing for all of humanity, than I am no better off spiritually speaking than any other person who is going to hell. There needs to be something extra that his death did for the elect. John 3:16 explains this. “For God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” God loves the world, but only those in the elect (those who have believed) receive eternal life. Once again, if Christ’ death covers everyone’s sin, than everyone is either condemned to hell or heaven.
Thirdly, the Calvinist argument states that there is unconditional election. Unconditional election is God choosing the elect before the foundations of the earth. “Just as He chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will.” Ephesians 1:4-5. As utterly depraved people, we, as the creation, have no say in what happens to us. Only God can determine that. God could have chosen to send us all to hell or heaven but he did not. He chose to elect a body of believers to fellowship with him in eternity. We, as humans, have no say in our eternal destiny.
This brings us to Irresistible Grace. Irresistible Grace is a work of the Holy Spirit which draws the elect of God to salvation, guaranteeing their response to the gospel. And we, as the creation of God, cannot accept or refuse God’s love or hate. Because of man’s total depravity and God’s unconditional election, it is impossible for us to reject or accept God’s grace. “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out” John 6:37. To say that we can accept or reject God’s grace is to say that we have power over the Holy Spirit. And by no means are we, as man, able to over-rule the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit moves wherever it desires and nothing can stand in its way. All the way through history, God has had (and still does) complete control over everything in the universe. To say anything less, especially that a sinful human can over-power God, is to take away from God’s holy character and his complete power over all and give God’s glory to mankind. Total depravity God is all-powerful and there is no way that man could ever resist God’s grace.
The last point of Calvinism is Perseverance of the saints. Perseverance of the saints is simply that a true believer will persevere in faith, no matter what, to the end. Eternal Security Rom. 8:1 – “There is therefore NOW NO CONDEMNATION to those who are in Christ Jesus.” Rom.8:35 – NOTHING can separate the believer from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. John 10:27-28 – ” And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall NEVER perish.” Eternal life is eternal. This is a gift, unconditional, not to be taken back. Eph. 1:13-14 – “you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance.” If one is saved, God’s peace will be with him always (John 14:27) and he will be growing in his relationship with Christ. If a person is thought to fall away from the faith, although we cannot judge his heart, one has to wonder if he was really saved. A person who is saved will not love his salvation no matter what.

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