beliefs?

[purposeinlife]

hi, i just became a christian yesterday and i am trying to find out what different types of churches believe. i guess the "non-denominational" thread is for people that don't attend a certain type of church. i have tried to find out what all the different types of churches believe and it looks like they all believe in the same thing. i can't really tell the differences between like lutherans and baptists and assembly of god. so, what do reforms (is that what you call yourselves) believe?

 

[rnmomof7]

Welcome to the Family of God .
The angels celebrated your adoption you know?


As a new Christian the first thing that you need to do is grow up in Christ , that is done by the study of his word


The Doctrines of Grace was the faith of the early reformers .

It begins with the belief that God chose YOU before the foundation of the earth , You were chosen in love to be His child .

He placed you in the time where you would hear the gospel and desire to become His.

Here is an easy to read link that explains the fundamentals of Calvinism

http://www.opc.org/new_horizons/NH99/NH9902a.html

 

[purposeinlife]

is calvinism the same as reforms?

 

[Bulldog]

Welcome to the family!


Yes, Reformed churches hold to Calvinism.

We affirm the doctrines of grace, that God choose sinners who could not come to God by themselves, and desrved eternal torment, to be saved by His grace, and to keep them forever.

We believe that in communion, Jesus is spiritually present with us at communion, but not physically present in the bread and wine.

Most reformed denomonations baptise infants as a seal of the covenant, but there are Reformed and Calvinistsic Baptists who practice believers-only baptism.

We are historicly based from the Reformed churches in Europe during the Protestant Reformation, ande we hold the the Reformation credos sola gratia, sola fide, sola scriptura, sola Christus, and sola de golria.. That is we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, we are saved by Christ alone, the Holy scriptures are our only infallible rule of faith, and all the glory goes to God.

That help?

 

[purposeinlife]

yes, that does, thank you bulldog. are you saying that god decides specific people for salvation? in the link by the other person, i am one of the "elect" or am i a different christian?

 

[Bulldog]

If you have true faith, you have assurance that you are one of the elect chosen by God.

 

[M. Wayne Bradley]

I would recommend you look at Warfield's "A Brief and Untechnical Statement of the Reformed Faith" which you can find several places online. I'd post a link but don't think I'm alloed to yet, so just do a Google search. You can't miss.

 

[rnmomof7]

yes, that does, thank you bulldog. are you saying that god decides specific people for salvation? in the link by the other person, i am one of the "elect" or am i a different christian?

No man can repent or Believe unless it is given to Him by that Father.


Jhn 6:65
And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.


So yes , your name was written on the lambs book of life before the foundation of the earth


ph 1:4
According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:



Eph 1:5
Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

He is the Good Shepherd, He comes looking for the sheep that are His.He calls our name and we know His voice .



Jhn 10:25
Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me.



Jhn 10:26
But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.



Jhn 10:27
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:



Jhn 10:28
And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any [man] pluck them out of my hand.



Jhn 10:29
My Father, which gave [them] me, is greater than all; and no [man] is able to pluck [them] out of my Father's hand.


Just remember this. He did not choose you because you were better , or smarter or more worthy .

He chose you because it pleased Him to shower you with His mercy

 

[purposeinlife]

but why did he choose me instead of someone else?

 

[Bulldog]

The Bible does nto tell us exactly why, but He did not choose you because of anything in you, it was based on the pleasure of His will.

 

[rnmomof7]

but why did he choose me instead of someone else?

That is a mystery .

Before i knew any doctrine at all , at the time I was saved I kept asking "why me ? why me?"

I did not know much except there was not one good reason God should love me .

In Romans 9 He tells us that he choose Jacob over Esau , before they had done and good or evil so that election might stand .

One of the interesting things is Jacob was a liar and a scoundrel . At the time he stole the birthright, he was not even a real believer .

Yet God had selected him to be one of the fathers of Israel and in the line of Jesus .

And He did all of that for no human reason.

When people say that to believe that God chose you is pride.

I tell them no, it is the most humbling thing to know that God loved me inspite of who I am.

In the bible he tells us that He "choose the foolish things of this world to confound the wise"
That is so He gets the praise and the glory and not us.

Does that make sense?

 

[purposeinlife]

so does god love those who are not one of the people chosen by god? i just read john 3 yesterday and it said that god loved the whole world.