오직 예수안에서

English Sermon_What we believe (2)

Eph 2:1 - 10

What we believe (1I) (Eph.2:8-9)

What do we believe about the bible?

1. The Bible-Inspired, Infallible, Authoritative Means that the Bible is true and that there is absolutely no error in the practice of faith and life, so that all of it can be trusted. No public church declaration or anything can challenge the authority of the Word of God, and under that authority's claim that only the Bible has authority over us in faith and life.

2. Creation-fall-salvation-Reformation summarizes the drama of the entire Bible and explains that creation-fall-salvation is the basic framework for understanding its history. That is, God created the world, the world(human sinned) sinned, and God saved the world through the merits of Christ. This salvation is completed on the day when God creates a new heaven and a new earth.

Reformed Theology is a Christian thought and theological thought that John Calvin advocated. Thus, Calvinism was named because of the great influence Calvin had on the systematic organization and development of the idea. The great reformer of France, John Calvin (1509-1564), is a theologian who organized orthodox Christian doctrine in church history. It was not only a doctrine but a great reform throughout the administration of the Church, the Christian life, and the human society. As Calvinism became a theology of the mainstream Protestantism during the Reformation, reformed churches arose in various parts of Europe, which led to the flowering of Calvinism. In this way, when referring to Calvinism as a denomination that inherits the Reformed tradition, the expression of reformism is used.

The wave of biblical reform has spread to all of Europe while Roman Catholicism has been losing power, and under Reformed faith, churches and societies are facing new transitions. It goes without saying that it is a great legacy of reformation that we have returned back to the Bible! One of the most important teachings of the Bible in the Reformed faith is the doctrine of grace.

3. Grace (Ephesians 2:8-10)

Grace is the unmerited favor of God toward those who do not deserve it. Grace is the unconditional and freely-given love of God to people who can do nothing to earn it but can only accept it as a gift. Grace is the love of the father in the parable of the prodigal son that moves him to welcome and accept the lost son, not because the son finally did something to deserve the love but simply because the father loved his son unconditionally. Grace is the astounding truth that nothing we do can make God loves us more or less. God loves us because he loves us. God loves us because he is rich in love. Historically, when Reformed folks have talked about grace, they have stressed how much salvation is a gift of God, not a human achievement.

Indeed, as Paul says, “for by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast.” For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. (Eph. 2:8-10) The “five points of Calvinism” refer to Reformed doctrines that underscore the radical nature of God’s grace. They have often been summarized with the acronym TULIP (Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, and Perseverance of the Saints).

As an acronym, TULIP is often misunderstood as focusing on human failings. But, in fact, its central thrust is the graciousness of God, and the biblical teachings that lie behind it are some of the richest teachings in all of scripture: When Calvin led the Reformed Church with the idea of God's absolute sovereignty and biblical politics, he died at the age of 55. Calvin, along with his faithful disciple, Beza (A.D. 1519–1605), developed Reformed theology and faith. Unfortunately the two do not live long and leave each other only a few years apart. In Beza's later years of life he cried out for the Fall Prediction and was met with opposition from Kornhert (A.D. 1522-90), who was a politician who rebelled against it and claimed that it was wrong. The Netherlands was then known as the home of the most orthodox reformists. One day, however, the incident began to burst from the perspective of Kornhert, who had written to the government by refusing the Calvinist sovereignty and the upcoming plans.

Beza then calls on a long-time Reformist professor at the Dutch Theological Seminary, Alminius, to ask him to go to Kornherth to find out the truth and refute the unbiblical and unjustness of it. Arminius immediately jumped into the study. Arminius was born five years before Calvin (A.D. 1509-64) died. He was a faithful disciple of Calvin's disciple, Beza, who at first was a thorough and faithful Calvinist. By studying Cornhert's argument, Arminiunis, however, contradicts his teach Beza, that his claim is more biblical. Beza then contradicts Arminius's argument with another disciple, Gomaru (A.D. 1563–1641). This is where the theological conflict between the teachings of Arminius and the teachings of Calvin began.

Arminius eventually dies but is succeeded by 46 of his disciples who continue to follow Arminius' arguments. The disciples point to the injustices of Calvin and Beza's teachings of predestination, submitting five refutations of Calvin's teachings to Parliament. This occurs in 1610, a year after the death of Arminius. A group of followers, the Arminians, published and debuted five rebellious articles based on the teachings of Arminius and presented them to Parliament.

1) Man is not totally depraved and free will remains

2) God sees and selects human conditions

3) Christ's cross atonement is for all mankind

4) The grace of the Holy Spirit can be sufficiently resisted (free will).

5) Those who are saved lose their salvation if they do wrong (possible ultimate salvation failure). This is the 5th Remonstrance of Arminianism.

They demanded even a full revision of the Belgic confession and Heidelberg confession that they believed and confessed. The Belgic Confession (1561) is also known as the Belgian Confession, which was taken before Belgium and the Netherlands were divided. And Heidelberg Confessions (1563)

The Dort Conference was held in 1618-1619 to address this issue in Parliament, where the Dutch government and the church, which proudly defended the Calvinist orthodoxy, faced such opposition and could not stand alone. Thus, the Dutch council held a worldwide religious council in the city of Dort on November 13, 1618. It was a synod of 27 delegates, 84 church leaders, and 18 high-level government officials from all over Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the Holy Roman Empire, and Germany. At this meeting, the five major items are orthodox, centered on Calvin's teachings against Alminus’ teaching and against the injustices of the five items of doctrine asserted by the Arminius. This was the great controversy of Calvinist theology, which is based on the God-oriented and salvation, and Arminian theology, which teaches salvation, based on humanism.

This Congress of Dort was one of the greatest theological controversies in Protestant history that heated up the early 17th century to the extent that Calvinism and Arminian theological controversy was reminiscent of the debates between Augustine and Pelagius around the 5th century. At this meeting, Calvinists closely analyzed and bitterly criticized the five Armenian protests. After a total of 154 sessions over a seven-month period, all who attended the affirmation confirmed that Arminianism was the most vicious disposition that disregarded God's sovereignty and placed more importance on human merits. This report was unanimously adopted and submitted to Congress. They dismissed the protest and expelled them from the church, and they decided to seize an aggressive response to it.

This led to the creation, adoption and publication of The Five Points, Calvinism's Five Oppositions to the Arminian Five Protests (May 9, 1919). Thus, through this meeting, the Calvinist position against the Arminians was sorted out and brought to the world in five terms, which are called 'Calvin's Five Great Doctrines.' The congress of Dort, in opposition to the argument of Arminian, can be said to begin with the doctrine of salvation, “God saves sinners.” In addition, the acronym TULIP, which is also a symbol of the Netherlands, are organized, and the CRC denomination that our church belongs to accepts the synod of Dort as a confession of faith and accepts it as a theology of the denomination until the present day.

In this way, Arminianism was condemned, they were executed, and all the followers were deported. Later, Arminianism left the Netherlands, crossed over to England to maintain its convictions. It is after John Wesley became impressed by the faction and became an Arminian himself, that he ultimately founded Methodism. This became the Doctrine of the Methodist Church, the various Pentecostal sects, some Baptists, and the Salvation Army here.

Calvinist theology was influenced by the Presbyterian and Evangelical Churches, and was adopted as the most fundamental principle of Presbyterians who believe in the God-oriented. But Charles Spurgeon, a Baptist pastor, said, “What I am preaching is nothing new, no new doctrine. I gladly proclaim those powerful old doctrines nicknamed Calvinism. You will gradually know that Calvinism is the truth of the true God in Christ Jesus. I know that when I preach God's sovereignty, some people are bitter and not happy. Today's dogmatists may accept God, but they do not allow him as king to rule them and rule the world with absolute sovereignty. They criticize us as extremists. For we have a strong view of God's holy sovereignty, his divine choice, and his special love for his people.” He also said "'The old truth that Paul preached, Augustine insisted, and Calvin preached is the truth I am to preach today. If I do not preach, it is to deceive my conscience and my God. I cannot manipulate the truth. The fear of man and the cutting of the rough facet of the doctrine is nothing at all: the gospel of John Knox, who shakes the whole of Scotland, is my gospel, and his gospel must once again shake up England.

We must be surprised at how thoroughly salvation is God's work. Salvation is God's gift and God's grace from beginning to end, as we say in the hymns, we just “hold our empty hands and hold the cross in front of us. When Calvinists talk about their salvation, they become speechless at how thoroughly their salvation is the work of God—from beginning to end, God’s gift and God’s grace, expressed by the words of the hymn, “Nothing in my hands I bring, only to thy cross I cling.”

In this magnificent passage of Paul to the Ephesians, which is our scripture lesson for today, Paul begins to state the nuclear truth of New Testament Christianity. "By grace you have been saved. We understand these passages can be understood as the core truth of New Testament Christianity. By grace you have been saved is the ringing conviction of Paul's life. It was Paul's bold and radical belief that we can do nothing to receive the favor of God — we only receive through faith what he has given us. His salvation is grace — all grace.

This expression of "The core truth of the New Testament" is enriched by its setting here in the Ephesian letter. Listen again to how the second chapter begins: "And He made YOU alive. And He made you alive, when you were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once walked."

You could tell me your story — I hope you could tell it — and I would love to hear it. Nothing moves my soul more, nothing quickens me to new life and new resolve to be dependent upon God's grace, than to hear someone tell about how they were made alive by Christ Jesus. Even if we can't tell the time and the place — and many of us can't, and that's okay — we can't tell why or how because it is all by grace, and grace is a mystery. But what we know is that we were made alive when we were dead in the trespasses and sins in which we once walked.".

The predicament and the possibility of each of us is here in these words. The predicament — you were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once walked. The possibility — He made us alive. Sin equals death, and God's answer to death is resurrection. That resurrection is a present reality. He made you alive. "And He made you alive, when you were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience."(3)

Sin is not to be played with, not to be taken casually, not to be looked at tentatively as though we can do as we please, order our lives as we will, change when and if we wish, thinking we will always be in control. There's a cumulative effect that builds until our hearts may be petrified and we are past feeling. We really see the horror of that possibility — that sin may kill our wills, and we may thus be doomed to a walk that can only end in death. The predicament is horrible and clear: death in sin and trespasses.

However, By grace. That's the resounding word of the gospel, grace. By grace Paul means the active, compassionate, redeeming love of God. It is the unmerited favor of God — God's agape love— his active love claiming us out of our waywardness to be his children again. Go back to verses four and five for a pristine picture of our gracious God. "But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ."

It's a picture of the divine love of the divine Father, bending down over his dead children and loving them and cherishing them, still. Friends, you can do a lot — in fact we all do a lot — to separate ourselves from God. We exercise our selfishness, our self-will, our sensuality; we give in to all forms of sin and that's within our capacity and freedom to do. But there's one thing we cannot do. We cannot prevent God from loving us.

Do you remember that rather pathetic picture of David in the Old Testament when he had heard of the death of his darling son, Absalom? He's not aware that Absalom is red-handed in treason, oblivious to the fact that Absalom had turned against him and had become a rebel. He remembers only that this was his boy. So he bursts into that painful and monotonous wail that, over the centuries, has been the deepest expression of undying fatherly love. "Absalom, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom." So think of it this way, we are God's Absalom, and though we are dead in trespasses and sins, our God, our Father, our Abba, our Daddy is rich in mercy, bends over us, and loves us with his great love. That's grace! It is the active, compassionate, redeeming love of God. There are two phrases in this word, but aren't you glad Paul used them both? "Rich in mercy" and "great in love".

Can you think of those words without thinking of the Cross? I can't, and so I must speak just a brief word about the atonement. There are those who do not believe in the evangelical doctrine of atonement by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. What a pity, because in the Cross of Jesus Christ, here is God who is rich in mercy and great in love. You see, the truth is this: God, who is rich in mercy and great in love, had to have a way to bring those who are dead in trespasses and sin to life again. And so, he gives us Jesus Christ to be the channel, the medium through which his love might accomplish its purpose.

And that brings us to our next word in this core truth of the New Testament: Through faith. Listen to it again, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God." Faith is openness toward God. It is the decision to accept what God gives, to allow God to work in one as He has worked for one. It is opening one's whole being to the incoming of God as the Savior of life; it is the total response of the human spirit to the command of God as the Lord of life. It is the in the fullest sense an attitude of trust in God.

What we must press here is that each person, each individual, must accept the death of Jesus Christ as being for each one of us. I'm saying that faith in salvation faith is your acceptance of the fact that the death of Jesus Christ is for you. By his rich mercy and great love, God has given us his Son as a sufficient sacrifice for you and me, and through the death of his Son He has taken away our guilt. If we will accept this fact through faith, then we will rise from the death of our guilt and condemnation and selfishness and sin into a new life of liberty and sonship.

This is what Paul was saying to the Romans in Chapter 8, verses 1 and 2: "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death." Christ will move into every crook and cranny of our inner life to deliver us from bondage and corruption, from habits and destructive thoughts of the mind. He will make us new creatures.

That's what He wants to do and that's what His grace is all about. But the working of God's grace is possible only through faith. Jesus himself said it. "He that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live, and he that lived and believe in me shall never die." Then He added that piercing question, "Do you believe this?"

So faith is the decision to accept what God gives us and to allow God to work in us as he has worked for us. Faith is reception — a reception which gives a new perception. It is the recognition of the fact that we come to know God when we have become known by God; for the God we come to know is the God who comes to us. He comes to us in his grace that we may go to Him with our faith. Faith is thus reception which gives a new perception, and the new perception is, and we read it there in our text, verse 10: "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."