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Statement of Beliefs

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version.  Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000. (see text)

Chapter Nineteen:

Isaiah 44:6-8 -- (the LORD speaking) "Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts:  'I am the First and I am the Last;  Besides Me there is no God.  And who can proclaim as I do?  Then let him declare it and set it in order for Me, Since I appointed the ancient people. And the things that are coming shall come, Let them show these to them.  Do not fear, nor be afraid;  Have I not told you from that time, and declared it?  You are My witnesses.  Is there a God besides Me?  Indeed there is no other Rock;  I know not one."

It's amazing today how flippant people's attitudes are toward the sovereign God of the universe.  Often treating the LORD God with no more respect than the next door neighbor, many of this age seem to have lost sight of His divine attributes.  They denigrate God to the status of elderly, doting grandfather, sitting on the clouds, occasionally dabbling in the affairs of men, somewhat whimsically bearing all the nonsense of this age with a disposition that "after all, children will be children".

Nothing could be further from the LORD God of the Bible, the all-knowing, all-powerful, ever- present, mighty, holy, compassionate, loving and just, supreme Sovereign of the universe, Creator and Sustainer of all, the one, true, only God.  He of whom the prophet Habakkuk wrote,  You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, And cannot look on those who deal treacherously (Habakkuk 1:13) is hardly the "excuser of wrongs" liberals portray Him to be.  Neither is God this inattentive old man we can pull a fast one on when He's not looking.  The writer of Hebrews declares:  And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:13)   The LORD God is so far above and beyond the scope of mankind that all descriptions of Him in purely human terms are incommensurable.

Isaiah 55:8-9 -- (the LORD speaking) "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," says the LORD.  "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts."

In the fourth chapter of Revelation, the Apostle John describes seeing the LORD God Almighty seated on the throne of heaven.  There, the four living creatures who are around the throne of God, day and night, never stop saying:  "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!" (Revelation 4:8)

Revelation 4:9-11 -- Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: "You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power;  For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created."

It's not at all the sort of thing we're used to hearing about God in this age of wholesale disrespect for everything good.  Today, people would far rather hear of the god of license and leniency they've fabricated in the image of their own pagan, immoral souls.  The holy God of Scripture is unwelcomed even among many of the congregations who profess worship in His name.  Apparently unaware of the truth of God's word, or else entirely dismissive of it, they teach and preach a god neither holy nor righteous, but one who, like themselves, changes with each passing whim -- who cannot be depended upon to ever stand for what is right, as what is right today is just as likely as not, to be wrong tomorrow.

Contrast that with the God of the Bible who says, "For I am the LORD, I do not change", (Malachi 3:6) and of whom the prophet Isaiah wrote:  He does not take back His words. (Isaiah 31:2)(NIV)

I Samuel 15:29 -- (Samuel speaking) "And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent. For He is not a man, that He should relent."

And of our Lord and Savior, the writer of Hebrews declared: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.(Hebrews 13:8)  Clearly the Scriptures establish and confirm an immutable nature to the character of God.  Unfortunately, liberals prefer their gods like their politicians -- flighty, untrustworthy, waffling, irresolute.  Advocates of license and irresponsibility, they believe God owes them the right to an endless supply of their lusts, wants and desires.  As if the LORD God Almighty were nothing more than an eternal entitlement program, functioning solely for their pleasure and well-being, they need only ask, and God will drop everything for them.  The concept of a holy righteousness is imponderable to them.  They act as if they were the gods, and God merely a senior partner with somewhat better connections, rendering all for their convenience.  He is blasphemed with no uncertain regularity -- His statutes and precepts mocked and ignored.  There is no fear of God among those who laugh at righteousness.

It is seriously doubted, however, that such as these will laugh when one day they must face Him -- as we all must -- the LORD our sovereign King, holy and exalted on the throne of heaven.  Standing before the LORD God Almighty in all His glorious majesty, they will, no doubt, assume a posture quite different from the one of arrogant defiance they so delight in, here in the present age.

From Genesis through Revelation, the word of God profoundly illustrates sinful man's reaction to meeting holy God.  The third chapter of Exodus, in recounting the response of Moses in his initial encounter with God at Mount Horeb, records that Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God. (Exodus 3:6)

In the account of Exodus nineteen, when Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God (chiefly Exodus 19:10-25), the LORD said to him:  "Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to gaze at the LORD, and may of them perish.  Also let the priests who come near the LORD consecrate themselves, lest the LORD break out against them." (Exodus 19:21-22)   Likewise, in the thirty-third chapter of Exodus, when Moses asked to see the LORD'S glory, the LORD God declared:  "I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you.  I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion."  But He said, "You cannot see My face;  for no man shall see Me, and live."  And the LORD said, "Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock.  So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by.  Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back;  but My face shall not be seen." (Exodus 33:19-23)   When the LORD passed before him (chiefly Exodus 34:6), Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped. (Exodus 34:8)   It is a response of reverence and awe, for the most part, lacking even among Christians today.

The LORD requires that He be honored by those who approach Him.  Leviticus ten, verses one through three, relates the account of Aaron's son, Nadab and Abihu, who were consumed before the LORD for offering unauthorized fire.  Here, Moses reiterates the words of the LORD to Aaron: "'By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy;  And before all the people I must be glorified.'" (Leviticus 10:3)   The twentieth chapter of Exodus recounts how, after hearing the LORD speak the words of the law at Mount Sinai, the people of Israel trembled and stood afar off.

Exodus 20:18-19 -- Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar
off.  Then they said to Moses, "You speak with us, and we will hear;  but let not God speak with us, lest we die."

To see the face of God was to die.  Note the response of Jacob in the thirty-second chapter of Genesis.  Here, Jacob, having wrestled all night with the LORD near the ford of the Jabbok River, named the place of their encounter Peniel (meaning "face of God"), "For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved." (Genesis 32:30)   Likewise, Job, in his confrontation with God, cried:  "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You.  Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust in ashes." (Job 42:5-6)

The prophet Isaiah similarly pronounced woe on himself at the appearance of God on His throne in heaven.

Isaiah 6:1-5 -- In the year the King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.  Above it stood seraphim;  each one had six wings:  with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.  And one cried to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;  The whole earth is full of His glory!" And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.  So I said: "Woe is me, for I am undone!  Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts."

In the opening passages of the book which bears his name, the prophet Ezekiel is confronted by the glory of God near the Kebar River, in the land of the Babylonians.  Of  the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD, he wrote: ...when I saw it, I fell on my face.... (Ezekiel 1:28)

Ezekiel 3:22-23 -- Then the hand of the LORD was upon me there, and He said to me, "Arise, go out into the plain, and there I shall talk with you." So I arose and went out into the plain, and behold, the glory of the LORD stood there, like the glory which I saw by the River Chebar;  and I fell on my face.

It would seem the majority of those few actually blessed with visions of the LORD God spent a great deal of their time facedown on the ground -- generally accompanied by an abject pronouncement of woe.  Comparable to this are the reactions of those in the New Testament confronted by the holiness of Christ.  At the transfiguration of Jesus (chiefly Matthew 17:1-7, Mark 9:2-13, Luke 9:28-36), the three disciples who were there (Peter, James and John) fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. (Matthew 17:6)  Similarly, Peter -- in witnessing the power of Jesus through the miracle of the catch of fish -- fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!" (Luke 5:8)   Lastly, in Revelation, chapter one, the Apostle John records his vision of the glorified Lord, as He appeared to him on the island of Patmos, at the close of the First Century.

Revelation 1:17-18 -- And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead.  But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, "Do not be afraid;  I am the First and the Last.  I am He who lives, and was dead, and
behold, I am alive forevermore.  Amen.  And I have the keys of Hades and of Death."

Of the Living One's supremacy, the Apostle Paul wrote:  He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.  All things were created through Him and for Him.  And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.  And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. (Colossians 1:15-20)   And of the glorified Lord, John wrote:  Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse.  And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.  His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns.  He had a name written that no one knew except Himself.  He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.  And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.  Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations.  And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron.  He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.  And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:  KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. (Revelation 19:11-16)

Hardly the passive Milquetoast liberals paint Him as, our Savior is the holy, mighty, sovereign King of all that was, is, and ever will be.  It is we who were made for Him, not He for us -- for indeed, He was not created at all, but is forever God.  As He declared to the Apostle John:  "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last." (Revelation 22:13)

John 1:1-3 -- In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.  In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.  And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

Psalm 33:6-9 -- By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.  He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap;  He lays up the deep in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the LORD;  Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.  For He spoke, and it was done;  He commanded, and it stood fast.

All things were created by and for God, to work according to His sovereign design, for His own purpose and no other.  Any who insist otherwise are arrogantly disregardful or ignorant of the facts.  As the LORD chided Job for obscuring His counsel without knowledge, so should those who claim understanding apart from, and contradictory to God, be interrogated, as well.

Job 38:4-11 -- (the LORD speaking to Job) "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?  Tell Me, if you have understanding.  Who determined its measurements?  Surely you know!  Or who stretched the line upon it?  To what were its foundations fastened?  Or who laid its cornerstone, When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy?" "Or who shut in the sea with doors, When it burst forth and issued from the womb;  When I made the clouds its garment, And thick darkness its swaddling band; When I fixed My limit for it, And set bars and doors; When I said, 'This far you may come, but no further, And here your proud waves must stop!'"

Job 38:19-21 -- (the LORD speaking to Job) "Where is the way to the dwelling of light?  And darkness, where is its place, That you may take it to its territory, That you may know the paths to its home?  Do you know it, because you were born then, Or because the number of your days is great?"

All knowledge, sovereignty and power belong to the LORD, and to Him alone.  As the LORD God declared to Job, "Who has preceded Me, that I should pay him?  Everything under heaven is Mine." (Job 41:11)

Isaiah 45:11-12 -- Thus says the LORD, The Holy One of Israel, and his Maker:  "Ask Me of things to come concerning My sons; And concerning the work of My hands, you command Me.  I have made the earth, And created man on it.  I -- My hands -- stretched out the heavens, And all their host I have commanded."

Psalm 89:6-7 -- (of Ethan the Ezrahite) For who in the heavens can be compared to the LORD?  Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the LORD?  God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, And to be held in reverence by all those around Him.

Psalm 24:1-2 -- (of David) The earth is the LORD'S, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein.  For He has founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the waters.

Acts 17:24-25 -- (Paul speaking to the men of Athens) "God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.  Nor is He worshiped with men's hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things."

Deuteronomy 10:14 -- Indeed heaven and the highest heavens belong to the LORD your God, also the earth with all that is in it.

Isaiah 45:6-7 -- (the LORD speaking) "'I am the LORD, and there is no other;  I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity;  I, the LORD, do all these things.'"

Man, in his limited knowledge and wisdom, may fancy himself master of his own destiny, but in actuality it is not he who steers the course, but God.

Jeremiah 10:23 -- O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.

Lamentations 3:37-38 -- Who is he who speaks and it comes to pass, When the Lord has not commanded it?  Is it not from the mouth of the Most High That woe and well-being proceed?

Proverbs 16:9 -- A man's heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.

Proverbs 16:33 -- The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the LORD.

Proverbs 19:21 -- There are many plans in a man's heart, Nevertheless the LORD'S counsel -- that will stand.

Proverbs 21:30 -- There is no wisdom or understanding Or counsel against the LORD.

It is the LORD God who reigns supreme over all creation.  As the writer of Proverbs proclaimed:  The horse is prepared for the day of battle, But deliverance is of the LORD. (Proverbs 21:31)   Man will not succeed apart from God.  The LORD directs the nations.  All things transpire according to His will.

Isaiah 46:8-10 -- (the LORD speaking) "Remember this, and show yourselves men;  Recall to mind, O you transgressors.  Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other;   I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, 'My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,'"

Proverbs 16:4 -- The LORD has made all for Himself, Yes, even the wicked for the day of doom.

Psalm 135:6 -- Whatever the LORD pleases He does, In heaven and in earth, In the seas and in all deep places.

Note that nowhere does the Scripture record that "The LORD God, before He acts, consults with men to determine whether that which He's purposed is pleasing to them", nor does it read:  "When men oppose His plans, the LORD changes them, as He desires not to provoke man's indignation."  Contrarily, the word of God clearly states that all who oppose the LORD, do so in vain.

Isaiah 45:9-10 -- (the LORD speaking) "Woe to him who strives with his Maker!  Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth!  Shall the clay say to him who forms it, 'What are you making?'  Or shall your handiwork say, 'He has no hands'?  Woe to him who says to his father, 'What are you begetting?'  Or to the woman, 'What have you brought forth?'"

Psalm 2:1-4 -- Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the LORD and against His  Anointed, saying, "Let us break Their bonds in pieces  And cast away Their cords from us." He who sits in the heavens shall laugh;  The LORD shall hold them in derision.

Psalm 33:10-11 -- The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect.  The counsel of the LORD stands forever, The plans of His heart to all generations.

Those who oppose God will stumble as they continue in arrogant defiance of His will.  As the prophet Hosea wrote:  For the ways of the LORD are right;  The righteous walk in them, But transgressors stumble in them. (Hosea 14:9)

To His disciples, on the night He was betrayed, the Lord Jesus said: "In the world you will have tribulation;  but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)  Therefore, as we continue in a world hostile toward God -- persecuted, hated and ridiculed for our faith -- we, like the Apostle Paul, need to be confident that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6) Our salvation is in God, and not of ourselves.  And we know that we can rely on Him who saved us, and is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever.  Amen. (Jude 24-25)

Chapter 18

Chapter 20