"God
is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in
truth."
(John 4:24)
Welcome
to InTruth.net
"This site is
devoted to providing resources whereby a Reformed, God-centered, study
of the Bible may be made by Christians desiring to further their
understanding of God's sovereignty, glory, love and mercy in their daily
lives." --Editor; Henry Velez
It is difficult to do this question
justice in so small a space, hence the many articles on the finer
points of Reformed doctrine. A major distinction is
that it is very much "God-centered".
By this, Reformed doctrine holds firmly to the belief that all
glory belongs to God. God is the Author, Enabler and
Finisher of a man's salvation. This is also known as a 'Monergistic'
theology.. meaning that God alone may boast of our salvation,
not ourselves. Without the work of the Holy Spirit to "open
the eyes, ears, mind" of sinful man and thus bring him
out of the darkness.. no man would come to the Light, for our
deeds are evil.
Although John Calvin articulated many points
regarding monergism, Reformist theology is not limited to what
some call 'Calvinism' or the
"TULIP/5-Points".
While there are lesser details upon which those of
'reformed' belief may differ, the central beliefs are founded upon the
Sovereignty of God over all His creation. Thus, we truly are
dependent upon the mercy of God in all things and give him the honor,
adoration, glory and love that He is worthy of.
Reformed theology believes in resting on the whole
counsel of God's Word (not just parts of it) since it is God's
consistent truth revealed to Man.
What
is Arminianism? :
Conversely, the opposite of the
Reformed approach to the Bible is the 'Synergistic'
view, also known as Arminianism.
According to this view, there is an elevated view of Man's
Will as a participant, or even as the final authority of personal
choice, to one's salvation. There are many problems with
elevating what is truly "man's free will" to the
degree of what many suppose is "man's ability" to
have revelation of God and spiritual matters apart from the work
of the Holy Spirit. The 'synergistic' view is also known as
the "Arminianist" view, named after Jacob Arminius
(1560-1609).
As a side note, the theology of Arminianism was examined in
detailagainst the whole of scripture by the Synod
of Dordt (1618-1619) and the final verdict was that
it was declared to be 'heresy'.
There was no sound reconciliation to be made which would allow
for an unsaved (Unregenerate)
man to share any part of the glory which belonged to God alone for
his salvation. (becoming 'a new creature' or.. Regenerate)
Copies of this document by the Synod of Dordt are available here
online.
What
is 'Hyper-Calvinism'? :
Perhaps the most
disturbing, and distracting, accusation made against Reformed
theology is either a purposeful or ignorant association of it with
the heresy of "Hyper-Calvinism".
As the name suggests, hyper-Calvinism
takes the issue of God's sovereignty to an extreme (beyond
scripture) and fatalistically concludes that man is not
responsible for his free-will actions whether as an
un-regenerate (unsaved) or regenerate (saved) man.
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New Articles added:
2-27-2005
Quote
:
Titus 3:3-6 After
all, we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, and
misled. We were slaves to many kinds of lusts and
pleasures, spending our days in malice and jealousy.
We were despised, and we hated one another. (4)
However, In grace our Savior God appeared, His
love for mankind to make clear. (5)
'Twas not for deeds that we had done, But by his
steadfast love alone, He saved us through a second
birth, Renewed us by the Spirit's work, (6)
And poured him out upon us, too, Through Jesus Christ
our Savior true.
Quote
:
"The Spirit
finds men as destitute of spiritual life as Ezekiel's
dry bones; he brings bone to bone, and fits the
skeleton together, and then he comes from the four
winds and breathes into the slain, and they live, and
stand upon their feet, an exceeding great army, and
worship God. But apart from that, apart from the
vivifying influence of the Spirit of God, men's souls
must lie in the valley of dry bones, dead, and dead for
ever."
--C.H. Spurgeon
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Titus 3:3-6 After
all, we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, and
misled. We were slaves to many kinds of lusts and
pleasures, spending our days in malice and jealousy.
We were despised, and we hated one another. (4)
However, In grace our Savior God appeared, His
love for mankind to make clear. (5)
'Twas not for deeds that we had done, But by his
steadfast love alone, He saved us through a second
birth, Renewed us by the Spirit's work, (6)
And poured him out upon us, too, Through Jesus Christ
our Savior true.