May 14, 2014.

Today’s post will be short and sweet, but to get anything out of it, there will have to be some work on your part. I was having a discussion today, and when we came to talk about specific doctrines and belief, one of my first go to questions is “Why? Why do you believe that? Can you show me in scripture why you believe that?” Well, can we? How many things to do we believe that we simply believe because we have been taught it by someone else? Now, that isn’t to say that just because you were taught something that that means its wrong, but hopefully you were taught based in scripture. On important things, can you show me in the bible why you hold a belief? If not, then the question remains: Are our beliefs based on bible, or teachings of people?

There is a little verse in Acts where Peter is preaching to a crowd of people that I think is often overlooked:

“And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them saying ‘Save yourselves from this crooked generation.'”
(Acts 2:40)

Who does he direct this message to? To the crowd, he tells them to save themselves. That places responsibility on the hearer to take his faith into his own hands. It is time to stop passing the responsibility of our salvation on other people such as our preacher or elders and take our salvation into our own hands. That is not to say that you cannot get help from other people. You can, and should. But you need to believe what you do because of your own convictions, not because someone told you this is the way you should believe. Save yourselves.

So, in effort to test where your belief systems lie, I have listed several topics below that you may want to see what you believe about them. Once you know what you believe about them, ask yourself “Why do I believe that?” Can you find scripture for it? Is it just a feeling you have? Is that solid ground to stand on? This is a test that only works if you are completely honest with yourself, which can be scary. But it may be just what you need to relight your fire. I hope it helps.

What do you believe about:
1. Salvation- Some one asks you how do they become a Christian. What do you say? Why?
2. Worship- Someone raises a question about the way you worship. How do you respond? Can you tell them why you do what you do?
3. The Resurrection- Why do you believe that Jesus was raised from the dead over 2,000 years ago? What’s your proof?
4. Faith- What is faith? Do you have a working definition that fully encompasses what faith really means?
5. Heaven and Hell- What do you envision when you think about heaven or hell? Why? Can you show in scripture what you imagine?

This is just a short test and is in no way comprehensive. If you get through this list and find scriptural backing for everything, I encourage you to dive deeper. What about other beliefs you have? What about the things that are most important to you? Why do you believe what you believe?

Do you know your bible? A question we should all ask ourselves.

Suggested Daily Reading: Acts 2, Romans 6, I Timothy 2, II Timothy 4.

The Lord be with you.

-Walter