Theology | Stephen Baker Books

The Sovereignty of God

Thu, 27 Feb 2014 14:36:28 -0500

God is SOVEREIGN

GOD is sovereign, or the preeminent ruler. Because God is ultimately in charge above all of the plans and rule of man, He can make sure that His plans are executed without fail. "Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:" - (Isaiah 46:10) "Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places." - (Psalm 135:6)

The Jews saw God as an absolute ruler, who made man in the same way a potter crafts pottery out of a lump of clay. The Divine potter has a right to do with the clay what He will. "Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?" - (Romans 9:20-21)

God’s Sovereignty Over Rulers

The Bible teaches that God has the power to control heads of nations. "The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will." - (Proverbs 21:1)

The Unpardonable Sin

Fri, 13 Dec 2013 08:28:31 -0500

The Unpardonable Sin

From Hope

Some people think that they have committed the “Unpardonable Sin,” and that they cannot, therefore, be saved or forgiven. Here is what Jesus said about this sin in Mark 3:28-30. “Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation: Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.”

The Jewish religious leaders accused Jesus of using the power of the Devil to cast out demons. That was quite an accusation, coming from the group of people who had Christ crucified! He warned them that one who blasphemed, (spoke disrespectfully of) the Holy Ghost, would never have forgiveness, but be in danger of Hell. This is what we call the Unpardonable Sin.

Some preachers teach that a person who has committed this sin can beg and plead with God for forgiveness, but He will refuse to hear. A friend of mine relayed to me the story of a young woman who was told by her pastor that she could not be saved. She was convinced that what he had said to her was true. Christians at another church tried for a year to convince her that she could simply believe in Jesus Christ and be forgiven. Finally, she realized that they were right, and that she could be saved from her sins. She believed in Jesus Christ as her personal Saviour, and now has the assurance that she is forgiven!

Conviction

Mon, 09 Dec 2013 18:48:41 -0500

Conviction

From Raised

"CONVICTION,” said Cletus. "What you are experiencing is conviction of your sin."

"What do you mean, Uncle?" asked Benjamin, with a puzzled look on his face.

"The fact that you have been made aware that you are spiritually dead—God is trying to show you your need of Christ. You see, the Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit will convict of sin, righteousness and judgment. The key verse on it is John 16:8 which says, 'And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.' Jesus taught that when the Holy Spirit came, He would reprove the world of these three things."

"Uncle, what does the word 'reprove' mean?"

"It means to convince or convict. It is like a prosecuting attorney giving his closing argument to the jury. He is trying to convince them to find the defendant guilty of the charges. The defendant will be convicted of the crime and become known as a convict as he goes to jail or prison. The Holy Spirit works like a prosecuting attorney to convince you of your guilt before God. He shows you that you are a guilty sinner who deserves God's wrath and judgment. He also convinces you that there is mercy and forgiveness of sin through Jesus Christ.”

Repentance, Faith and Assurance

Tue, 10 Sep 2013 19:15:54 -0400

Repentance and Faith: A Relationship that Cannot be Broken

From Relationship and Fellowship

I want to talk about repentance for a moment, because sometimes the Bible presents the requirement for salvation as repentance, and sometimes as repentance and belief although, most of the time, only the word “believe” is used. Repentance and faith are often separated into two requirements for salvation by well-meaning preachers. It is better, though, to look at repentance and faith in the same way we would look at two sides of a coin. Remove the side of the penny that has Lincoln’s face on it and you no longer have a complete penny. Remove the side with the Lincoln Memorial on it, and you have only half a coin. Remove repentance from faith, and you no longer have real faith. Remove faith from repentance and you cannot have the genuine article. You see, it is sometimes said that if I believe and do not repent that I am not really saved. If we closely examine the Bible’s teaching on saving faith and what it actually is, then we will see that it is impossible to believe without repenting.

Inspiration

Wed, 04 Sep 2013 22:28:26 -0400

Inspiration: God Breathed His Word.

From: The Written Word. Bibliology from an Independent Baptist Perspective.

The first major doctrine that we will look at in our study of Bibliology is Inspiration. The doctrinal concept of inspiration, simply put, is this. The original words of the Bible were given to its human writers by God. Therefore, the Bible was penned by men; but is the Word of God. The key verse on inspiration is 2 Timothy 3:16:

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:"

The Greek word translated, "inspiration of God" in this verse is, theopneustos which means, "God-breathed." The idea of inspiration is that God breathed out the very words of Scripture, and that men wrote these words down, without error or omission. Scripture came out of the mouth of God to the pen of man.

A. How is the Bible God-breathed?

Click to read the complete sample chapter in PDF format.