Proclamations of Faith
 |
| by David A. DePra |
| On Faith vs. Religion |
| |
| All religion devises a way for man to
work his way up to God. The Truth |
| reveals a God who has come down to us. |
| |
| Anyone can alter their conduct to
conform to a list of rules. But only God |
| can change a person's heart to be after
His own. |
| |
| If I possess all the true doctrines, I
may be quite religious. But I am only |
| spiritual in the eyes of God if the
Truth Himself possesses me. |
| |
| Hold fast to sound doctrine. But don't
let the grip you have on it occupy |
| you to the point where your hands are
not free enough to grip the reality |
| of Jesus Christ of which it speaks. |
| |
| Beware of the danger of putting your
faith in your doctrines, that is, in their |
| trueness, rather than in Jesus Christ. |
| |
| Being correct in what I believe about
God is no assurance that I am right |
| with Him in my heart. |
| |
| An open, believing heart is the doorway
to knowing the Truth, and |
| therefore, the doorway to knowing the
doctrines which stand for it. |
| |
| Jesus said, "If any one wills to
do His will, he will know the doctrine..." |
| The condition of my doctrine often
shows my willingness to obey the Truth. |
| |
| Stand to the death in sound doctrine.
But not because you want to win |
| your point of view. Stand to the death
because of the One of whom it |
| speaks. |
| |
| God allows for doctrinal differences as
long as the common thread of |
| faith in Jesus Christ is present. But
any doctrine which undermines the |
| individual's faith in Christ cannot be
tolerated in the church. |
| |
| Faith in Christ will never lead me to
insist I am right. It will lead me to |
| insist that He is right. |
| |
| Never allow a teacher to dazzle you
with his or her knowledge of scripture. |
| Ask yourself where the teaching is
leading you: Jesus Christ, or another. |
| |
| Christianity is not a religion, system,
or doctrine. It is the Truth. |
| |
| There isn't a cultist alive who cannot
"prove" his religion from the Bible. |
| Biblical interpretation is quite
subjective unless God has broken through |
| to us by the power of the Holy Spirit. |
| |
| Man is religious by nature -- a
residual carried over from his lost relation- |
| ship with God. He will never feel at
home until he finds his way back thru |
| Jesus Christ. |
| |
| Now we see through a glass darkly, then
face to face. When we finally |
| meet Jesus Christ, all of our religion
will be swallowed up in Him. |
| |