“I
BELIEVE GOD”
Acts
27:25
I enjoy reading and studying church
history and the writings of other men. I strongly encourage young men with
aspirations for the ministry to familiarize themselves with good commentaries,
theological works, and written sermons. And I have an appreciation for the
creeds and confessions of our forefathers. But my faith, my doctrine, and that
which I teach and preach to others is not based upon those things. “I believe God.” I mean by that
statement that everything I believe, every doctrine I preach is specifically,
clearly, and emphatically taught in the plain statements of Holy Scripture. My
doctrine is logical; but it is not based upon logic. My doctrine is well
established in the history of God’s church; but it is not based upon history.
My doctrine is based upon and rises from the plain statements of God’s Word.
I believe that God is absolutely sovereign in all things, because the Bible says, “Our God is in the heavens: he hath done
whatsoever he hath pleased” (Psa. 115:3). “None can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?” (Dan.
4:35). God declares, “I will do all my
pleasure” (Isa. 46:10). God always does exactly what he wants to do with
everyone, in every place, and at all times. He is sovereign in predestination,
in creation, in providence, and in grace.
I believe that “Salvation is of the Lord”, because that is exactly what the
Bible says (Jon. 29). “So then, it is not
of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy” (Rom.
9:16). Salvation is God’s work alone in its planning, in its purchase, in its
performance, in its preservation, in its perfection, and in its praise.
I believe in the total depravity of man, because God says the heart of man is “deceitful above all things and desperately
wicked” (Jer. 17:9). I believe in unconditional
election, because God says, “Ye have
not chosen me, but I have chosen you” (John 15:16). I believe in limited atonement, because God says, “For the transgressions of my people was he
stricken” (Isa. 53:8). I believe in irresistible
grace, because God says that Christ’s people shall be willing in the day of
his power (Psa. 110:3). I believe in the
perseverance of the saints, because the Lord God says, “They shall never perish” (John 10:28).
Let the Arminians, work-mongers, and
will-worshippers of the world hoot and holler all they will, these things
cannot be gainsayed. Those who denounce them denounce the Word of God. Those
who despise them despise the God who reveals them, performs them, and attaches
his glory to them (Eph. 1:3-14). My dogmatic insistence upon these glorious
basic, fundamental truths is necessitated by this one thing - “I BELIEVE GOD!”
Grace Baptist Church of Danville - Grace For
Today Radio Message #611
2734 Old Stanford Road - Danville,
Kentucky 40422-9438
Donald S.
Fortner, Pastor -Telephone 606-236-8235 - Email grace@mis.net