Spiritual Journey Insights

  The goodness of God can be found in all of His relationships with His creatures. He has attributes of goodness which can be found in moral purity, integrity, and love. [1]  By moral purity, I believe that God is absolutely free from anything wicked or evil. He is a holy God who is unique and separate from all His creations. Another aspect of God’s holiness is His absolute purity or goodness which means that He is untouched and unstained by the evil in the world. God’s holiness is emphasized throughout the whole Bible. Another dimension of God’s moral purity is His righteousness. It is God’s holiness applied to his relationships with other beings. I believe that the righteousness of God means that the law of God is a true expression of His nature. The righteousness of God also means that his actions are in accord with the law that He himself established. God’s justice means that He himself acts in conformity with His law and He also administers His kingdom in accordance wit...

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, the maker of all things, visible and invisible. Regarding the greatness of God, I believe that God is spirit, and He is not composed of matter and does not possess a physical nature. [1] He does not have the limitations involved with a physical body. I base this belief based on what Jesus said in John 4:24, “God is spirit and his worshippers must worship him in spirit and in truth.” I also believe that He is not destructible since He is not of material nature. I believe that He is not restricted by geographical location, and He cannot be contained or controlled by human beings. Regarding His personality, I believe that God is personal and is an individual being with self-consciousness and capable of feeling, choosing, and having a reciprocal relationship with other personal and social beings. God is to be treated as a being and not an object or force to be used or manipulated. God is an end in himself and not a means to an end. I also believe...

I believe that there is a creator God who made everything out of nothing. Psalms 19 says that “the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows his handiwork.”  Psalms 24:1 says that “the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world and all who live in it”.  The Bible talks about the acts or the work of God and also about the attributes of God. It is important to understand the various aspects of God to be sure that He exists. First of all, people have an inner sense of God and there is evidence that can be found in scripture and in nature.  In the next few posts, I will be adding more about the doctrine of God.

I believe that social sin is prevalent in our society along with individual sin. Persons who oppose personal sin may be drawn into the cooperate nature of sin through evil acts of government, economic structures, or some kind of group. Individual sin has always been the focus among evangelical Christians and we have ignored or addressed this issue inadequately.  Sin and salvation have to do with individual human beings, but at the same time, the Bible also talks about a group or collective sin. [1]   Recognizing the social sin can become difficult as we are not inclined to regard matters in which we do not have a very active role or choice. If someone else is in charge or leader then we may ignore the issue completely. Sometimes our membership in a group can be so conditioned that our very perception of reality is colored by it. We may also not recognize group selfishness because it may actually involve individual unselfishness. At times when we are part of a group, we may dis...

I believe that sin is universal and the Bible affirms the depth and breadth of sin in all humans. So sin is not isolated to a few individuals or a majority of the human race, but all are sinners without exception (Rom.3:9). [1] The command to repent is for all people. All people are subject to the penalty of sin which is death. The Bible teaches that all have sinned and the wages of sin is death (Rom. 3:23; 6:23).  I believe in the doctrine of total depravity. This means that the seat of sin is not merely one aspect of the person, such as the body or the reason. [2] Sin is a matter of the entire person and an unregenerate person’s altruism always contains an element of improper motive. Sinners are completely unable to extricate themselves from their sinful condition.  Regarding the theories of original sin, I do not agree with Pelagianism.  I believe that Adam’s sin has an effect on all human beings. I agree with the Arminian and Calvinist views that God imputes corru...

I believe that sin has very serious consequences when it comes to the relationship between the sinner and God. [1] Sin is a very serious matter both to God and to humanity.  I also believe that sin has far-reaching and long-lasting consequences. It affects our relationship with God and it resulted in divine disfavor. As a result of sin, there is guilt and liability to God’s punishment. Another result of sin is death which has to do with physical death, spiritual death, and eternal death. Sin has its effect on the sinner in a way that he or she becomes enslaved and there is an unwillingness to face reality. It also results in denial of sin and insensitivity to God’s warning and condemnations. [2]    In regard to man’s relationship with other humans, I believe that sin results in competition, the inability to empathize and love one another. [3] [1] Erickson, Christian Theology , 618. [2] Erickson, Christian Theology , 634. [3] Erickson, Christian Th...

I believe sin is not caused by God.  "No one undergoing a trial should say, “I am being tempted by God,” since God is not tempted by evil, and he himself doesn’t tempt anyone."  (James 1:13, CSB) Humans have certain desires which are not wrong or bad. When these desires are twisted towards wrong or prohibited things then it becomes a source of sin. I believe that God has imputed certain needs in each person and satisfaction of those needs is important and they can also bring enjoyment. [1]   People have a desire to obtain things. They also have the desire to do things and achieve things in life. They are not wrong, but when used in a wrong way it becomes the source of sin.  I believe that various views regarding the source of sin like animal nature, the anxiety of finiteness, existential estrangement, economic struggle, individualism, and competitiveness does not fully align with the teachings of the Bible. The problem lies in the fact that human beings are sinful b...