I come to the final lesson on what WE BELIEVE. We consider the fact that Jesus rose again from the dead and will one day return to Earth and set up His earthly kingdom.
There are two brief subjects in this confession. It is my objective to cover these two topics today.
Last time we looked at the True Church and mentioned the two ordinances of the Church. That is our topic for today: Baptism and the Lord's Supper.
We know a church is the body of Christ. What type of church is it? Is it universal and invisible or is it local and visible? What we believe is a True Church of Christ is our topic today.
A truly saved person will always be saved, and will, at last, be glorified. Beyond that, we also believe the Bible teaches that a truly saved person will continue in the faith. We call that perseverance. These two things comprise our topic.
We believe the Bible teaches sanctification. This lesson takes up this issue.
We believe God, according to His own will and divine purpose, selected those whom He will save. We call this election. It is my objective to cover the second portion of the confession on this point.
Our present subject utilizes the term "election;" predestination - the resulting act based upon election - is not specifically covered. These doctrines do go in tandem, but this confession mainly deals with election.
In association with the new birth are the immediate and inseparable graces of repentance and faith. Both are gifts of God and are not the works of men.
Clearly, we are cleansed from sin through the blood of Jesus Christ, and, we receive that cleansing by the grace of God. Closely associated with these truths is our doctrine for today’s lesson – Justification.