Ephesians 1:4-14
4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
2 Corinthians 4:5-7
5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.
1 Corinthians 2:2
2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
2 Peter 1:3-11
3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
4 comments:
As one who will soon be going "American Baptist" (state level only!), I love your "angle" on this prayer.
Can we do any better than to pray scripture!?
Well Posted Steve!
There is reason for hope. In the debate last night over Great Commission Resurgence (a desire to evaluate all SBC agencies and such to better facilitate the proclamation of the Gospel) the messengers rejected the attempt by one pastor (and one agency head) to turn it into a "Calvinist" fight. Much work remains to be done. There is still too much politicization, man-centeredness, and weak theology, not to mention a basic hostility to the Doctrines of Grace.
That's good news Tony. I have worked throughout the years in SBC churches and appreciate much of what they are doing for the kingdom. So much of the convention looks more political than biblical when viewing from the outside as it were.
My prayers are with these dear leaders of the SBC as they seek to continue to do ministry and missions that honors the Lord and His gospel.
I think there are those in leadership who are trying to do exactly what you said. Some are Calvinist, some Amyraldian, some even Arminian. However, there are a lot of currents and factions in the SBC. The laudable goal by many of coooperation for the Great Commission (regardless of denominational label) is opposed by some who think we are not "baptist" enough. Of course, there are always the Arminian Fundies who seem to not be happy unless they are fighting someone.
On another issue, I really like Mike Huckabee and respect him a lot but I do not think that the invitation for him to speak to the Pastor's Conference was the right thing to do. It puts the SBC back into the political waters that we so need to extricate themselves from.
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