Marbaniang, Domenic

In  Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis  insisted that the Moral Law is different from the Law of Nature and possesses a different kind of reality independent of us because of its cognitive and conative nature. ...what we usually call the laws of nature–the way weather works on a tree for example–may not really be laws in the strict sense, but only in a manner of speaking. When you say that falling stones always obey the law of gravitation, is not this much the same as saying that the law only means ‘what stones always do’? You do not really think that when a stone is let go, it suddenly remembers that it is under orders to fall to the ground. You only mean that, in fact, it does fall. In other words, you cannot be sure that there is anything over and above the facts themselves, any law about what ought to happen, as distinct from what does happen. The laws of nature, as applied to stones or trees, may only mean ‘what Nature, in fact, does’. But if you turn to the Law of Human Natu...

"The sin of Adam," says Charles Hodge, "did not make the condemnation of all men merely possible; it was the ground of their actual condemnation. So the righteousness of Christ did not make the salvation of men merely possible, it secured the actual salvation of those for whom He wrought." The great Baptist preacher Charles H. Spurgeon said: "If Christ has died for you, you can never be lost. God will not punish twice for one thing. If God punished Christ for your sins He will not punish you. 'Payment God's justice cannot twice demand; first, at the bleeding Saviour's hand, and then again at mine.' How can God be just if he punished Christ, the substitute, and then man himself afterwards?", Loraine Boettner, The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination. While God's love is unconditional, salvation is not. Therefore, it says, "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but h...

I wonder what made humans hate the Son of God so much that they wanted Him to die the most agonizing and excruciating death of all--the death of the cross. In fact, the word "excruciating" itself comes from the word "crux" (cross) depicting the intensity and indescribability of the agony. But, the essence of atonement doesn't lie in humans crucifying the Son of God; it lies in the Son of God allowing humans to crucify Him. He allowed humans to do it to Him and in that moment of self-giving, He became our Sacrifice, our Peace. They killed Him not; but, He gave Himself for us. Therefore, He could pray "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." By crucifying the Son of God, mankind had committed the greatest of all crimes; by allowing them to crucify Him despite having all power to crush them forever, Christ demonstrated the greatest of love: the love that embraces hatred, and by embracing it nullifies and vanquishes it forever. Therefore, His...

Required Reading: John 1, 14,15,16; 2Corinthians 5:11-21; Romans 8; James 4; Galatians 5:11; 6:12-15 The doctrine of reconcilation teaches us that the world is at enmity with God and so Christ came to reconcile the world to God. He did that through His atoning sacrifice by the Eternal Spirit. Now, He appoints His servants as ambassadors in the hostile world and has given them the ministry of reconciliation. It is a ministry of reconciliation on God's terms; not a ministry at the mercy of the world in the world's terms. We are not called to make peace with the world at the expense of the Cross; we are here to declare the Goodnews that peace has been made by Christ on the Cross. The Cross will be a stumbling block to many, because they would like that the offence of the Cross didn't exist, so that peace would be natural. But, that is the same as being worldly and thus in enmity with God. The Cross is where the world is crucified to the Christian and the Christian to the world...

From Mere Christianity, Book 2, Chapter 4: Perfect Penitent Now before I became a Christian I was under the impression that the first thing Christians had to believe was one particular theory as to what the point of this dying was. According to that theory God wanted to punish men for having deserted and joined the Great Rebel, but Christ volunteered to be punished instead, and so God let us off. Now I admit that even this theory does not seem to me quite so immoral and so silly as it used to; but that is not the point I want to make. What I came to see later on was that neither this theory nor any other is Christianity. The central Christian belief is that Christ’s death has somehow put us right with God and given us a fresh start. Theories as to how it did this are another matter. A good many different theories have been held as to how it works; what all Christians are agreed on is that it does work. I will tell you what I think it is like. All sensible people know that if you are ti...

FREE FOR JAVA MOBILES This booklet of around 6200 words gives a quick glance at the major doctrines of the Bible and a general outline of theology. The main subjects are Bibliology, Theology Proper, Christology, Pneumatology, Trinity, Creation, Anthropology, Angelology and Demonology, Atonement, Soteriology, Ecclesiology, and Eschatology. DOWNLOAD FREE JAR/JAD E-SWORD TOPIC BOOK (FREE) THEWORD BOOK (FREE)

The Scandal of Particularity questions how one Man could be God and also be the Savior of the whole world. There are two pictures in the Bible that answer this: 1. Surety. Jesus Christ is made the surety of the New Covenant by which participants in the Covenant share in the blessings of the Covenant (Hebrews 7:22). Now, a surety is someone who provides a warrant or guarantee for an other. If I wish to borrow Rs.5000/- from a creditor, and he doesn't trust me, he would ask for a guarantor or surety, who answers to him and is willing to pay in case I am not able to pay the amount back. Similarly, when we were weak and without strength, and in a state when we could not repay our debts, Christ paid the penalty of our sins. 2. Priest. A Priest is a legally appointed Mediator who represents man before God; as such, Christ, appointed after the order of Melchizedek as a Priest forever, provides a better sacrifice than the blood of animals that the priests after the Aaronic order presented...

Four dimensions in which salvation can be seen: 1. Transcendent Dimension – the eternal purpose of God and the slaying of the Lamb before the foundation of the world, predestination, justification, adoption. 2. Historical Dimension – the Fall, the Covenants, Israel, Incarnation, Death, and Atonement. 3. Empirical Dimension – conversion, regeneration, sanctification. 4. Eschatological Dimension – glorification, consummation, eternal life. Our Focus: Empirical Dimension – Conversion, Regeneration, Sanctification. © Domenic Marbaniang, February 14, 2006