Basics

1
Basics

• An exploration of basic Christian doctrine by
  means of study of the newly-proposed EFCA
  Statement of Faith

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We believe in God's Gospel

• Our identity as the Evangelical Free Church of
  America is centered on Gods evangel, the gospel
  of Jesus Christ, who died and rose again to give
  us eternal life. To God's glory, the gospel is
  the power of God for the salvation of all who
  believe. Our fundamental theological convictions
  are aspects of this gospel.

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1. Gods gospel originates in and demonstrates
the holy love of the eternal, triune God

• We believe in one God, Creator of all things,
  holy, infinitely perfect, and eternally existing
  in a loving unity of three equally divine
  Persons the Father, the Son, and the Holy
  Spirit. This one God, all-knowing and
  all-powerful, has, in love and grace, purposed
  from eternity to redeem a people for Himself and
  to restore His fallen creation for His own glory.

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2. Gods gospel is authoritatively announced in
the Scriptures

• We believe that God has spoken through the
  Scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments. They
  are the verbally inspired Word of God, without
  error in the original writings, the complete
  revelation of His will for salvation, and the
  ultimate authority that stands over every realm
  of human knowledge and endeavor. Therefore, the
  Bible is to be believed in all that it affirms,
  obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in
  all that it promises.

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3. Gods gospel alone addresses our deepest human
need

• We believe that God created Adam and Eve in
  His image, but they sinned through the temptation
  of Satan, corrupting that image. As a result, all
  humanity is alienated from God and under His
  wrath and can be rescued, reconciled, and
  restored only through Gods gracious work in
  Jesus Christ.

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4. Gods gospel is revealed in history supremely
through the Person of Jesus Christ

• We believe that Jesus Christ, Israel's
  promised Messiah, is God incarnate, one Person in
  two natures, fully human and fully divine, having
  been conceived through the Holy Spirit and born
  of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, was
  crucified under Pontius Pilate, arose bodily from
  the dead, and ascended into heaven, where, at the
  right hand of God the Father, He is now our High
  Priest and Advocate.

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5. Gods gospel is accomplished through the work
of Christ

• We believe that Jesus Christ, as our
  representative and substitute, died on the cross
  as the perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for our
  sins. His shed blood and resurrection are the
  only ground for salvation, and it is through
  faith alone in Christ that anyone is justified
  before God.

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6. Gods gospel is applied and empowered by the
Holy Spirit

• We believe that the Holy Spirit glorifies the
  Lord Jesus Christ by convicting the world, by
  regenerating sinners into union with Christ, and
  by indwelling, guiding, instructing, equipping,
  and empowering believers for Christ-like living
  and service.

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7. Gods gospel is now embodied in the new
community called the church

• We believe that the true church is composed of
  all those who have been saved by God's grace
  through faith and regeneration by the Holy Spirit
  and are thereby united together in the body of
  Christ of which He is the Head. This church is
  manifest in local churches, whose membership
  should be composed only of members of the true
  church. The two biblically-mandated ordinances of
  the church, baptism and the Lords Supper,
  visibly and tangibly express this gospel,
  strengthening our faith. They are to
  be celebrated by the church in obedience to
  Christ, but are not a means of salvation.

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8. Gods gospel compels us to Christ-like living
and witness to the world

• We believe that Gods justifying grace in the
  gospel must not be separated from its sanctifying
  power and purpose. God commands us to love Him
  with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and
  our neighbor as ourselves, acting with compassion
  toward the poor and needy, seeking justice for
  the oppressed. In fellowship with one another, we
  are to combat the spiritual forces of evil,
  especially with the Word of God and prayer. In
  all that we do, we are to bear witness to the
  gospel in word and deed, making disciples among
  all people.

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Gospel Past, Present, Future

• Rich Peterson in our last lesson talked about the
  past, present, and future aspects of our faith.
• By our past commitment of faith in Jesus gospel
  by Gods grace, we stand justified before God,
  with Jesus righteousness imputed to us, because
  he has paid the penalty for our sin.
• We also experience in the present a walk with
  Gods Spirit, freeing us from the power of sin,
  imparting Jesus righteousness to us, as he
  transforms our character to be more like his and
  we serve him by faith.
• That process of transformation will be made
  complete in the future as we are re-united with
  Jesus perhaps by his glorious return. This
  blessed hope is the topic of the next article of
  the Statement of Faith .

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Article 9The Doctrine of the End
Times(Eschatology)
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Discussion at your table

• Introduce yourselves to each other (if you have
  not already done so).
• Then, explain to the group which of the following
  sentences fits you most closely and why
• I have had no previous exposure to discussions of
  the end times.
• I actively avoid any interest in the end times.
• I have only a modest interest in discussion or
  study of the end times.
• I have a passionate interest in studying the end
  times, preparing charts, debating views, etc.

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Discussion continued

• Respond to the following quote
• It is hard to take the Bible seriously if one
  ignores its discussion about the end, since a
  significant portion of the Bible touches on
  eschatological themes about the promises of God.
  The only way for us to make sense of life today
  is to appreciate where the future is going.
  Scripture outlines that future, not with detailed
  dates, but with a general outline of what is to
  come. That outline is designed not to have us
  prepare charts, but to prepare our
  hearts.--Darrell L. Bock, Application
  Commentary on Luke

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God's gospel will be brought to fulfillment by
the Lord Himself at the end of this age
We believe in

• the personal and glorious coming of our Lord
  Jesus Christ
• with His holy angels,
• when He will establish His kingdom fully and
• exercise His role as Judge of all.
• This coming of Christ at a time known only to God
  
• requires constant expectancy and 
• should motivate the believer to godly living,
  sacrificial service, and energetic mission. 
• This is our blessed hope.

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the personal and glorious coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ

• Daniel 7.13-14 In my vision at night I
  looked, and there before me was one like a son of
  man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He
  approached the Ancient of Days and was led into
  his presence. He was given authority, glory and
  sovereign power all peoples, nations and men of
  every language worshiped him. His dominion is an
  everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and
  his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

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the personal and glorious coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ

• Mt 2430-31 At that time the sign of the Son of
  Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations
  of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son
  of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with
  power and great glory.
• Mt 26.63-64 The high priest said to him, I
  charge you under oath by the living God Tell us
  if you are the Christ, the Son of God. Yes, it
  is as you say, Jesus replied. But I say to all
  of you In the future you will see the Son of Man
  sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and
  coming on the clouds of heaven.

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the personal and glorious coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ

• Acts 19-11 After he Jesus said this, he
  was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud
  hid him from their sight. They were looking
  intently up into the sky as he was going, when
  suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside
  them. Men of Galilee, they said, why do you
  stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus,
  who has been taken from you into heaven, will
  come back in the same way you have seen him go
  into heaven.

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the personal and glorious coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ

• Jesus first coming inaugurated the reign of the
  Kingdom of God
• Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good
  news of God. The time has come, he said. The
  kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the
  good news! -- Mark 1.14-15
• That is, Jesus first coming was the beginning of
  the end of history, of the last days (Acts
  2.16-17, Heb 1.2, 1 Pet 1.5,20)
• Jesus second coming will complete the coming of
  Gods kingdom in a triumphant resolution of
  history at the end of time.

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the personal and glorious coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ

• Personal that is, it will be Christ himself and
  not some divine force who comes
• Glorious that is, it will reveal Christ's glory
  in contrast to the humility of His first coming
• Glorious this phrase replaces imminent and
  premillenial in the earlier EFCA Statement of
  Faith.

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Commentary from the Committee on the Doctrinal
Statement

• This statement on the return of Christ presents
  the most substantive change in the doctrinal
  statement, replacing the words "premillennial"
  and "imminent" with "glorious". 
• With regard to the elimination of the word
  premillennial, we appeal to one of the central
  features of the spiritual heritage of our
  movement "This new organization was established
  on a very broad basis. The idea was to make room
  for all who believed in Christ and who accepted
  the Bible as the Word of God. It sought no
  separating shibboleths in doctrine or confession
  to which applicants for membership had to
  subscribe. E. A. Halleen, 1934

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The Most Substantive Change in the Doctrinal
Statement

• The founders were silent on those doctrines which
  through the centuries had divided Christians of
  equal dedication, Biblical knowledge,
  spiritual maturity and love for Christ."
• What is unique about the EFCA Statement of Faith
  are the omissions when compared with other
  creeds.
• This changes brings our Statement of Faith in
  line with historical confessions of Christian
  doctrine, for such a position has never been
  defined in any other major ecclesiastical creed
  or confessional statement.
• Premillennial eschatology is not a part of the
  Evangelical Consensus documented recently by J.
  I. Packer and Thomas Oden in their book One
  Faith The Evangelical Consensus (IVP, 2004)

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The Most Substantive Change in the Doctrinal
Statement

• We ought not to refuse to recognize those who are
  not premillennialists in their eschatology, when
  we do not take a position on such significant
  issues as Arminian vs. Calvinist soteriology
  or the proper recipients of baptism and the
  specific time and mode of baptism which
  have divided Christians through the centuries.
• But, an objection may be that removing
  premillennialism will "water down" the
  authority of the Bible in the EFCA. That is, the
  premillennial position serves as a kind of "test
  case" which keeps out of our churches those who
  are less literal in their interpretation of the
  Bible. 
• We recognize the appeal of this argument, and the
  last thing that we want is to undermine the
  authority of the Bible in our midst in any way.
  It is for this reason that we have, in fact,
  strengthened the already strong statement on the
  Scriptures." (article 2)

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A Comment on Literalism

• With regard to "literalism" in biblical
  interpretation, we contend that responsible
  and faithful biblical interpretation is not about
  the literal understanding of words but
  of meaning. The central question is, what is the
  literal reality intended by the author through
  the particular words and literary forms that he
  uses --EFCA Commentary on the Statement of Faith

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A Comment on Literalism

• Moreover, one must ask how that intended meaning
  of the biblical author is to be understood within
  the canon of Scripture. Such a biblical
  hermeneutic involves an informed and sensitive
  literary understanding of the biblical texts,
  appreciating genre, and the use of metaphor
  and symbol as well as straightforward history.
  --EFCA Commentary on the Statement of Faith

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A Comment on Literalism

• This does not mean that any kind of
  interpretation is allowable. The Statement of
  Faith gives us clear bounds within which our
  interpretations must fall to be orthodox, but
  we ought not to make those indisputable
  boundaries that define our fellowship within
  the local church more narrowly than they ought to
  be. --EFCA Commentary on the Statement of Faith

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with His holy angels,

• Mt 2531 When the Son of Man comes in his glory,
  and all the angels with him, he will sit on his
  throne in heavenly glory.
• This addition to the Statement of Faith provides
  a reference to the existence of angels (cf. Matt.
  2430,31, 2531 Mk. 838 Lk. 926 1 Thess.
  416 2 Thess. 17).
• It also reflects a biblical emphasis that
  Christ's coming will be glorious, and the
  entourage of angels reinforces that glory.

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when He will establish His kingdom fully and

• Jesus inaugurates the reign of the Kingdom of God
  with his first coming it will be consummated
  with his second coming.
• 1 Cor 15.22-25 For as in Adam all die, so in
  Christ all will be made alive. But each in his
  own turn Christ, the firstfruits then, when he
  comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will
  come, when he hands over the Kingdom to God the
  Father after he has destroyed all dominion,
  authority and power. For he must reign until he
  has put all his enemies under his feet.

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exercise His role as Judge of all.

• Mt 2531-33 When the Son of Man comes in his
  glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit
  on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations
  will be gathered before him, and he will separate
  the people one from another as a shepherd
  separates the sheep from the goats. He will put
  the sheep on his right and the goats on his
  left.
• man is destined to die once, and after that to
  face judgment Heb 9.27
• Judgment is a universal moral necessity. Rom
  2.5-6 the day of Gods wrath , when his
  righteous judgment will be revealed. God will
  give to each person according to what he has
  done.

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exercise His role as Judge of all.

• Gods judgment of all people at the end of the
  age has been entrusted to Jesus Christ who, at
  his return, will reward the righteous and punish
  the unrighteous. Judgment will be on the basis of
  deeds, the response to Gods revelation, and
  faith in Jesus Christ. Believers need not fear
  the last judgment, but should live godly lives in
  anticipation of it. Thematic Bible

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This coming of Christ at a time known only to
God

• Acts 1.6-7 So they asked him, Lord, are you
  at this time going to restore the kingdom to
  Israel? He said to them It is not for you to
  know the times or dates the Father has set by his
  own authority.
• Mk 13.31-32 Heaven and earth will pass away, but
  my words will never pass away. No one knows about
  that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven,
  nor the Son, but only the Father.
• Though the Bible remains silent about when the
  Lord will return, it has not refrained from
  speaking about what that return
  entails. Sailhamer, Christian Theology

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What Does that Return Entail?
Some Key Terms are Used in End Times Discussions

• Jesus Return
• The End
• The Rapture
• The Tribulation
• The Millenium

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Jesus Return
JESUS RETURN

• The mother of all Main Events
• Mt 24.30 At that time the sign of the Son of
  Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations
  of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son
  of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with
  power and great glory.
• Cosmic, total, glorious, personal, dramatic,
  abrupt, instantaneous, unitary
• The final consummation of all earthly history

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The End
End

• 2 Peter 3.10, 12 But the day of the Lord will
  come like a thief. The heavens will disappear
  with a roar the elements will be destroyed by
  fire, and the earth and everything in it will be
  laid bare. That day will bring about the
  destruction of the heavens by fire, and the
  elements will melt in the heat. (NIV)
• The ultimate big bang?
• The release and final overthrow of Satan
• The general resurrection and final Judgment
• A New Heavens and a New Earth
• The Eternal Reign of Jesus

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Rapture

• Mt 24.31 And he will send his angelswith a
  loud trumpet call, and they will gather his
  elect from the four winds, from one end of the
  heavens to the other.
• 1 Thess 4.16-17 For the Lord himself will come
  down from heaven, with a loud command, with the
  voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call
  of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
  17 After that, we who are still alive and are
  left will be caught up together with them in the
  clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we
  will be with the Lord forever. (NIV)

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Tribulation
Tribulation

• Mt 24.6-8 You will hear of wars and rumors of
  wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed.
  Such things must happen, but the end is still to
  come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and
  kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines
  and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these
  are the beginning of birth pains.

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Tribulation
Tribulation

• Mt 249-13 Then you will be handed over to be
  persecuted and put to death, and you will be
  hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that
  time many will turn away from the faith and will
  betray and hate each other, 11 and many false
  prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12
  Because of the increase of wickedness, the love
  of most will grow cold, 13 but he who stands firm
  to the end will be saved.

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Tribulation
Tribulation

• Daniel 9.20-26 While I was speaking and
  praying Gabriel instructed me and said to me,
  Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and
  understanding. Therefore, consider the message
  and understand the vision 24 Seventy sevens
  are decreed for your people and your holy city to
  finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to
  atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting
  righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and
  to anoint the most holy.

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Tribulation
Tribulation

• Daniel 9.25-6 Know and understand this From
  the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild
  Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler,
  comes, there will be seven sevens, and
  sixty-two sevens. It will be rebuilt with
  streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. 26
  After the sixty-two sevens, the Anointed One
  will be cut off and will have nothing. The people
  of the ruler who will come will destroy the city
  and the sanctuary. The end will come like a
  flood War will continue until the end, and
  desolations have been decreed.

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Millenium
Millenium

• Revelation 20.2-3 He seized the dragon, that
  ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and
  bound him for a thousand years. 3 He threw him
  into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over
  him, to keep him from deceiving the nations
  anymore until the thousand years were ended.
  After that, he must be set free for a short time.

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Millenium
Millenium

• Rev 20.4 I saw thrones on which were seated
  those who had been given authority to judge. And
  I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded
  because of their testimony for Jesus and because
  of the word of God. They had not worshiped the
  beast or his image and had not received his mark
  on their foreheads or their hands. They came to
  life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

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Millenium
Millenium

• Rev 20.5-6 (The rest of the dead did not
  come to life until the thousand years were
  ended.) This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed
  and holy are those who have part in the first
  resurrection. The second death has no power over
  them, but they will be priests of God and of
  Christ and will reign with him for a thousand
  years. (NIV)

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A Comment on Rev 20.1-10

• The profound disagreements that surround this
  passage Rev 20.1-10 among interpreters of the
  Bible who respect and uphold it as divine
  revelation indicate that this particular text
  does not yield its meaning easily.
  Bilezikian, Christianity 101
• Might God have left things unclear to us quite
  intentionally?

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Questions of Interpretation

• Interpretations of relevant scripture passages
  divide over how to interpret both millennium
  and the reign of Christ.
• Question 1. Should reign of Christ be
  interpreted as
• a physical, spatial, governmental reign, or more
  as
• a spiritual ideal?
• Question 2. Should millennium be interpreted
• (1) highly literally or
• (2) less literally, even figuratively (e.g., a
  really long time)?
• Multiple interpretations can be held by orthodox,
  Bible-believing Christians (as suggested by the
  comments above on literalism).

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Interpretations of the End Times, orHow the
puzzle pieces fit together?
JESUS RETURN
End
Tribulation
Millenium
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Interpretation 1(a)
JESUS RETURN
End
Millenium
Tribulation
47
Interpretation 1(b)
JESUS RETURN
End
Millenium
Tribulation
48
Interpretation 2
JESUS RETURN
Tribu-lation?
Millenium
End
49
Interpretation 3
JESUS RETURN
Spiritual Millenium
End
50
Interpretation 4
Tribulation
JESUS RETURN
End
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Summary of the Interpretations

• Each interpretation has its strengths and
  weaknesses.
• Interpretation 1 is a multi-stage interpretation
  that has been widely accepted, perhaps because of
  the popularity of the Schofield Bible and its
  dispensational view.
• Consistent with views 2, 3, and 4 is the
  suggestion that Christs return will be one
  cosmic, total, undivided, abrupt, instantaneous,
  and unitary happening that marks the final
  consummation of all earthly history. The great
  gathering of believers (the rapture?) will be the
  reunion of the church into one heavenly community
  for all eternity as the bride of Christ.
• Might God have left things unclear to us quite
  intentionally?

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requires constant expectancy and

• Mt 24.42 Therefore keep watch, because you do
  not know on what day your Lord will come.
• Mk 13.35-37 Therefore keep watch because you do
  not know when the owner of the house will come.
  If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you
  sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone
  Watch!
• Parable of fig tree (Mt. 24.32-36)
• Great surprise in Noahs time (Mt. 24.37-42)
• Parable of thief in night (Mt. 24.43-44)
• Parable of faithul servant (Mt. 24.45-51)
• Parable of ten maidens (Mt. 25.1-13)

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should motivate the believer to godly living,
sacrificial service, and energetic mission.

• Parable of talents (Mt. 25.14-30)
• Because the end could come (or start) at any
  moment, we should be
• Waiting
• Watching
• Working
• Parable of sheep and the goats (Mt. 25.31-46)
• Mt 7.21 Not everyone who says to me, Lord,
  Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only
  he who does the will of my Father who is in
  heaven.

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This is our blessed hope.

• The expression "blessed hope" is simply a
  biblical phrase taken from Tit. 213 we wait
  for the blessed hope the glorious appearing of
  our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
• This statement affirms simply that we long for
  the coming of Christ, whether that coming be in
  two stages or in one. EFCA commentary on the
  Statement of Faith

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9. God's gospel will be brought to fulfillment by
the Lord Himself at the end of this age

• We believe in the personal and glorious coming of
  our Lord Jesus Christ with His holy angels, when
  He will establish His kingdom fully and exercise
  His role as Judge of all. This coming of Christ
  at a time known only to God requires constant
  expectancy and should motivate the believer to
  godly living, sacrificial service, and energetic
  mission. This is our blessed hope.

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Now... So what ?!?
57
10. God's gospel calls for a response which
determines the eternal destiny of every person

• We believe that God commands everyone everywhere
  to believe the gospel, turning to God in
  repentance and receiving the Lord Jesus Christ.
  We believe that in the bodily resurrection of the
  dead, the unbeliever will face judgment and
  eternal conscious punishment, while the believer
  will experience eternal blessedness and joy with
  the Lord, to the praise of His glorious grace.
  Amen.