Hamartiology is the study of sin. Sin is any failure to conform to the moral law of God in act, attitude, or nature (Grudem). Sin is not only an act of wrongdoing but a state of alienation from God (EDT*). Sin is anything that violates the law of God or goes against the character of God. God is our perfect standard and it follows logically that anything that opposes Him is sinful. It is of extreme importance to understand the hatred that God has for sin. It is not merely a distaste or annoyance of sin. It is an intense, fiery hatred. Scripture is clear through and through that God has nothing to do with sin and that he punishes it with harsh justice. When dealing with the doctrine of sin it is important for us to direct our attention to the origin of sin. First, we must see that God did not create sin and God is not to blame for sin. Satan was the first being to sin and is thus the originator of sin. Adam and Eve sinned in the garden and thus were the first humans to sin. Even though … [Read more...]

Sanctification is a progressive work of God and man that makes us more and more free from sin and like Christ in our actual lives (Grudem). Sanctification is an ongoing work that is taking place in the lives of every believer. We partner with God in our sanctification process. Unlike Justification (which is done completely by God) we play an active part in our sanctification. Sanctification begins at our regeneration. At our regeneration there is a significant and definite change as we make a break from sin. Once we have been born again we cannot continue to sin as a habit or a pattern of life (1 John 3:9), because the power of new spiritual life within us keeps us from yielding to a life of sin (Grudem). The beginning of the sanctification process begins with rearranging our desires so that sin is no longer in a dominant position in our lives. We are no longer enslaved by sin we have been set free. It is very important to understand that sanctification is a process. It is not a … [Read more...]

Justification is the act of God that allows us to be free from the guilt of our sin. It is God’s response to our faith. Justification is an act of God that is completely done by Him. Romans 3:23-24 says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift.” Romans 3:26b says, “so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” Justification is an instantaneous legal act of God in which he thinks of our sins as forgiven and Christ’s righteousness as belonging to us, and declares us to be righteous in his sight (Grudem). In God’s declaration of us to be righteous, He is not changing us internally to be righteous. His declaration is that we, though guilty sinners, are nonetheless righteous in His sight. God’s declaration of us to be righteous in His sight has a few implications. The first one is that we have no penalty to pay for sin, including past, present, and future sins (Rom. 8:1). God’s … [Read more...]

Angels and demons are subjects that we don’t talk about very often. However, there are some very important things to realize about angels and demons. We will be discussing some of those this week. Angels are created, spiritual beings with moral judgment and high intelligence, but without physical bodies (Grudem). Unlike God, angels have not always existed. God created angels. Angels are “spirits” so they exist without physical bodies. In scripture, there are instances in which they make themselves visible to humans. We are able to see that angels are creatures that possess moral judgment in that some angels sinned and fell from their high standing in heaven (2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6). We see that they have high intelligence in their interactions with humans (Matt. 28:5; Acts 12:6-11). There are only two angels spoken of by name in Scripture: Michael (Jude 9) and Gabriel (Daniel 8:16, 9:21). It is important for us to understand that angels are not omnipresent. They cannot be in … [Read more...]

Study of God the Father It is very important for us to spend time focusing on the person of God the Father. He is one of the three persons of the Trinity and one that often gets neglected when studying the 3 persons individually. We will be discussing the blessings of our relationship with the Father as well as the demands of our relationship with the Father. I will not be spending a lot of time on these however, and would encourage you to use the Scriptures provided to dig into these a little deeper. There are a lot of them, so just select a few to look at in depth. The blessings of our relationship with the Father The concept and reality of God’s being our heavenly Father is an indescribable blessing to us who are His children (Matt. 5:16, 45; 6:1, 6, 8-9, 18, 32; 7:11): He cares for us (Matt. 6:25-33; 10:29-31), keeps us (John 17:11), gives us good things (Matt 7:11; James 1:17), fellowships with us (1 John 1:3-7), desires our spiritual maturity (Matt 5:48), disciplines and … [Read more...]

This week we will be going over Theology Proper, the study of God and for our purposes the Trinity. I have included quite a lengthy bit of information, but I have also left out a lot to keep it to this length. If you have any questions or concerns or would like any additional information, please feel free to contact me and I will do my best to get it to you. I have attached all of this information as a Word Document if you would like to download it and read it that way instead. Hope you are well! Nathan nathanhiatt@firstfamilyministries.com   Theology Proper: The Study of God and the Trinity I don’t know if the doctrine of the Trinity is normally contained within ‘Theology Proper’ but for our study, it will be. There is a TON of material to cover this week so I will do my best to keep it brief. However, there are some topics that I will discuss in this note that I will not discuss on Wednesday night. If you would like to discuss them in greater detail, you are … [Read more...]

This summer we will be going through a series on doctrine. It is my desire to involve you (parents) in our ministry. I will be sending out a weekly email to parents that will outline and discuss the information that I will be teaching that week. My desire is to have that email sent to you on Mondays (2 days in advance). This will give you time to look at and know what your kids will be learning come Wednesday. My desire is that you will be able to engage with your students in conversation about the material that is being taught at youth group. I will be providing detailed information to you so that you will be prepared to have discussions with your students. If you have any questions for me, please feel free to get in touch with me. I am here to serve you and your students. Here is my first message to you, entitled, "Why Doctrine is Important". This will help you to understand why I have chosen to teach doctrine this summer. Thanks, Nathan Hiatt WHY DOCTRINE IS IMPORTANT … [Read more...]