Seminary: Day 1

As a learning aid, I have decided to try to summarize my classes each day in order to pick out the main points, try to become more succinct in my writing, and to study.  And perhaps it will be interesting to others as well.  ... here's Day 1 ...
(the classes I am taking are Introduction to Apologetics, Doctrine of Man, and History of the Reformation.  Once in a while I may add something from chapel, too).

 

“We bargain away our souls for cheap thrills” – Os Guiness. We settle for merely a quiet life, a good job, health, entertainment, power, or a host of other things that are mere trinkets compared to what is offered and what we give away. We make a Faustian bargain, not taking God seriously when he says “What does it profit someone to gain the whole world and forfeit their soul?” We are like children preferring to make mudpies in the street when a vacation at the shore is offered … The value of what God offers the sinner in forgiveness and adoption far outweighs all the gold in the world – nay, even the world itself. "Let us eat, drink, and be merry - for tomorrow we die" is our life philosophy ...

- Our culture sees guilt as something you feel, but Biblically, guilt is something you are. Shame and guilt are shunned and minimized today, yet shame and guilt make us aware of our need for someone to rescue us. The Gospel is only good news for those who understand the bad news.

- The conflicts and heresies throughout church history have strengthened our understanding of what is true and necessary in the gospel.