|
|
 |
|
|
|
About Max
Bio:
Max Mills resides in Lynchburg , Virginia with his wife Nancy. They have four children, and eight grandchildren. He received his graduate degrees from Grace Theological Seminary in Winona Lake, Indiana and Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. His ministry has included teaching, coaching, and administration in Christian schools; pastoring, and counseling in the local church, and teaching in the university.
These helpful tools for small groups and pastoral counseling or individual help are a culmination of Max's 44 years of ministry.
Missions Statement:
It is my desire that you enjoy studying these books and use them as tools to share with others who desire to grow in Christian maturity and hope.
Doctrinal Statement:
God - I believe in one God, eternally existing in three Persons—The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit—that these three have precisely the same nature, perfection, and attributes, which make them worthy of the same worship, confidence, and obedience. (Matthew 28:18-19; Mark 12:29; John 1:1-2; 4:24; 10:30; Acts 5:3-4; II Corinthians 13:14; Hebrews 1:1-3; Revelation 1:4-6)
The Father - I believe that our Father is spirit and that He is perfect, omnipotent, omniscient, holy, righteous, loving, and good. Because of His love, He sent His Son into the world to be our Savior. Specifically regarding our salvation, the Father offered His Son; was totally satisfied with His Son; raised His Son; exalts His Son; made His Son head of the church; commits judgment unto His Son, and has given all authority to His Son. The Father also gave a commandment regarding what the Son should say and what He should speak. (Matthew 5:48; 6:26, 28-30, 57; 10:29-30; 16:27; 19:26; Luke 4:16-21; John 3:16, 35; 6:27; 8:16,18, 29, 54; 10:17, 29; 12:26, 49; 14:21;17:1-5, 11, 23, 25; 18:11; 20:21; Romans 8:32; Galatians 1:1; Ephesians 1:3, 21-22; Philippians 2:9-11; I John 4:9-10, 14)
I believe the Father keeps all who put their trust in Him. He honors the believer who follows Him. He loves, comforts, chastens, and supplies the needs of believers. He seeks our worship. He is glorified when believers bear much fruit. He blesses the believer with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. He will someday glorify and reward believers. (Matthew 6:1, 32-33; John 4:23; Romans 8:30; II Corinthians 1:3-7; Hebrews 12:5
The Son - I believe in the eternal deity, virgin birth, vicarious atonement, bodily resurrection, and present intercession of the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe in His personal, pre-tribulational and imminent return. (Matthew 1:18-25; Romans 4:25; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 3:10)
The Holy Spirit - I believe in the deity and personality of the Holy Spirit, and that certain ministries have been committed to Him in this age:
To convince the world of sin (singular), of righteousness and of Judgment.
The regeneration, indwelling, enlightening, sealing unto the day of redemption, and the baptizing into the body of Christ each one who is saved.
(John 16:7-11; Romans 8:9; I Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 4:30; 5:18; I Thessalonians 2:7; I John 2:20-27)-11)
The Bible — I believe in the verbal-plenary inspiration of the Old and New Testaments, which are completely inerrant in the original writings. The infallible Word of God is the final authority in everything about which it speaks. (II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:20-21; Matthew 5:18; John 16:12-13)
The Church - I believe that the Church, which is now the body and shall be the bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of born again persons of this age irrespective of their affiliation with Christian organizations. It originated at Pentecost and will be taken away at the rapture. (Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:25-27; I Corinthians 12:12-14; Colossians 3:14-15)
I believe the Church's ordinances are baptism by water (immersion), a one-time-event, and the Lord's Supper, to be observed until His return. (Acts 2:47; 14:27; 20:17; 28:32)
I believe the establishment and continuance of local churches are clearly taught in the New Testament. (Acts 14:7; 20:17; 28:32; I Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11)
Man - I believe that man was originally created in the image and likeness of God; that he sinned by disobeying God; that he thereby incurred spiritual death, which is separation from God; that this spiritual death has become transmitted to the entire human race, the man Christ Jesus being the only exception, so that all are sinners by nature and practice. Man, even after salvation, still possesses the old sin nature and will remain this way until death or the rapture. (Genesis 1:26; 2:17; 6:5; Psalm 14:1-3; 51:5; Jeremiah 17:9; John 3:6; 5:40; Romans 3:10-19; 6; 7:1-25; 8:6-7; Ephesians 2:1-3; I Timothy 5:6; I John 3:8)
Salvation - I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins vicariously; and that He rose again the third day; that our redemption from sin has been accomplished solely by the payment which He made on the cross; that He was made to be sin for us, dying in our place; that no good resolutions, no sincere efforts, no submission to any rules, or ordinances, can add in the least degree to the value of the finished work of Jesus Christ. (Leviticus 7:11; Isaiah 64:6; II Corinthians 5:14, 21; Galatians 3:13; 6:15; Ephesians 1:7; Philippians 3:4-8; Titus 3:5; Hebrews 10:5-14; James 1:18; I Peter1:18-19, 23)
I believe that when an un-regenerated person becomes convinced that Christ's payment for sins was completely sufficient and therefore places his trust in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life, he passes from spiritual death into spiritual life; immediately accepted by the Father.
Discipleship - I believe that discipleship is subsequent to salvation and is a part of growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (John 5:24; 17:23; Acts 13:39; Romans 5:1; I Corinthians 3:21-23; Ephesians 1:3; 2:8-9; I John 4:17; 5:1-12)
Eternal Security - I believe that everyone that is born again is kept by God's power and is thus secure in Christ forever; that the assurance of salvation is in the offer made by Jesus Christ (the offer is eternal life); that the assurance of salvation through the knowledge of God's Word is the privilege of every believer. The term "save" means "to save and keep". (John 5:24; 10:27-30; 13:1; 14:16-17; 17:11; Romans 8:29-30; 35-39; I Corinthians 1:4-8; Galatians 5:13; Hebrews 7:25; I Peter 1:5; I John 2:1-2; 5:13; Jude 24)
Satan - I believe in the personality and subtlety of Satan; that he is the devil, the author of sin, and the adversary of God and man; and that he shall be eternally punished in the lake of fire. (Job 1: 6-7; Isaiah 14:12-17; Matthew 4:2-11; 25:41; II Corinthians 4:3-4; Revelation 10:2, 10)
Eternal State - I believe that the soul and spirit of those, who have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, at death immediately pass into His presence and there remain until the resurrection of the body at His coming; then soul, spirit, and body will be reunited and will be with Him forever.
However, the soul and spirit of unbelievers remain after death in conscious misery until the final judgment at the Great White Throne at the close of the millennium. With soul, spirit, and body reunited at that time, they will be cast into the lake of fire, not to be annihilated, but to be punished with everlasting destruction away from the presence of the Lord. (Luke 16: 19-26; 23:43; II Corinthians 5:7-8; Philippians 1:23; II Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 6:7; Revelation 20:11-15)
Definition of Terms Related to Salvation
Faith - The noun (faith) corresponds to the verb (believe). These terms refer to having confidence (trust) in someone as being trustworthy. This is usually in regard to a statement or promise that the person has made. To believe in someone means that we consider the person to be reliable, and that they are telling us the truth about a matter. Faith (belief) is the only human response to the promise of Christ in the gospel that is not in the "works" category.
"But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness," (Romans 4:5)
Substitution - A reference to that act whereby someone or something replaces or stands in the stead of someone or something else.
"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit" (1 Pet. 3:18).
Repentance - Repentance means to change one's mind, or to think differently—in a way that causes a change in action. This is true in both the Old and the New Testaments. The Scripture context always determines the subject about which one is to think differently. Some Biblical texts using repentance have nothing to do with justification. For example: Matt. 21:28-32 concerns two sons; one who obeyed and the other who did not obey at first, but later changed his mind and went to work in his dad's vineyard.
The only kind of repentance that brings justification (salvation) is a change of mind about Jesus Christ. For example: In Acts 2:36, Peter states that Jesus is both Lord (God, cf v. 21, 34, 39) and Christ (Messiah). Whatever the audience thought about Jesus or who they thought He was, they must change their minds and understand that He is who He claimed to be—their Messiah.
Christ alone can save. We cannot save ourselves. The issue regarding our sins is that He has made the payment for them. He has risen again from the dead, and He promises eternal life to all who will trust Him for it.
Justification—A reference to that judicial and legal act whereby God, based on the death of Christ, changes the status of the repenting sinner from guilty to not guilty.
"And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses" (Acts 13:39).
Reconciliation - To end hostilities between two offended parties. To change from that of enmity to that of friendship, which is usually effected by a mediator.
"And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation" (2 Cor. 5:18-19).
Propitiation - To render favorable, to satisfy, to appease. In biblical terms it means the death of Christ fully satisfied all the righteous demands of a holy God toward sinful men. In effect it signifies the turning away of wrath by the proper offering.
"Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 4:10).
Remission - This concept involves a two-fold meaning:
To put away
"For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself" (Heb. 9:26).
To forgive
"And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you" (Eph. 4:32).
Redemption - This concept involved a three-fold meaning:
To pay a ransom price
Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us" (Heb. 9:12).
To remove from a slave marketplace
"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree" (Gal. 3:13).
To effect a full release
"Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 3:24).
Regeneration - A reference to that process whereby the Holy Spirit of God, through a second birth, imparts to the believing sinner a new birth. The new birth is an inner re-creation of the person who believes in Jesus Christ for salvation.
"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3).
While the old sin nature remains, the Holy Spirit now indwells the believer, and brings with Him a new nature. The regenerated believer is no longer legally bound to be a slave to the old sin nature. Instead, he or she now has a choice to call upon the Lord in prayer, in order to be strengthened to live in a manner that is honoring to Christ Jesus our Lord.
"For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in Heaven and on earth derive its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man…" (Ephesians 3:15-16a).
Imputation - To impute is that act of one person adding something good or bad to the account of another person.
An example of a negative imputation:
"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned"
(Rom. 5:12).An example of a positive imputation:
For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness" (Rom. 4:3).
Adoption - The placing of a son (or daughter). Adoption logically follows regeneration. Regeneration gives one his (or her) nature as a child of God, hereby adoption gives him his position as a son of God. The first serves as the entrance to the divine family, while the second deals with the privileges and responsibilities in that divine family.
In the Jewish family, it is a time appointed by the father when his boy ceases to be considered a child and becomes a recognized son. This custom is called Bar Mitzvah. It occurs after the boy's 13th birthday. So it is with us as believers. We are children of God, but we are waiting for our adoption.
"And not only this, but we also ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body" (Romans 8:23).
"But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." (Gal. 4:4-6, NIV)
Sanctification - The act of someone setting apart for special service either someone else or something else.
"Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours" (1 Cor. 1:2).
Glorification - A reference to the ultimate and absolute physical, mental, and spiritual perfection of all believers. It is both the logical and necessary final side of that great salvation triangle. This is to say it completes justification and sanctification. Thus:
In the past—Christ the Prophet saved us from the penalty of sin through justification!
In the present—Christ the Priest saves us from the power of sin through sanctification!
In the future—Christ the King shall save us from the very presence of sin through glorification!
"Who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body" (Phil. 3:21, N.I.V.).
Election - The act of God, who, before the foundation of the world, chose (selected) the means through which people would obtain salvation. In the Scriptures, there is always a preposition to indicate how one is chosen. There is also a purpose statement, indicating the goal of the election.
"According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love" (Eph. 1:4).
"But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth" (2 Thess. 2:13).
Predestination - The act of God, who, before the foundation of the world, predetermined that all those, who believe Christ, will be conformed to Christ.
"For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren" (Rom. 8:29).
"Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will" (Eph. 1:5).
Thus, it can be concluded that election and predestination deal with the means by which the unsaved become born again. Election and predestination also involve God's purpose, which is our being conformed to Christ.
Preservation - That guarantee from God which assures all those who have once been saved will forever remain saved.
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand" (Jn. 10:27-29).
"Most assuredly I say to you, he who hears my word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come unto judgment, but has passed out of death into life" (John 5:24).
Salvation - This means to rescue or to save. One must determine from the Scripture context whether the "rescue" is from a temporal situation ( prison, persecution, suffering, etc.) or from an eternal situation (Heaven/Hell).
To determine from which circumstance one is being rescued, we must consider the context in which the word "save" is placed.