Hey Y’all!

Welcome to “As Honey for Sweetness”-a name adopted from Ezekiel  3:3, which says the following:

“Then [the LORD] said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.”

If you would like to read posts on Biblical topics, you can click on “God’s Message” at the top of the page.  “God’s Message” has been further divided into “Doctrine” and “Thoughts on the Word”, to be more specific. Please pour a cup of tea and click onto “My Random Ramblings” if you would like to take a trip into the frivolous wonderland of my mind. (Personally, I do not believe “Yum Yum Yummy” needs much explanation!) Enjoy!

At an Ice Show ;)

First, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Von de Leigh Hatcher, and I am originally from a wonderful Apostolic church, The Pentecostals of Ascension,which my dad pastored. Now, I am currently attending Iglesia Centro de Vida with my family, pastored by Fred Garcia. My family, friends, and readers have followed me through the teenage years of soul-searching, as is evidenced by posts such as “Learning to Live with Jesus”, which was written the night my father resigned from his position as pastor.

I love writing, reading, exercizing, ice skating, traveling, studying languages, cooking, eating, and, above all, getting closer to God.  If there is anything worth knowing about me, it is my constant desire of having more of Jesus in my life.

My constant prayer has been, ”God, I want Your Word to plant itself into my heart. Please, help me to have a passion for You. I want people to be able to look and me and see You.” Honestly, I was not expecting God to answer my prayer in the way that He chose.

On July 13, 2009, I was talking with a minister about how there are so many Apostolic young people who do not fully understand the reasons behind the actions of our faith. He spoke to me and asked that I begin blogging about Biblical truths, doctrines. When he suggested that, I thought, “Wow. I’ve been praying that God use me, fill me with His Word. I’ve been saying that I want God to become my identity. And now, I’m being told to use my blog.”

My blog. That sounds so possessive, doesn’t it? Would I be willing to use my blog, my special place where I give my thoughts and my opinions, as a place where young people can come and see a reflection of God’s thoughts?

Yes.

First of all, I would like to address the most basic questions. What is doctrine? What is its purpose in the Christian’s life?

In Romans 3: 10-11, Paul wrote, “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.”

According to that, we are all sinners, everyone of us, in desperate need of God. But, in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus offered us a solution in a prophecy before ascending into heaven.

“And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning in Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endowed with power from on high.” (Luke 24: 47-49)

Turning to the Book of Acts, we see the fulfilling of Jesus’ prophecy in the Upper Room on the Jewish holiday, the Day of Pentecost.

“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2: 1-4)

Just to make things more clear, the Apostle Peter stood up with the other disciples of Jesus and explained Soteirology, the Doctrine of Salvation, in a sermon to the skeptics outside,

“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” (Acts 2: 38-39)

This promise, then, is relevant even today. It’s still available for you and for me, and it opens an exquisite experience with God Himself for us. Before, Jesus had also said, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24)

We are commanded to not only worship in spirit, but in truth, God’s law and holy doctrine. The Apostle John had recorded Jesus saying,

“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” (John 16:13)

So, once we, as believers, have received the Spirit of God as written in the Book of Acts, we become guided into all truth, and our understanding is opened. It is through this soul salvation that we are justified.

Now, I have given the Scriptures which will back up, or preface, the answers to the original questions. What is doctrine? What is its purpose in the Christian’s life?

Writing to the Church in Rome, Paul said,

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:16-17)

As we read in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus prophesied the outpouring of his Spirit. So, by receiving the promise of Christ in faith as written in the Gospels and fulfilled in the Book of Acts, we then become justified. And, the just shall live by faith. Once we have repented, been baptized in the name of Jesus, and filled with the Holy Spirit, it is our job, our duty, and our divine purpose to live by faith in God.

“Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” (Romans 3: 19-20)

Here, Paul explains that the law, or holiness doctrines, is meant for people who have already followed the plan of salvation as determined in the Book of Acts! Doctrines of holiness are made as an understanding, which we are led to by the Holy Spirit, of what sin is and how to avoid it. Salvation, we know, cannot be attained by simply complying to holiness doctrines, but there must also be repentance, baptism in Jesus’ name, and the receiving of the Holy Spirit by the sign of speaking in another, unlearned language.

“Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.” (Romans 3: 28)

Paul was being very specific, and this is something we should all understand. It is impossible to be justified in the eyes of God by simply committing the deeds of holiness. We do not obey holiness doctrines and then become saved. We become saved and then adopt the doctrines of holiness. It’s our faith in God’s salvation that forms the building ground for our obedience to doctrine, the law.

Later, Paul posed the question that you yourself are probably thinking right this moment, yet, to my immense relief, he also answers it as well!

 “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.” (Romans 3: 21)

Fortunately for me, I was raised in a godly home and was filled with the Holy Spirit, as experienced in the Book of Acts, at a very young age. I want you to understand as I have some to learn, believe me, it was not easy, that God’s divine law, His doctrine, is not meant as any kind of barrier. He is not trying to put chains on you with His commandments, but He is giving you the one and only way to be free from the chains that Satan has put on the world.

“Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.” (Romans 7:12)

I know this can be difficult to absorb. It seems that as young people, we have to spend all of our time inhaling information in school, at our jobs, even in our homes. There’s an entire world that is trying to grab our attention, but let’s not forget our reason for being put in this world to begin with: To be God’s friend. Thank you for reading, please feel free to ask any questions, I’d love to hear them! God bless!