Essential Doctrines for the Christian

• Do you believe the Word is inspired? If so, describe how it was inspired.
• Yes. The Bible was inspired by the Holy Spirit through human authors (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:21).
• What do you believe about the truthfulness and reliability of Scripture (including all the stories and miracles)? State whether you believe the Word is infallible and error free.
• I believe the Bible is completely true and free of errors, and is fully reliable as God’s Word. The Bible says it is impossible for God to lie (Hebrews 6:18) and every word of his is true (2 Samuel 22:31, Psalm 111:7).
• What is the purpose of the Scriptures?
• The Bible is a living Book which by the Spirit has the power to convict of sin, reveal the light of truth, and renew our minds and hearts (Hebrews 4:12; 2 Timothy 3:16-17). It gives us true wisdom, joy, and ultimately life because it contains the very words of God (John 6:63).
• Define what you mean by “God” (e.g., Supreme Being, sovereign, creator, sustainer, etc).
• God is the only being who has always existed (John 1:1-3). He created all things that exist outside himself and is completely sovereign over this creation (John 1:3, Acts 17:24-25). He is infinite (Psalm 90:2).
• Do you believe He is the “eternal triune God”? If so, explain how you understand the Oneness of God and the Trinity.
• God exists as three persons in one substance. Each person is fully God and equal to the others in eternality, supremacy, and infinitude. The three persons of the Trinity are not three different roles or functions or aspects of the same person; they are three full and distinct persons (John 14, 16, & 17). Yet God is one (Deuteronomy 6:4, John 10:30).
• Share about the nature and attributes of God (e.g., His being personal, holy, loving, omnipresent, etc).
• God has both communicable and incommunicable attributes because he is personal and created us in his image (communicable) but also infinite and eternal (incommunicable). God’s communicable attributes include but are not limited to: holiness (Leviticus 19:2), justice/righteousness (Deuteronomy 32:4), mercy (2 Samuel 24:14), wisdom (Romans 16:27), truth (John 17:3), love (1 John 4:8). God’s incommunicable attributes are his eternality (Psalm 90:2), his omnipresence (Psalm 139:7-10), his independence or self-sufficiency (Acts 17:24-25), and his unchangeableness (James 1:17).
• What is God’s reaction to sin?
• God’s reaction is primarily wrath/judgment. Romans 1 says that God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. Sin leads to condemnation and death (Romans 5:12-21) because the punishment for disobedience to God’s command is death (Genesis 2:17, Romans 6:23). In the account of the Fall we see God’s response to sin is judgment of humanity as he pronounces a curse on the man and the woman (Genesis 3:14-24). Sin also grieves God (Mark 3:5, Hosea 11:8-9).
• In the Bible, what is the Father’s primary purpose for the world?
• To glorify himself (Revelation 4:11, 5:9-12). He created Israel for his glory (Isaiah 43:7), he wrought salvation for his glory (Ezekiel 36:22-29), Jesus lived and died for his glory (John 12:27-29, 17:1-5), the gospel is for his glory (Revelation 14:6-7) and everything is moving toward his grand redemption and restoration of creation, which will culminate in his ransomed people from all the nations he created worshipping him for all of eternity (Revelation 15:3-4, 22:3).
• What do you understand about the conception and birth of Jesus, including the role of the Holy Spirit in that process?
• Jesus was conceived in Mary’s womb by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:26-38). Mary was a virgin and remained a virgin after Jesus was conceived.
• Describe Jesus’ life on earth, including whether he personally dealt with temptation and sin.
• Jesus was fully human and thus experienced temptation but never sinned (Matthew 4, Hebrews 4:15). He also experienced pain and sorrow (John 11:33-35, Matthew 26:37-39, Luke 22:44, Isaiah 53).
• What was the crucifixion, and why did Jesus die?
• The crucifixion was how Jesus died, a Roman form of execution where people were nailed to a cross placed in the ground and hung there until they died. Jesus died in order to accomplish redemption by suffering the full wrath of God against the sin of mankind, as a propitiation which removes God’s wrath from sinners who have faith in him, and to show God’s righteousness through judgment while enabling God to justify sinners who trust in the atoning, substitutionary death of Jesus (Romans 3:21-26).
• What do you believe about Jesus’ resurrection, ascension and the second coming?
• Jesus rose physically from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3-8), ascended to heaven (Acts 1:9-11) and he will return to bring judgment and full salvation to those who trust in him (Hebrews 9:28, 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 4:16).
• When do believers receive the Holy Spirit, and what does He do in their lives?
• Believers receive the Holy Spirit when they receive the word of Christ with faith (Acts 2:38-41). He regenerates us (Titus 3:5-6), convicts the world (John 15:8-11), dwells with and in the people of God (John 14:17), bears witness about Jesus (John 15:26), guides us into truth, declares to us and helps us understand the words of Jesus, and glorifies Jesus (John 16:13-15). He gives us power and boldness to declare the gospel (Acts 1:8, 2:1-4, 4:31). He gives us wisdom and understanding (Ephesians 1:17) and unifies the body of believers (Ephesians 4:3-4). He gives different spiritual gifts to each believer for the building up of the body (1 Corinthians 12:4-11). He sets us free from sin and enables us to mortify our sinful flesh (Romans 8:2, 13-14), bears witness to our identity as children of God (Romans 8:16), intercedes for us when we pray and helps us in our weakness (Romans 8:26-27).
• How is the Holy Spirit at work among unbelievers in the world today?
• He is convicting the world of sin and righteousness (John 16:8). He bears witness to the unbelieving world through believers (Acts 2:33, 37; John 15:26). He regenerates unbelievers to enable them to believe & obey (Titus 3:5-6).
• Please define or describe sin.
• Sin is both an individual act of disobedience against God’s holy and righteous command (Psalm 51:3-4; Romans 3:23) as well as the state of active rebellion against God into which every human being is born (Psalm 51:5) and by which the whole world is condemned due to the sin of our father Adam (Romans 5:12-21, Colossians 1:21)).
• What is the spiritual condition of human beings apart from a relationship with Jesus?
• Human beings are dead in their sins, enemies of God, and condemned forever to face God’s wrath apart from Christ (Ephesians 2:1-3, Romans 5:10).
• What is required for a person to be saved?
• Belief in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ (faith), which justifies a person by the grace of God as a free gift (Romans 3:24).
• What is grace and why is it important for salvation?
• Grace is a gift, something that is undeserved, unearned and does not require repayment. This is necessary for salvation because it is impossible for sinners to earn or deserve the righteousness of Christ (Romans 3:20). The only way we can be reconciled to God and saved is if he gives us grace and justifies us as a gift (Romans 3:22-24; Ephesians 2:8-9).
• Do you believe Jesus is the only way of salvation? Please explain why.
• I believe Jesus is the only way of salvation because he himself made many exclusive claims. Perhaps the briefest and most clear statement is when Jesus says, “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Only those who are covered in the righteousness of Jesus Christ will enter heaven (Revelation 21:27, 22:14-15).
• What do you believe happens to a person who dies without having heard the Gospel?
• All people are justly condemned to face God’s wrath eternally and finally (Romans 1:18-32). Jesus is the only way of salvation (John 14:6). Therefore, if someone dies without having heard the Gospel, they cannot believe on Jesus, and are left in their justly condemned state without a way to be saved (Romans 10:13-14, 17).
• Do you believe in the security of our salvation (“once saved, always saved”)? What is the basis of our security?
• Yes. The basis of our security is the promise of God to make us persevere and the perfect, unchangeable righteousness of Christ which is imputed to us by faith in him (Romans 1:16-17). Jesus has said that no one can take anyone he has saved from him (John 10:27-29). Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ (Romans 8:38-39). We did not save ourselves and we do not keep ourselves; God, who is sovereign and faithful, has saved us and promises also to keep us (1 Peter 1:4-5; Psalm 121:7-8).
• What is a church? And what are its purposes?
• A local church is a body within the larger body of all believers in Christ, a community of Christians who together advance the person and work of Jesus by making disciples in a specific locale as well as to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). A church practices the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, as instituted and commanded by Jesus himself (Matthew 28:19; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26); it is led by mature men who are above reproach and meet the qualifications required in Scripture (1 Timothy 3:1-7), and served by all its members using their varying gifts to build one another up (1 Corinthians 12:4-31). Its head is Jesus Christ; he reigns supreme in all things (Ephesians 4:15-16).
• What is the biblical purpose, method, and meaning of baptism?
• In baptism we follow the example of Christ (Matthew 3:13-17), obey the command of Christ (Matthew 28:19), and unite with the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:4-6). Biblical precedent calls for baptism by immersion (Acts 8:37-38, Romans 6:3-4). Baptism is a proclamation of the gospel; it signifies and represents our union with Christ (Romans 6:3-4). Baptism is an expression of faith and is therefore reserved for believers (Galatians 3:26-27).
• What is the biblical purpose and meaning of the Lord’s Supper?
• The Lord’s Supper calls to remembrance the sacrifice of Christ and all that this means: the suffering and agony of Jesus, his passive obedience to the Father’s will in his death, the wrath he absorbed for our sake, and ultimately the justification that we receive by faith in him. Believers in the local church take part in this ordinance—called “communion”—as a participation in the sacrifice and body of Christ (1 Corinthians 10:16-18), to remember and proclaim the Lord’s death as they hope for his return (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).
• According to the Bible, what are the two offices of the church?
• The two offices of the church are those of elders/overseers (1 Timothy 3:1-7) and deacons (1 Timothy 3:8-13). This distinction comes from Acts 6:1-7, when the leaders of the church determined to give some the responsibility of “the ministry of the word” and others the duty of serving and providing for the members.