Let no one be so foolish as to presume that this short summary of some things from the Bible, can ever be a substitute for your own diligent study of the Word Of God. In order to grow properly into the mind of Christ, (1 Cor2:10-16), and the new nature of the Children of God, (Eph 3:14-20; 4:20-24) you will need far far more than you read here. You cannot either SEEor ENTERthe Kingdom of God (John 3:3, 5-6) with only the "second hand faith" of the credulous majority, derived from listening to men instead of God!
You need your own personal encounter with the God of Creation, His Son, and His Word.
"You will seek me and find me; when you seek me with all your heart." (Jer 29:13)
" It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but
the honour of kings is to search out a matter ."
(Prov 25:2)
1. I believe there is only ONE TRUE GOD.
* This one true God is YHWH, the one God of the
Shema - the creed of Moses. (Deut
6:4)
* This is the God who Jesus commands us to worship. (Matt
22:37)
* This is the God who Jesus addresses as FATHER. (John
17:3)
2. I believe that Jesus is:
* The
Son of God. (Matt
16:13-18; John 20:31)
* Miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born
of the Virgin Mary.
(Matt
1:18-23; Luke 1:26-35)
* The Messiah foretold in the OT prophecies. (2
Sam 7:12-16; Isaiah 53; Matt 16:16; Luke 24:45)
* The spoken and written Old Testament Word of God, become a flesh
and blood reality. (John 1:14)
* Fully human -- exactly like other men in His nature. (Heb
2:14, 17; 4:15)
* Risen from the dead, and now alive in Heaven "at the right hand of
God". (Psalm 110:1)
3. I believe that the Holy Spirit is the power of God:
* Given to all who LOVE JESUS and OBEY
Jesus. (John 14:15, 23-24; Acts
5:32)
* As a guarantee of inheritance. (Eph
1:13-14)
* To produce fruit in those who are willing to learn
how to live and walk by the Spirit. (Gal
5:25)
* To enable believers to do the works of God.
(Rom 12:4-8; 1 Cor 12:4-6, 11)
* For the common good,
(1 Cor 12:7), to edify the Church.
(1 Cor 14:4)
4. I believe that the Bible is
the inspired Word of God
The ultimate authority in all matters of faith and conduct.
(Psalm 119:1-16; Isaiah 40:7-8; 2 Timothy 3:14-17; 2 Peter 1:16–21)
5. I believe in the coming Kingdom
of God on this earth,
to be established by Jesus as King, after His return from Heaven.
(Acts 3:21; 1
Cor 15:25)
6. I believe that inheritance
of a place in the Kingdom
comes through:
* Hearing the TRUE Gospel about Jesus and the coming Kingdom
of God on Earth. (Rom 10:14-17)
* Believing that Jesus is the Messiah -- the one anointed
to be King. (John 20:31; 1 John
5:1)
* Obeying the call to genuine repentance from all known
sin. (Matt 4:17; Acts 2:37-39)
* Accepting the death of Jesus as the sacrifice which
has paid the RANSOM
for my release from the penalty of my sins.
(1 Tim 2:6; 1 Pet 1:18-19)
* Being baptised for remission of sins. (Mark
16:16; Acts 2:38)
* Living afterwards in a way which demonstrates the reality
of repentance. (Acts 26:20)
7. I believe that the ABRAHAMIC
PROMISES
are central to "the gospel" of the Old and New Testaments.
* Abraham was promised that one of His descendants would
become a source of blessing to world.
(Gen
12:3; 22:18)
* Abraham was promised that He and his descendants would
become a great nation, as numberless
as the stars. (Gen
12:2; 22:17)
* Abraham was promised that He and his descendants would
inherit the land of Canaan as an
everlasting possession. (Gen
12:3; 13:14-17; Rom 4:13-17)
* Jesus is the source of the blessing
which is that
we should be turned
from our sins to righteousness.
(Acts 3:25-26)
* Jesus and those who belong to Him, are the nation.
(Rom
4:13-16; Gal 3:26-29)
* The inheritance of these promises belongs to Jesus.
It is the Kingdom
of God -- which He will share with those who belong to Him.
(Rom
4:13-16; Gal 3:26-29)
8. I believe that through his
sacrificial death, and
because of
my repentance,
Jesus has ransomed,
and redeemed, and pardoned me from the penalty due for my sins.
(Matt 20:28; 1 Tim 2:6; Titus 2:14; 1 Pet 3:18)
9. I believe that immortality is conditional.
* The human race is mortal and perishable. (1
Cor 15:53, 54: 1 Tim 6:16)
* Death is a sleep in which no part of the human personality
survives the death of the body.
(1
Cor 15:51)
* Immortality is the gift of God. (Rom
6:23)
* Reserved only for those "who by patience in well-doing
seek for glory and honor and immortality."
(Romans
2:7)
10. I believe that to SEE
and
ENTER the Kingdom of
God requires a "SPIRITUAL REBIRTH".
Which depends
on BOTH outward obedience by baptism in water, and inward transformation
by the
Spirit of God.
(John 1:12-13;
John 3:3, 6; Acts 2:37-39; 1 Peter 1:23-25; 3:21; John 5:1-5)
11. I believe in the bodily resurrection
of the dead when
Jesus returns from Heaven
as THE ONLY hope of eternal life for the righteous.
(Daniel 12:1-3; 1 Cor 15:13-19; 1 Thess 4:13-18)
12. I believe in the Judgement
of both the righteous and
sinners, when Jesus returns from Heaven
When
the righteous will receive their share in the inheritance of theAbrahamic
promises ,
(Gen 12:1-3; Matt 5:5; 25:34; Rom 4:13; Gal 3:8, 16, 26-29) and
the wicked will be punished with
"everlasting
destruction from the presence of the Lord".
(Matt 25:41; 2 Thess 1:9; Rev 20:11-15)
I believe that salvation requires far more than intellectual assent to the things listed above. They are merely a necessary foundation, without which the temple of God cannot be properly established in us. (2 Cor 6:14 - 7:21; 1 Pet 2:4-10) In order to qualify for an inheritance in the Kingdom, we must do more than merely hear the Gospel of the Kingdom, and pay lip service to believing it -- REAL FAITH in those things must lead to the next step below !
I believe that TRUE DISCIPLESHIP requires a commitment to LOVE JESUS, and to believe and obey all His commandments. (Matt 28:19; Luke 6:46-49; John 14:15, 23-24)
These commandments include the one
that Jesus called the first and greatest of all :
"Hear, O Israel: The Lord
our God, the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all
your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all
your strength."
(Mark 12:29 and Deut 6:4-5)
And the second, which Jesus said
is like the first :
"You shall love your neighbor as yourself ".
(Mark
12:31; John 13:34-35; 1John 2:7-11)
A non negotiable outline of the major elements and principles of that obedience was delivered to us by Jesus in the Gospel of the Kingdom, especially The Sermon on the Mount. (Matt 5, 6, & 7)
THINGS I DO NOT BELIEVE
It is a great pity that it should be necessary to include a section about things I do not believe. However in our time this has become very important. In the absence of any clear statement to the contrary, mainstream Christians are entitled to assume that those who seek their company, agree with their "mainstream teaching". They extend fellowship on the basis of that assumption, and most would NOT offer the same "privileges" if they did know about the differences. To deliberately allow them to remain in ignorance, in order to be "accepted" by them, or be awarded a "ministry" amongst them, or to receive the benefits of things they offer, is a serious form of deception , which also denies Jesus before men .(Matt 10:32-33; Rev 21:8; 22:15)
1. I do NOT believe the mainstream doctrine of the Trinity.
2. I do NOT believe that Jesus existed before His birth of the Virgin Mary.
3. I do NOT believe that Jesus is part of a Triune God, or that the Bible calls Jesus "God-the-Son".
4. I do not believe that the Holy Spirit is a separate personal being, or part of a "triune god".
5. I do not believe in the immortality of the soul.
6. I do NOT believe in "once saved, always saved",
(Heb 6:4-6; 1 Cor 9:27) or that the Gospel
offers "grace", without commitment
or obligation to obey the commandments of Jesus.
(Titus 2:11-14)
7. I do NOT believe that "faith without works" is faith at all. (James 2:26)
8. I do NOT believe in unconditional predestination to either salvation or condemnation.
9. I do NOT believe, in "original sin", "inherited
sin nature", "sin-in-the flesh", or "total moral
depravity", or that Adam's physical
nature was changed at the Fall.
10. I do NOT believe that the Devil or Demons are "Fallen Angels".
11. I do NOT believe that sinners will suffer unending conscious torment.
12. I do NOT believe that TRUE DISCIPLES go to war.
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