BIBLE DIGEST - Number 1
23
February 2003
I
BELIEVE
by Allon Maxwell
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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 Corinthians
2:10-16), and the new nature of the Children of God, (Ephesians
3:14-20, 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." "It
is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search
out a matter." 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. (Deuteronomy
6:4) * This is the
God who Jesus commands us to worship. (Matthew 22:37) * This is the
God who Jesus addresses as FATHER. (John 17:3) 2. I believe that Jesus
is: * The Son of God
(Matthew
16:13-18, John 20:31) * Miraculously
conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. (Matthew
1:18-23, * The Messiah
foretold in the Old Testament prophecies. (2 Samuel 7:12-16, Isaiah 53, * The spoken and
written Old Testament Word of God, become a flesh and blood reality. * Fully human --
exactly like other men in His nature. (Hebrews 2:14, Hebrews 2:17, Hebrews 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, John 14:23-24, Acts 5:32) * As a guarantee
of inheritance. (Ephesians 1:13-14) * To produce
fruit in those who are willing to learn how to live and walk by the Spirit. * To enable
believers to do the works of God. (Romans 12:4-8, 1 Corinthians 12:4-6, * For the common
good, (1
Corinthians 12:7), to edify the Church. (1 Corinthians 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. * Its king will
be Jesus. It will be established after His return from Heaven. Its dominion
will be over the whole earth. (Luke 1:32-33, Acts 3:21, Daniel 2:35, Daniel
2:44) 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. * 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. (Matthew 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 Timothy 2:6, 1 Peter 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. (Genesis
12:3, Genesis 22:18) * Abraham was
promised that He and his descendants would become a great nation, as
numberless as the stars. (Genesis 12:2, Genesis 22:17) * Abraham was
promised that He and his descendants would inherit the land of Canaan as an
everlasting possession. (Genesis 12:1, Genesis 13:14-17, Romans 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. (Romans 4:13-16, Galatians
3:26-29) * The
inheritance of these promises belongs to Jesus -- It is the Kingdom
of God -- in which Jesus will exercise dominion over all
the earth -- and share his inheritance with those who belong
to Him. 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. (Matthew
20:28, 1 Timothy 2:6, Titus 2:14, 1 Peter 3:18) 9. I believe that
immortality is conditional. * The human race
is mortal and perishable. (1 Corinthians 15:53-54, 1 Timothy 6:16) * Death is a
sleep in which no part of the human personality survives the death of the
body. * Immortality is
the gift of God. (Romans 6:23) * Reserved only
for those "who by patience in well-doing seek for
glory and honour 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. 11. I believe in the
bodily resurrection of the dead WHEN JESUS REUTNS FROM HEAVEN: * As THE ONLY
hope of eternal life for the righteous. (Daniel 12:1-3, 1 Corinthians 15:13-19, 1
Thessalonians 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 the Abrahamic
promises, * Wicked will be
punished with “everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord”. 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 Corinthians 6:14-18 - 2 Corinthians 7:1-21, 1
Peter 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. (Matthew 28:19, Luke 6:46-49, John 14:15, John
14:23-24) 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 Deuteronomy 6:4-5) And the second, which Jesus said is like
the first: "You shall love your neighbour as
yourself". (Mark
12:31, John 13:34-35, 1 John 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. (Matthew 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. * I do NOT
believe the Mainstream doctrine of the Trinity. * I do NOT
believe that Jesus existed before His birth of the Virgin Mary. * I do NOT
believe that Jesus is part of a "triune god" or that the Bible
calls Jesus "God-the-Son". * I do NOT
believe that the Holy Spirit is a separate personal being, or part of a
"triune god". * I do NOT
believe in any form of the theory of Evolution; or
that the Creation and Flood stories in Genesis are "myths" or
"parables". * I do not believe in the immortality of the
soul. * I do NOT
believe in "once saved, always saved", (Hebrews
6:4-6, 1 Corinthians 9:27) or that the Gospel offers "grace", without commitment or
obligation to obey the commandments of Jesus. (Titus 2:11-14) * I do NOT
believe that "faith without works" is faith at all. (James
2:26) * I do NOT
believe in unconditional
predestination to either salvation or condemnation. * 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. * I do NOT
believe that the Devil or Demons are "Fallen Angels". * I do NOT
believe that sinners will suffer unending conscious torment. *
I do NOT believe that TRUE DISCIPLES go to
war. |