God
♦ There is exactly one God, the Creator of the Universe.
♦ God reveals Himself to Man through the nation of Israel, the Jews.
♦ YHWH, I Am, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, is this Creator.
♦ God reveals Himself in 3 Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
♦ The Godhead is one in essence, honor, will, purpose, and dignity.
♦ God is omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, holy, loving, fierce.
Jesus Christ…
♦ is the Son of God, God in the flesh, the incarnate Messiah.
♦ was and is perfectly, utterly, and impeccably sinless.
♦ could not have sinned.
♦ created the universe in six literal days about 6000 years ago.
♦ was born of a virgin.
♦ was crucified under Pontius Pilate.
♦ died as a propitiation for the sins of the world.
♦ actually paid for the sins of all who believe on Him.
♦ raised His body again from the dead.
♦ ascended bodily into heaven.
♦ sits at the right hand of God the Father.
♦ is Judge of the living and the dead.
♦ loves all men and offers salvation to all men.
♦ hates, is grieved by and is angry with the wicked.
♦ will return, come again, and rule the world.
Faith unto salvation…
♦ is the sole necessary, sufficient condition of eternal salvation.
♦ is perfect, supernatural rest in the atoning work of Christ.
♦ is the gift of God – not of the human will, nor a decision.
♦ is always accompanied by yielding to Jesus Christ as Lord.
♦ occurs at the instant of regeneration, as one is born again.
♦ ensures one will spend eternity in heaven with God.
♦ results in an immediate, eternal salvation which cannot be lost.
♦ is not equivalent to:
♦♦♦ [1] asking for salvation, or asking to be saved,
♦♦♦ [2] inviting Jesus Christ to come into the heart.
♦ No biblical text promotes doing either [1] or [2].
♦♦♦ Asking for salvation is a statement that one needs salvation.
♦♦♦ Needing salvation implies being in unbelief.
♦♦♦ Therefore asking for salvation implies being in unbelief.
♦♦♦ No one should expect to be saved while continuing in unbelief.
♦♦♦ Unbelievers should seek God for faith until they believe.
♦ Believers in Christ:
♦♦♦ [A] are saved and should not ask to be.
♦♦♦ [B] have Him within and need not invite Him.
♦ Conversion to Christ is a change in faith: no more; no less.
Man…
♦ always makes the most wicked choice God allows him to make.
♦ is totally unable to do anything good.
♦ is totally responsible for his inability to do anything good.
♦ is totally responsible for everything he does.
♦ is always under God’s precise control via restraining grace.
Eternity
♦ There is a real literal Heaven, and a real literal Hell.
♦ Every soul spends eternity in only one of these environments.
♦ Anyone may go to heaven if they diligently seek God in truth.
♦ Only those whom God draws to Himself will diligently seek Him.
♦ Those who seek God will be given repentance and faith in Christ.
♦ Those who refuse remain in God’s immediate, undiluted presence
♦♦♦ just as the redeemed, without a new nature that enjoys God.
♦♦♦ to suffer eternal torment due to continued, willful hatred of God.
Christians…
♦ love Jesus Christ.
♦ though imperfect, generally obey Jesus Christ as a manner of life.
♦ cannot give themselves completely to any sin.
♦ love others.
♦ love the Bible.
♦ were chosen by God to obedience before Creation.
♦ are effectually and irresistibly drawn to God by His grace.
♦ obtain repentance toward God and faith in Christ as free gifts.
♦ cannot be lost by any means, being eternally secure in Christ.
♦ should live together in community and edify one another daily.
Bible, God’s Word
♦ The Bible was initially inspired by God in Hebrew, Chaldee, Aramaic, and Greek such that every word was exactly how He wanted it to be.
♦ God inspired the Bible, His Word, that we might be spiritually mature, throughly furnished unto all good works. We need no other authority to know what is pleasing and displeasing to Him.
♦ This purpose implies God is perfectly preserving His Word. God intended that we locate his Word, memorize it, and meditate on it day and night to achieve His purpose in our lives.
♦ The criterion used to define the cannon (that the text be generally received by saints as inspired) implies the Authorized Bible (KJV) is:
— the Word of God in English,
— sufficiently equivalent to the original to be safely trusted,
— to be memorized in entirety and meditated upon day and night.
♦ God’s inspired Word is also available today in other languages.
Law, Sin, Legalism, Grace
♦ Torah, the Mosaic Law, is God’s standard of holiness for Man.
♦ Torah is holy and just and good.
♦ Sin is transgressing, not obeying Torah.
♦ All NT law is based on and derived from Torah.
♦ The NT represents the same standard found in Torah.
♦ Legalism is the lie that justification depends upon obedience.
♦ Grace is the power of God enabling us to obey Torah.