Christianity (Part 1)
“The One and Only True Religion”
Intro
In the past two months we have looked at a few of the cults and sects that are currently operating in the world today. We have seen their miss teachings and false doctrines, and some were just completely baffled by how someone could fall for these teachings that just seemed to be so obscure. But to know if something is truly obscure and false, means that we must know what it is right. So what do you believe? If someone was to walk up to you today and ask you as a Christian, what you believe. Would you be able to clearly explain it to them? Would you be able to point to the scriptures in the Bible that support your beliefs?
It is important to know about the cults and sects of the world and know what they believe, in order for us to properly minister and witness to them. But what is even more important is to know what we believe ourselves. Satan knows the scriptures and can twist and torque them in a way that could cause most young Christians to go astray thinking that are following the word of God, when truthfully they have been misled.
So tonight I want us to look at the basic beliefs of Christianity. You will notice in the handouts that I have provided for you, the basic outline of today’s message and the supporting verses.
I. The Scriptures
a. The Bible was written by men divinely inspired by God
b. It is the revelation of God himself.
c. It is the perfect treasure of instructions
i. It has God for its author
ii. Salvation for its end
iii. Truth, without error for its matter.
d. Scriptures are totally true and trustworthy
e. It serves as the standard by which we should conduct ourselves.
Supporting Verses: Exodus 24:4; Deuteronomy 4:1-2; 17:19; Joshua 8:34; Psalm 19:7-10; 119:11,89,105,140; Isaiah 34:16; 40:8; Jeremiah 15:16; 36:1-32; Matthew 5:17-18; 22:29; Luke 21:33; 24:44-46; John 5:39; 16:13-15; 17:17; Acts 2:16; 17:11; Romans 15:4; 16:25-26; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Hebrews 1:1-2; 4:12; 1 Peter 1:25; 2 Peter 1:19-21.
II. God
a. There is one and only living and true God.
b. He is intelligent, spiritual, and personal.
c. He is infinite in holiness and all other perfections
d. God is all powerful and all knowing
e. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.
i. God the Father
1. God the Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creation, and the flow of the stream of history according to His purpose.
2. He is fatherly in His attitude toward all men.
Supporting Verses: Genesis 1:1; 2:7; Exodus 3:14; 6:2-3; 15:11, 20:1; Leviticus 22:2; Deuteronomy 6:4; 32:6; 1 Chronicles 29:10; Psalm 19:1-3, Isaiah 43:3, 15; 64:8; Jeremiah 10:10; 17:13; Matthew 6:9; 7:11; 23:9; 28:19; Mark 1:9-11; John 4:24; 5;26; 14:6-13; 17:1-8; Acts 1:7; Romans 8:14-15; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 4:6; Colossians 1:15; 1 Timothy 1:17; Hebrews 11:6; 12:9; 1 Peter 1:17; 1 John 5:7.
ii. God the Son
1. Christ is the eternal Son of God
2. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary
3. He took upon himself human nature with all its demands and necessities and identified Himself completely with mankind yet without sin.
4. His death on the cross made the provision for the redemption of men from sin.
5. He was raised from the dead and is seated at the right hand of God the father, being fully man and fully God, our one and only mediator.
Supporting Verses: Genesis 18:1; Psalm 2:7; 110:1; Isaiah 7:14; 53; Matthew 1:18-23; 3:17; 8:29; 11:27; 14:33; 16:16, 27; 17:5, 27; 28:1-6, 19; Mark 1:1; 3:11; Luke 1:35; 4:41; 22:70; 24:46; John 1:1-18, 29; 10:30, 38; 11:25-27; 12:44-50; 14:7-11; 16:15-16, 28; 17:1-5, 21-22; 20:1-20, 28; Acts 1:9; 2:22-24; 7:55-56; 9:4-5, 20; Romans 1:3-4, 3:23-26; 5:6-21; 8:1-3, 34; 10:4; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2:2; 8:6; 15:1-8, 24-28; 2 Corinthians 5:19-21; 8:9; Galatians 4:4-5; Ephesians 1:20; 3:11; 4:7-10; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:13-22; 2:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; 3:16; Titus 2:13-14; Hebrews 1;1-3; 4:14-15; 7:14-28; 9:12-15, 24-28; 12:2; 13:8; 1 Peter 2:21-25; 3:22; 1 John 1:7-9; 3:2; 4:14-15; 5:9; 2 John 7-9; Revelation 1:13-16; 5:9-14; 12:10-11; 13:8; 19:16.
iii. God the Holy Spirit
1. The Holy Spirit is the spirit of God, being fully divine.
2. He inspired holy men of old to write the scriptures
3. Through illumination he enables men to understand truth.
4. He exalts Christ.
5. He convicts men of sin, righteousness, and judgment.
6. At the moment of conversion, he baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ.
7. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which we are to serve God through the church.
8. He seals the believer until the day of final redemption.
9. His presence in one’s life is the guarantee that God will bring the believer into the presence of Himself one day.
Supporting Verses: Genesis 1:2; Judges 14:6; Job 26:13, Psalms 51:11; 139:7; Isaiah 61:1-3; Joel 2:28-32; Matthew 1:18; 3;16; 4:1; 12:28-32; 28:19; Mark 1:10, 12; Luke 1:35; 4:1, 18-19; 11:13; 12:12; 24:49; John 4:24; 14:16-17, 26; 15:26; 16:7-14; Acts 1:8; 2:1-4, 38; 4:31; 5;3; 6;3; 7:55; 8:17, 39; 10:44; 13:2; 15:28; 16:6; 19:1-6; Romans 8:9-11, 14-16, 26-27; 1 Corinthians 2:10-14; 3:16; 12:3-11, 13; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30; 5:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:19; 1 Timothy 3:16; 4:1; 2 Timothy 1:14; 3:16; Hebrews 9:8, 14; 2 Peter 1:21; 1 John 4:13; 5:6-7; Revelation 1:10; 22:17.
III. Man
a. We are the creation of God
i. Made in His image
ii. We are His crowning work in creation
b. In the beginning man was innocent of sin and was endowed by God with freedom of choice.
i. By this free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race.
ii. It was through the temptation of Satan man transgressed the command of God, and fell from his original innocence, thus inheriting a nature and an environment inclined toward sin.
iii. As soon as man is capable of moral action, they become transgressors and are under condemnation.
iv. Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God.
Supporting Verses: Genesis 1:26-30; 2:5, 7, 18-22; 3; 9:6; Psalms 1; 8:3-6; 32:1-5; 51:5; Isaiah 6:5; Jeremiah 17:5; Matthew 16:26; Acts 17:26-31; Romans 1:19-32; 3:10-18, 23; 5:6, 12, 19; 6:6; 7:14-25; 8:14-18, 29; 1 Corinthians 1:21-31; 15:19, 21-22; Ephesians 2:1-22; Colossians 1:21-22; 3:9-11.
IV. Salvation
a. Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, an is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer.
i. In the broadest sense salvation includes:
1. Regeneration
2. Justification
3. Sanctification
4. Glorification
ii. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.
b. Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God’s grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus.
i. It is a change of heart brought on by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward Christ in faith.
ii. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace.
iii. Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God
iv. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire person to Him as Lord.
c. Justification is God’s gracious and full acquittal by His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ.
i. Justification brings the believer into a relationship of peace and favor with God.
d. Sanctification is the experience, which begins in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart for God’s purpose and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual maturity throughout the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.
e. Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed.
Supporting Verses: Genesis 3:15; Exodus 3:14-17; 6:2-8; Matthew 1:21; 4:17; 16:21-26; 27:22-28:6; Luke 1:68-69; 2:28-32; John 1:11-14, 29; 3:3-21, 36; 5:24; 10:9, 28-29; 15:1-16; 17:17; Acts 2:21; 4:12; 15:11; 16:30-31; 17:30-31; 20:32; Romans 1:16-18; 2:4; 3:23-25; 4:3; 5:8-10; 6:1-23; 8:1-18, 29-39; 10:9-10, 13; 13:11-14; 1 Corinthians 1:18, 20; 6:19-20; 15:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17-20; Galatians 2:20; 3:13; 5:22-25; 6:15; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-22; 4:11-16; Philippians 2:12-13; Colossians 1:9-22; 3:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; 2 Timothy 1:12; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 2:1-3; 5:8-9; 9:24-28; 11:1-12:8, 14; James 2:14-26; 1 Peter 1:2-23; 1 John 1:6-2:11; Revelation 3:20; 21:1-22:5.
V. God’s Purpose of Grace
a. Election is the gracious purpose of God, to which he regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners.
i. It is consistent with free will of man.
ii. It is a glorious display of God’s sovereign goodness, and is infinitely wise, holy and unchangeable.
iii. It excludes boasting and promotes humility.
b. All true believers endure to the end.
i. Those who accept Christ and are sanctified by the Holy Spirit, will never fall away from God’s grace, but will be preserved to the end.
1. Believer’s may fall into sin through neglect and temptation, and thus grieve the Holy Spirit, impair their graces and comforts, and bring about a reproach from God.
2. Yet they will be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.
Support Verses: Genesis 12:1-3; Exodus 19:5-8; 1 Samuel 8:4-7, 19-22; Jeremiah 21:31; Matthew 16:18-19; 21:28-45; 24:22, 31; 25:34; Luke 1:68-79; 2:29-32; 19:41-44; 24:44-48; John 1:12-14; 3:16; 5:24; 6:44-45; 10:27-29; 15:16; 17:6, 12, 17-18; Acts 20:32; Romans 5:9-10; 8:28-39; 10:12-15; 11:5-7, 26-36; 1 Corinthians 1:1-2; 15:24-28; Ephesians 1:4-23; 2:1-10; 3:1-11; Colossians 1:12-14; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14; 2 Timothy 1:12; 2:10, 19; Hebrew 11:39-12:2; James 1:12; 1 Peter 1:2-5, 13; 2:4-10; 1 John 1:7-9; 2:19; 3:2.
Closing
As Christians it is crucial that we know what we believe. That we may be able not only to properly share our faith, but be able to stand our ground concerning false teachers. Next week we will be continuing to look at our believes and start to look at the church.
