1. The Bible is from God.
>Read Gal 1:11-12<
Question: If we reject a Biblical command, whom have we rejected?
(See 2 Tim 3:16; 1 Cor 14:37; Eph 3:3-5; Luke 10:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21)
2. The Bible can be trusted. (Psalm 9:10; Jer 17:7)
3. The Bible arms us against destructive error. (Eph 4:14; Acts 20:27-31)
4. The Bible protect us from occult influence. (1 Peter 5:8; Eph 6:10-18)
5. The Bible guides people to salvation. (1 Peter 3:15; 2 Tim 2:2)
6. The Bible is meant to change your life. (Rom 12:2)
7. The Bible is verbally inspired.
Verbal inspiration means that every word written by the inspired writers was exactly the word God wanted. Some people believe that God just gave the inspired men ideas, then let them explain them as they saw fit. This belief leaves room for error in the way the men expressed the ideas. Consider these verses:
> Read 1 Cor 2:10-13 & Deut 18:18-19<
(See also Matt 10:19; 2 Sam 23:1,2; Ex 24:3-4,7; Isa 51:l6; Jer 1:5-9.)
8. The Bible is infallible.
Infallible means the message of the inspired writers cannot possibly be wrong, because God does not make mistakes.
>Read Psalm 119:128; Titus 1:2< Consider Matthew 22:31-32 - Note that the Scriptures are so accurate that we can rely even on the tense of the verbs
Question: How will it affect our Bible study if we are not convinced that every word is true? (See
Psalm 19:8, 33:4; 147:4-5; Job 37:16; Num 23:19; Heb 6:18; Deut 18:20-22; John 17:17;
Rom 3:4).
9. The Bible Can Be Understood by Anyone.
Some believe that the Bible can be understood only by specially trained clergymen, not by the average person. As a result, they approach the Bible convinced they will never understand it.
>Read Mark 7:14; 2 Tim 3:16-17; Acts 17:11<
The Bereans did not just accept what preachers said, but used the Scriptures to check out the preachers! (Acts 17:11)
(See also Psalm 19:7-11, 119:105; Prov 2:1-12; Isa 35:8, 55:11; John 8:32, 20:30-31; Eph 3:3-5, 5:17; 1 Cor 14:33; Col 1:9-11)
10. The Bible is the Foundation of the Church
Jesus is the greatest expert on the Bible. He believed the entire Old Testament was the inspired, inerrant Word of God given by Him as the ultimate authority to command, teach, and guide His creation BECAUSE HE WROTE IT!!! He quoted the book of Genesis as true, historically accurate, and authoritative rather than a book full of poems or mythical anecdotal stories.
(See Matt 7:1-13, 11:23-24, 12:39-41, 19:3-6, 22:29-33, 23:34-35)
Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would bring to mind all that He had said, as well as taught the Apostles, thereby confirming that what was written in the New Testament was inspired and authoritative (John 14:25-26, 17:17-21). Jesus warned that anyone who claims to be a Christian and does not keep or believe His Word is deceiving themselves and are of their father the devil (John 8:43-47,14:23-24).
Translating the original Hebrew, Greek, or Aramaic language into English (or any other language for that matter) is a difficult task as word definitions can be very different from English meanings. The structure of grammar is also very different from English grammar, as well as not using many of the punctuation marks used in English such as apostrophes, periods, colons, commas, hyphens, etc. Also, the words used in Hebrew, Greek, or Aramaic can have very different definitions and meanings than in the English language.
Anything written or spoken can be twisted to mean whatever a person wants it to mean - including the Bible. In this age of biblical illiteracy, it is even more important than ever to know the Scriptures and learn the methods and rules Christians have been using for over two thousand years to study and interpret them.
** [See ATTACHMENT #2]
ATTACHMENT # 2
The Primary Essential Doctrines of Christianity
The Bible reveals the doctrines that are essential to the Christian faith. There are many other important doctrines, but these are the only ones that are declared by Scripture to be essential.
1. The Deity of Jesus
A. Jesus is God in flesh (John 8:58 with Exodus 3:14). See also John 1:1,14; 10:30-33; 20:28; Col. 2:9; Phil. 2:5-8; Heb. 1:8
"This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world." (1 John 4:2-3)
a. The verse needs to be cross-referenced with John 1:1,14, where he states that the Word was God and the Word became flesh.
b. The verse is that if you deny that Jesus is God in flesh, then you are of the spirit of Antichrist.
"I said, therefore, to you, that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins." (John 8:24)
Jesus said here that if you do not believe "that I am," you will die in your sins. In Greek, I am 'ego eimi,' which means ‘I am.' These are the same words used in John 8:58, where Jesus says, "...before Abraham was, I am." He was claiming the divine title by quoting Exodus 3:14 in the Greek Septuagint. (The Septuagint was the Hebrew Old Testament translated into Greek.)
B. Jesus is the proper object of faith
It is not simply enough to have faith. Faith is only as valid as what it is put in. You must put your faith (aka: trust) in the proper object. Cults have false objects of faith; therefore, their faith is useless - no matter how sincere they are.
If you put your faith in a vacuum cleaner, then you will be in a lot of trouble on the day of judgment. You might have great faith, but so what? It is in something that can't save you.
C. The Doctrine of the deity of Jesus includes:
1). The Trinity - There is one God who exists in three persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are all coeternal, and of the same nature.
2). Monotheism - There is only one God in all existence (Isaiah 43:10; 44:6,8; 45:5,14,18,21,22; 46:9; 47:8). Mormons believe that many gods exist though they serve and worship only one. Therefore, they are polytheists which excludes them from the camp of Christianity.
D. The Hypostatic Union - That Jesus is both God and man.
1). The sufficiency of the sacrifice of Christ - The sacrifice of Christ is completely sufficient to pay for the sins of the world
2). As God - Jesus must be God to be able to offer a sacrifice of value greater than that of a mere man.
a). He had to die for the sins of the world (1 John 2:2). Only God could do that.
3). As Human - Jesus must be human to be able to be a sacrifice for them.
a). As a man He can be the mediator between God and man (1 Tim 2:5).
2. Salvation by Grace
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast." (Eph 2:8-9 NIV)
"You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace" (Gal. 5:4).
a). This verse and its context teach that if you believe that you are saved by faith and works then you are not saved at all. This is a common error in the cults. They have a false Jesus and doctrine of salvation (Read Rom 3-5 and Gal 3-5).
b). Cannot add to the work of God.
"I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!" (Gal 2:21 NIV)
"Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin." (Rom 3:20)
"However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness." (Rom 4:5)
"Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law." (Gal 3:21)
3. The Resurrection of Jesus
"And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith" (1 Cor 15:14). "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins." (1 Cor 15:17)
a). To deny the physical resurrection is to deny Jesus' work, sacrifice, and our resurrection.
b). These verses clearly state that if you say that Jesus did not rise from the dead (in the same body He died in -- John 2:19-21), then your faith is useless.
4. The Gospel
"But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!" (Gal 1:8-9 NIV)
a). Verses 8 and 9 here in Galatians are a self declarative statement that you must believe the gospel. The gospel message which in its entirety is that Jesus is God in flesh, who died for sins, rose from the dead, and freely gives the gift of eternal life to those who believe.
b). It is impossible to present the Gospel properly without declaring that Jesus is God in flesh (John 1:1,14, 10:30-33, 20:28; Col 2:9; Phil. 2:5-8; Heb 1:8).
"Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures." (1 Cor 15:1-4 NIV)
Within these verses are the essentials:
1). Jesus is God in flesh (John 1:1,14; 10:30-33; 20:28; Col. 2:9)
2). Salvation is received by trusting-faith in Jesus (John 1:12; Rom 10:9-10).
5. Monotheism
A. There is only one God (Ex 20:3; Isa 43:10, 44:6,8)
“You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments" (Ex 20:3-6).
Secondary Essentials
The Secondary essentials are necessary truths to the Christian faith.
1. Jesus is the only way to salvation
"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.'" (John 14:6)
a. Jesus declared that he was the only access to God the Father. To deny this is to deny what Jesus said.
2. The Virgin birth of Jesus
“'Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,' which translated means, 'God with us.'” (Matt 1:23)
a. Without the virgin birth, we cannot substantiate the doctrine of the incarnation of Jesus being God in flesh.
"I said, therefore, to you, that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins." (John 8:24)
3. Doctrine of the Trinity
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." (Matt 28:19; also Matt 3:16-17; 1 Cor 12:4-6; 2 Cor 13:14; Eph 4:4-6)
a. This doctrine is not clearly represented by any single verse in the Bible. However, it is easily verified by systematically looking at the totality of Scripture.
