Jim Chandler Peebles Church of Christ.
What is the Church of Christ built on?
The Peebles Church of Christ is built on 10 foundational beliefs.
1. The Bible is true. (2nd Timothy 3:16-17)
We believe that the Bible is God’s inspired
Word to the world. The Bible is God revealing himself to man. The Bible is perfect and is
true from the first Chapter of Genesis to the
last chapter of Revelation.
We believe the things recorded in the Bible
really happened.
Creation.
Jonah and the great fish.
Noah and the Ark.
Parting of the Red Sea.
The Bible is the foundation for all we do in
our church.
2. God created man. (Genesis 2)
We do not believe that man got here as a
process of evolution.
We do not believe that man got here from some
sort of cosmic accident.
We believe that man was created just as it is
written in Genesis.
God created man a spiritual being with a soul,
different from animals.
3. Man has a sinful nature.
It is a popular belief that because of Adam’s
sin, all men are born guilty.
But Roman’s clearly says that “All have
sinned...”
We hold to the Bible’s teaching that we become
guilty when we sin. Not before.
We do believe that just as in Genesis in the
garden of Eden, when man is given the choice
he will choose sin.
But no man is guilty because of other’s sins.
We are guilty only by our own sin.
Babies are born pure and perfectly innocent.
Jesus said we should become like the little children...pure innocent trusting.
Galatians talks about the sinful nature. The
desires of our carnal bodies. We choose whether to live by the sinful nature or by the
Spirit.
Sin separates us from God. We believe man is
not born separated from God, but
becomes separated from God when he rebels
against God and sins.
4. Jesus Christ is God. (Colossians 2:9)
The world is so divided about Jesus and who he
was.
Some say he was just a prophet.
Others say he was a great teacher.
We believe he was and is the Son of God.
Jesus openly claimed that he was the Messiah.
That he was God’s Son.
Jesus is God. Part of the Trinity. Father,
Son, Holy Spirit.
If Jesus is not God, then he was just a mere
man and can do nothing for you and I.
5. Jesus’ miraculous birth. (Isaiah 7:14, Luke 1:34)
The prophets predicted it.
The gospels recorded it.
The Son of God was born in Bethlehem.
He was born of a virgin named Mary.
Why does the world find that so hard to
believe that a miracle like this could happen
with all the modern science we have today?
6. Jesus died in our place. (I Corinthians 15:3)
Because of our sin, you and I deserve to die.
We deserve hell.
Jesus the Son of God came to this earth. He
lived a perfect life. He did nothing to deserve death. The only man who didn’t do
anything to deserve death.
A price had to be paid for sin, always. In
the Old Testament it was the blood of sacrificed animals. Now it was the time for
one more sacrifice. The blood of God’s own son Jesus Christ. That is the only thing
which could remove our sin. Even though he had done nothing to deserve it, Jesus went to
the cross and died for us, died in our place so his blood and death could atone for our sin.
7. Jesus rose from the dead. (Luke 24:39)
Jesus was crucified and laid in a tomb. Three
days later his body was gone. What happened? There are different opinions:
He didn’t really die on the cross, and
he walked out of the tomb.
He died, but the disciples stole his
body.
The soldiers stole his body.
All of these ideas are full of errors. When
you read what they did with Jesus you realize there is no way a person could live through
that. Medical experts confirm that
crucifixion of that nature would lead to
death.
Also when you look in history and the tomb,
you realize the stone they would have placed
over the entrance to the tomb....no man
could have moved it.
The only explanation with validity is just as
the Bible records it. Jesus died, was in the tomb three days and then rose from the dead.
8. God’s plan for salvation.
God’s word spells out for us His plan of
salvation.
Believe- that Jesus is the Christ.
Confess- him before others.
Repent- of our sinful lifestyles and
start living for him.
Immersed- be baptized into him.
Live- an obedient life in Christ.
9. Jesus coming return.
We believe that Jesus is coming again. Just
like his Word says. Jesus said that he is coming back and that no one knows the hour or
the day, not even Jesus himself.
But his return is sure. It will be with the
angels in glory. It will be like a thief in
the night. The Bible tells us that we need to
be prepared for his return.
10. All people will be judged and will spend eternity in Heaven or in Hell.
The Bible is clear that those who have
followed God’s plan for salvation will spend eternity in heaven.
Those without Jesus Christ as their Savior
will spend an eternity in hell.
These essential beliefs are what our church is built on. They shape all we do and what we are about.
