The Bible

The Bible in its original documents is the inspired Word of God, the written record of His supernatural revelation of Himself to man, absolute in its authority, complete in its revelation, final in its content, and without any errors in its statements.  In short, the Bible is divinely inspired, inerrant, infallible, and the authoritative Words of God. (II Timothy 3:16; John 10:35; Psalm 89:34; Psalm 12:6)

God

There is one God, eternally existent, Creator of the Heaven and Earth.  He is manifested in three persons–Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These three are equal in power and authority but distinct in function as expressed in the Holy Scriptures. (Genesis 1:1-2; Isaiah 9:6; Luke 3:21-22; John 14:9; I Timothy 3:16; I John 5:7)

Jesus Christ

The Lord Jesus Christ is fully God who took on flesh and dwelt on Earth.  Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. He is the God-Man. He is the eternal Son of God and God the Son. As manifested in flesh on this Earth, He was sinlessly perfect and gave Himself as a substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of the whole world by shedding His blood and dying on the cross of Calvary; He then came back from the dead.  This self-sacrifice was complete payment and satisfaction to God the Father to pay for all mankind’s sins (past, present, & future sins). This Gospel message is available for all, and when one believes (trusts) in Jesus for salvation, accepting His payment by faith for all their sins (one’s past, present, and future sins) they are passed from spiritual death unto spiritual life, saved eternally and can never be lost.  (II Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 2:9; Titus 2:14; Hebrews 10:10-14, Hebrews 9:12-28; Acts 13:38-41; I Peter 2:24; I John 3:5)

The Holy Spirit

Being God, the Holy Spirit was and is present in all of the plan and work of God.  He restrains evil; convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment; regenerates all who believe in Christ; indwells, anoints, and seals the saved; and baptizes all believers into the body of Christ.  He controls the obedient Christians and empowers them for service, and He is the Divine Author of the Bible.  (II Thessalonians 2:7; John 16:7-11; Titus 3:5; Romans 8:9; I Corinthians 12:13; John 16:13; I John 2:20-27; Ephesians 5:18; Acts 1:8; II Peter 1:21)

Man & Regeneration

Each member of the human race is fallen, sinful and lost, and regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential for the salvation of man.  Regeneration is the New Birth (the Spirit Birth): The moment a person receives Jesus Christ as their Savior by personal faith in the finished work of Christ, immediately, the Holy Spirit indwells the believer who is then sealed until the day of redemption.  This salvation transaction is the New Birth/Spirit Birth. (Romans 3:23; John 3:7; I Corinthians 6:19; Ephesians 1:12-14; Luke 24:49; Titus 3:5)

The Sovereignty of God and the Free Will of Man

God is absolutely sovereign and in His sovereignty He gave man a free will to accept or reject the salvation that He has provided.  It is God's will that all would be saved and that none should perish.  God foreknows, but does not predetermine any man to be condemned.  God permits man's destiny to depend upon man's choice.  Acceptance or rejection of the Gospel of Jesus Christ determines mankind’s eternal destiny. Mankind has this present life to obtain salvation by faith in the Gospel, and their opportunity lasts until they breathe their last breath on this Earth. Once a person trusts Christ as Savior, they are saved forever. Salvation is a one-time transaction (or decision) which lasts forever. Once saved, always saved. (I Timothy 2:4; II Timothy 2:13; I Peter 1:2; John 5:24, John 6:64-65; Acts 10:34; I Corinthians 1:21; Ephesians 1:5-14; Romans 8:29-30; Romans 9:30-32, Romans 11:29)

Repentance

Repentance in salvation means a change of mind from any idea of religion that man may have to accept God's way of salvation.  Repentance is absolutely essential for salvation, but true repentance is contained in one’s faith in Jesus Christ as Savior. Repentance is the translation of a Greek word (metanoia/metanoeo) meaning, 'to have another mind', 'to change the mind', and is used in the New Testament to indicate a change of mind in respect of sin, of God, and of self.  This change of mind may, especially in the case of Christians who have fallen into sin, be preceded by sorrow (II Corinthians 7:8-11), but sorrow for sin, though it may 'work' repentance, is not repentance.  Saving faith (Romans 1:17, 3:25) includes and implies that change of mind which is called repentance. When a person believes the Gospel message of Jesus Christ and accepts His payment on the cross for their sins; they are “repenting” or “changing their mind” from whatever they believed in before (or didn’t believe in for that matter) and are now placing their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior. One can repent without believing or trusting in Jesus Christ as their Savior, but they cannot believe or trust in Christ without simultaneously “changing their mind” in the process. To emphasize this point further, one can “change their mind” about Christ believing He was a great prophet, teacher, humanist, etc., but they could still not trust in Jesus as their personal Savior. Therefore, one can repent without believing/trusting, but cannot believe or trust on Christ without repenting too in the process.  Many teach that repent means to “turn from sins” or “sorrow for sin.” These statements are false. The English word repent may mean these things, but not the Greek words used in Scripture. Turning from sin or sorrow for sin involves human effort or works, which are not part of God’s salvation plan (Eph. 2:8-9, Rom. 4:5, 11:6). If one did have to turn from sin or feel sorrow for sin, then how much sinning would they have to turn from? How bad would they have to feel to know they qualify for salvation? These are questions and feelings which could never be answered. One could never have full assurance of their salvation by relying on these factors. We are not looking at ourselves for assurance in salvation, we are looking at Christ’s efforts (Rom. 5:10). True biblical repentance is a “change of mind” towards God, and faith in Christ follows. “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Acts 20:21). One last point on repentance is that if repenting was a separate doctrine than belief or faith in Christ, and not simultaneously involved in trusting Christ as one’s Savior; then the Apostle John must have left out part of the Gospel message because one will not find the words “repent” or “repentance” in the book of John at all. The Gospel of John is widely considered the clearest representation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, so to forsake an element of the salvation message would be quite unfathomable. Believe (Trust) on the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved (Acts 16:31).

Salvation

Man is saved by undeserved grace/mercy of God through faith and nothing of man enters into his salvation; it is a free gift.  Man's efforts, regardless of how good or well-intended, before or after salvation, have nothing to do with it.  Salvation is by the finished work of Jesus Christ (Jesus' sinless shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection as the full payment for mankind's sin debt) and nothing can be added to it.  Anyone that is saved has been saved by grace (underserved favor of God) through faith in Jesus Christ. And anyone that is saved is saved eternally and can never lose their salvation. (Ephesians 2:8-9; Galatians 2:16; Romans 11:6; Col. 2:13.)

Eternal Security and Chastening

Every true child of God possesses eternal life, being justified by faith, sanctified by God, sealed with the Holy Spirit, and is safe and secure for all eternity.  He cannot lose his salvation.  However, a Christian can, through sin, lose his fellowship, joy, power, testimony, and reward, and incur the Father's chastisement.  Relationship is eternal, being established by the new birth. However, fellowship is dependent upon obedience to God’s Word by yielding to the Holy Spirit. (John 3:16-18, John 5:24, John 6:37-39, John 10:27-30, I Corinthians 3:11-17; Hebrews 12:5-11; I Corinthians 11:30-34.)

The Two Births

A true child of God has two births; one of the flesh, the other of the Spirit, giving man a flesh nature and a Spirit nature.  The flesh nature is neither good nor righteous.  The flesh nature can do no right in the eyes of God. In contrast, the Spirit nature does not commit any sin.  This results in a warfare between the Spirit and the flesh, which continues until physical death, or the return of the Lord.  The flesh nature of the man does not change in any way with the New Birth, but can be controlled and kept subdued by the new man (the new nature or Spirit nature which is acquired at the New Birth upon belief in Christ as Savior). (John 3:3-7; Romans 7:15-25; Romans 8:8; Gal. 5:17; I John 3:9; I Peter 1:23; I John 5:18, I John 1:8.)

The Christian Life and Responsibility

The true Christian is an ambassador of Christ, and is commanded by Him to be controlled by the Holy Spirit.  As a child of God, the believer's main responsibility in life is to faithfully proclaim the Gospel (the sinless shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ as complete payment for all one’s sins).  Evangelism is the most important aspect of the Christian life because a lost sinner can do no good for God until they have been saved. And no one is saved until they hear the Gospel and believe it (Rom. 10:17). This is why Christians must proclaim the Gospel to a lost world (Mark 16:15, Rom. 1:16). As we are saved by faith in Christ, through God's grace, so we live the Christian life by an obedient faith in God's Word, being disciplined by His grace.  Five key areas which I have identified in living the Christian life are evangelism, fellowship with like-minded believers, Bible study, prayer, and loving all people by action. (II Corinthians 5:14-20; Ephesians 5:18; Galatians 5:16; John 15:8-17; Mark 16:15; I Thessalonians 2:4; Acts 1:8; I Corinthians 9:14-31; Colossians 2:6-7; Romans 6:16; Titus 2:11-12; James 1:22; Hebrews 10:38.)

The True Church

The True Church began with the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and is composed of all true believers.  The Holy Spirit baptizes all believers into the one body of Christ: This is the Spirit baptism.  The Spirit baptism is the spiritual new birth which takes place instantaneously once a person places their faith in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. The Spirit baptism is distinct from water baptism. Water baptism is not essential for salvation but is a testimony to the world as a picture of one’s faith in the Gospel (picturing the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ and it displays identification as one’s new birth in Christ).  Water baptism has no saving capability but should be performed by every true believer as obedience to God’s Word. (Acts 1:8; I Corinthians 6:19-20; Acts 2:1-4; I Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 4:5; Acts 10:47.)

The Local Church

The local church should be comprised of those who have trusted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.  This assembly, therefore, is under the direct leadership of the Holy Spirit.  The local church's purpose is for worship, praise, prayer, fellowship, encouragement, and evangelizing the lost.  The pastor/teacher is a man called of God. The local assembly of true believers in Christ should not be neglected. It is needed for believer collaboration, accountability, and learning of the Word of God. The local church should build each believer up so that they may be fully equipped to obey God’s Word through yielding to the Holy Spirit which lives inside of them. (Acts 2:42-47; Acts 14:21-23; Hebrews 10:22-25; II Timothy 2:1-2; Ephesians 4:7,11-15.)

Satan

Satan is a person, the author of sin, and he and his angels shall be eternally punished. Satan is a real threat to both unbelievers and believers. Believers in Christ have already overcome the Devil in regards to their eternal salvation and security. Staying close to God by praying, reading your Bible, fellowshipping with other believers, evangelizing the lost, and demonstrating love towards all people will root success in resisting the Devil and his antics. Satan works on the unbeliever to keep them from ever coming to a saving knowledge of Christ, and he works on the believer by tempting them to follow the world’s standard for living in contrast to obeying God’s standard of living. The Holy Bible is the believer’s guidebook for life and studying it will keep one from falling into the snares of the Devil. (Ezekiel 28:15-17; Isaiah 14:12-15; 2 Corinthians 4:4, Ephesians 6:10-18, 1 Timothy 3:1-7, 2 Timothy 2:19-26, Revelations 20:10; Matthew 25:41, James 4:7-8)

The Rapture

The rapture is the next event on God's calendar.  Jesus Christ will descend part way from heaven with a shout. All living believers (the true church) will be bodily caught up to meet the Lord in the air.  The believer's body will be transformed into his new resurrection body on the way up.  The believer from this point on will be forever with the Lord.  On the Earth there will follow seven years of tribulation such as the world has never experienced. At the end of the seven-year tribulation period, Jesus will return in all His Glory with His heavenly angels and the church saints in His second coming to judge the world and set up His Millennial Kingdom on Earth. (I Thessalonians 4:13-18; I Corinthians 15:51-54; Matthew 24:15-22).

The Second Coming of Christ

The Second Coming of Christ is the personal, pre-tribulational and pre-millennial return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Jesus came the first time as a lamb to be sacrificed for the sins of the world. But He is coming the second time in wrath and judgment to cleanse the world of sins and set up His Millennial Kingdom bringing peace to the world. There will be no peace on Earth until Christ returns in His second coming. After the 1000-year reign of Christ (Millennial Kingdom), Satan will be loosed from his prison for a short season to be judged along with the lost. Eternity will continue after the Millennium; the saved will live eternally with God in Heaven (the New Jerusalem and the New Earth) and the lost will be judged according to their works (condemned in their sins), and spend eternity in Hell. (I Thessalonians 1:10; 5:9-11; II Thessalonians 2:1-8; Revelation 3:10; 4:4; Luke 21:36; Titus 2:13; Isaiah 26:17-21; 27:1, Revelation 20:7-15, 21:2.)

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Excerpts taken from: Copyright © 2022 Bibleline Ministries, a ministry of Calvary Community Church of Tampa, Inc.