The
gospel of Christ that Paul was referring to and warned that some were
turning away from, is the simple Gospel of Salvation which is
obtained by God's grace when one believes in Jesus Christ. Paul
warned that a false gospel based on good works and obedience to the laws
of God was leading people astray by giving them confidence to trust in
their own goodness rather than God's grace.
What
is the Gospel of Salvation? One could say that the only belief necessary
for salvation is the belief in Jesus Christ and Him crucified [1
Corinthians 2:1-5], and while this is true, their remains a potential
problem. Paul warned of another
Jesus and a different
gospel other than what was taught
by the Apostles, false gospels that seem right and claim truth, but lead
to destruction. This is precisely why one must make it clear what
they believe about God, the Bible, Jesus Christ, and the Plan of
Salvation so that truth can be distinguished from the many false
teachings that are prevalent in the world today, all of course claiming
to be the truth.
We
believe there to be essential doctrines which form the foundation of the
Christian Faith. These doctrines distinguish the beliefs of true
Christians from other beliefs such as Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses,
Oneness Pentecostalism, Christian Scientists, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism,
and others. The Essential Beliefs of true Christianity are thus called "essential"
because those who willfully chose not to accept them as truth reject the
Biblical foundations of Christianity and worship a god other than the One
taught in Scripture.
Those
who accept the Essential Christian Beliefs as truth and have saving
faith in Jesus Christ according to Romans 10:9-10, can be considered a brother or sister in
the Christian Faith.
The following are widely accepted as Essentials to the Christian Faith
as taught by the Apostles and adhered to historically within the
Christian Church:
The
Essentials
1.
The Inspiration, Inerrancy and FINAL Authority of the Bible.
The words of the Bible are God's literal words without error as it was
originally given to men. For the believer, it is the final rule of
life in all matters. [John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 4:12]
2.
The Holy Trinity of God. There is ONE God which is
three separate persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These 3
persons are the ONE God. Each of the three persons are equally God
but not 3 Gods, and each person co-exists eternally as God. [1 John
5:6-7; Luke 3:21-22]
3.
The Deity of Jesus Christ. Jesus the Christ is fully
God and fully man. Jesus is not a manifestation of the Father or the
Holy Spirit. [John 1:1,14; John 20:28-29; Matthew 1:23; Philippians
2:5-6; 1 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 1:8-10]
4.
The Person of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is as
much a separate person as are the Father and the Son. The Holy
Spirit is God as is the Father and the Son are God. Not three
Gods, but ONE God. The Holy Spirit is not a manifestation of the
Father or the Son. [John 14:25-26; Ephesians 4:30; Acts 13:2]
5.
The Sin Nature of All Mankind. All humans have
inherited a sin nature and can never be good enough to earn or merit
their own way into God's Heavenly Kingdom. [Romans 3:10,23; 5:12; 6:23;
Psalms 51:5]
6.
The Virgin Birth and Sinless Nature of Jesus Christ.
Christ was born of a virgin, who conceived by the power of the Holy
Spirit. He therefore did not inherit the sin nature of mankind,
and thus lived a life totally free of sin. [Matthew 1:23; Hebrews 4:15;
2 Corinthians 5:21]
7.
The Death and Resurrection of Jesus. Jesus died a
physical death on a wooden cross and was dead for three days. He
rose again from the grave on the third day, appeared to more than 500
people here on Earth, ascended into Heaven, and is seated at the right
hand of God the Father in the Heavenly Kingdom. [Acts 2:22-23; 10:38-41;
1 Corinthians 15:3-8]
8.
Salvation is By Grace ALONE. We are saved
purely by the Grace of God. The good works done by us in our
daily lives have no bearing on our worthiness to enter in to God's
Heavenly Kingdom. [Ephesians 2:8-9; 2 Timothy 1:9]
9.
Salvation is Through Faith ALONE. Faith
(trust) alone in Jesus Christ activates God's saving GRACE and nothing else
(not the Ten Commandments, not Baptism, nor the Lord's Supper, nor
Speaking in Tongues, nor any other form of obedience to God described in
the Bible). Yet if a person never exhibits any works of righteousness,
goodness, and obedience to God, it may appear to
other Christians that they are not saved because
their faith may very well be in their head and not in their heart. A person's good works only
provide visual evidence of their faith because
man can not see what is in the heart. God however, is able to see
the heart without works and thus, Jesus pronounced the thief on the
cross saved when the thief's only goodness was that he believed
in Jesus at that last moment. Other than the words spoken by his
lips, the thief had no works to provide evidence of his faith in
Christ. But since God sees the heart and knows genuine faith that
is from the heart, his salvation was gained through faith (trust)
alone in Jesus Christ.
[Luke 23:39-43; Isaiah 64:6; 1 Peter 1:5,9; 2 Timothy 3:15; Romans 3:28;
James 2:14-24; Romans 10:9-10; Genesis 6:5; 1 Chronicles 28:9]
10.
The Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
Jesus will one
day return physically to this earth, to judge the living and the dead.
Those who have believed in Jesus Christ in their hearts will be judged
to everlasting life, and those who have disbelieved will be judged to
everlasting punishment. [Matthew 24:30, 25:31-46; 2 Timothy 4:1; Acts 10:42]
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