BELIEFS THAT MATTER

by Hank Lindstrom

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.  (II Timothy 3:16; John 10:35; Psalms 89:34; Hebrews 6:18; II Peter 3:16)

GOD:
There is one God, eternally existent, creator of the heaven and earth.  He is manifested in three persons--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  (Isaiah 9:6; John 14:9; I Timothy 3:16; I John 5:7; Genesis 1:2)

JESUS CHRIST:
The Lord Jesus Christ is fully God who took on flesh and dwelt on earth.  He was sinlessly perfect and gave Himself as a substitutionary sacrifice by shedding His blood and dying on the tree; He then came back from the dead.  This was to pay for all sins (past, present, future) for all who believe.  (II Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 2:9; Titus 2:14; Hebrew 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 the 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:
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.  The moment a person receives Christ as his Savior, immediately, the Holy Spirit indwells the believer who is sealed until the day of redemption.  (Romans 3:23; John 3:7; I Corinthians 6:19; Ephesians 1:13-14; 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.  (I Timothy 2:4; II Timothy 2:13; I Peter 1:2; John 6:64-65; Acts 10:34; I Corinthians 1:21; Ephesians 1:5-14; Romans 8:29-30; Romans 9:30-32)

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 definitely necessary for salvation and the following is a quote from the Old Scofield Edition of the Bible, Footnote No. 2, and page 1174.  "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.  The son in Matthew 21:28,29 illustrates true repentance.  Saving faith (Hebrews 11:39, note) includes and implies that change of mind which is called repentance."  (Acts 20:21; II Corinthians 7:8-10; Matthew 21:32.)

SALVATION:
Man is saved by undeserved mercy 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 Christ and nothing can be added to it.  (Ephesians 2:8-9; Galatians 2:16; Romans 11:6; Col. 2:13.)

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; fellowship, however, is dependent upon obedience.  (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 Spiritual Man does not commit any sin.  ThiBELIEFS THAT MATTER

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 the life is to faithfully proclaim the gospel.  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.  (II Corinthians 5:14-20; Ephesians 5:18; Galatians 5:16; I John 15:8,16; 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 Church began with the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and is composed of all true believers.  The Holy Spirit baptizes all of us into the one body of Christ.  Water baptism is not essential for salvation but is a testimony to the world.  (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 trust Christ as 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. (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. (Ezekiel 28:15-17; Isaiah 14:12-15; Revelations 20:10; Matthew 25:41.)

THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST:
We believe in the personal, pre-tribulational and pre-millennial return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  (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.)

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 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. {I Thessalonians 4:13-18; I Corinthians 15:51-54; Matthew 24:15-22}.s 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. (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.)