Essential Christian Doctrines
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Yes, per Paul all sin and all sinners may repent and be saved by having faith in Jesus as Messiah and Lord (Acts 16:31, 2Cor. 4:5 & Col. 2:6). This essential doctrine or normative way of stating the kerygma/GRFS in the NT (Christian orthodoxy) implies or can be explained or elaborated by means of the following sub-doctrines:
- There is a/one all-loving and just Lord or Creator God (Deut. 6:4, John 3:16, 2Thes. 1:6), who loves sinful humanity (Rom. 5:6-8, John 3:16) and who is both able (2Tim. 1:12) and willing (1Tim. 2:3-4, Ezek. 33:11) to provide all morally accountable human beings salvation or heaven—a wonderful life full of love, joy and peace forever.
- Human beings are selfish or sinful (Rom. 3:23, 2Tim. 3:2-4, Col. 3:5), miserable (Gal. 5:19-21), and hopeless (Eph. 2:12) or hell-bound at the judgment (Matt. 23:33 & 25:46) when they reject God’s salvation (John 3:18, Rom. 2:5-11).
- Jesus is God’s Messiah/Christ and incarnate Son, the way that God has chosen (John 3:16, Acts 16:30-31, Phil. 2:9-11) of providing salvation by means of his atoning death on the cross for the payment of the penalty for the sins of humanity (Rom. 3:22-25 & 5:9-11), followed by his resurrection to reign in heaven (1Cor. 15:14-28).
- Thus, every person who hears the NT Gospel needs to repent and accept God’s grace or justification in Jesus as Christ/Messiah the Lord or Supreme Commander (Luke 2:11, John 14:6, Acts 16:31), at which moment God’s loving Holy Spirit of Christ indwells/baptizes the believer into the church (Rev. 3:20, Rom. 5:5, 1Cor. 12:13).
- Loving Christ Jesus as Lord (Luke 2:11), God the Son (Matt. 16:16) or God in the human dimension (Col. 2:9) means reflecting divine love as empowered by the Holy Spirit, thereby obeying His command to love one another (Matt. 7:21, 22:37-40, John 13:35, Rom. 13:9)—forever (Matt. 10:22, Psa. 113:2), which will eventually achieve spiritual maturity on earth and heaven after Christ returns at God’s resurrection (John 14:6, 17&26, Rom. 8:6-17, Gal. 6:7-9, Eph. 1:13-14, Phil. 3:12-16, Heb. 10:36, 12:1, Jam. 1:2-4).
I know what they are Eli1.
I'm beginning to wonder if there are many Christians that do....
Good morning GWH
You've stated soteriology and some of the tenets.
I wasn't referring to soteriology and I really don't understand why I'm having difficulty with the topic at hand...which is ESSENTIAL CHRISTIAN DOCTRINES.
IOW,,,doctrines that are essential to the Christian RELIGION.
Here are the main tenets of the Christian religion.
JESUS IS GOD (THUS THE TRINITY OR GODHEAD)
SALVATION THROUGH FAITH
JESUS DEATH AND RESURRECTION
THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD
THE BIBLE IS OUR AUTHORITY
THE VIRGIN BIRTH
There might be a couple more that don't come to mind.
ORIGINAL SIN/SIN NATURE would also be another one.
A tenet means that if a person does not hold to it/accept it/denies it....
they would be denying the very religion and would not be able to define themselves as Christian.
Comment?
IMO soteriology or GRFS is the essential Christian doctrine, which I refer to as the kerygma.
I see that my 5-point elaboration includes the first five tenets you listed.
(The Bible as authority is implied in references to the OT and NT.)
The sin nature is implied in my #2.
I did not include the virgin birth, because the NT does not indicate that belief is essential for salvation;
nor is it an emphasis in many Christian denominations, such as the SBC in which I was raised.
Ditto regarding original sin.
Over...
So you've hit perfectly on my point.
One does not have to believe anything to be saved except to trust in Jesus.
No theology necessary.
HOWEVER,,,
to be defined as Christian, as of the CHRISTIAN RELIGION (religon - not faith)
The Christian RELIGION does include the tenet of the virgin birth and original sin (or however any denomination wants to name it).
Maybe this more formal statement (not mine) will be more acceptable?:
"A CHRISTIAN" is someone who has sincerely surrendered ownership of their life to Jesus Christ as a faith response to His Gospel. Period. A newer Christian can therefore theoretically be wrong about practically every doctrine - to be later corrected by the Holy Spirit as the Christian grows in knowledge and faith.
By contrast, CHRISTIANITY, THE BELIEF SYSTEM, is defined by adherence to certain, fundamental, doctrines; namely, the Eternal Deity of Christ, the Divine Authority of Christian Scripture, the Virgin Birth of Christ, the Vicarious sacrifice of Christ on a Roman Cross, and the Bodily Resurrection of Christ. These are the
Anyone can label themselves in any manner they choose. But that approach to words has no logical utility. We use words to communicate ideas. Using words without established definitions makes communication (and the search for truth) inefficient. doctrines that separate Christianity from other beliefs and ideologies. A ministry group is not "CHRISTIAN" if it fails to ascribe to these doctrines. This is not a matter of judgement, but of basic definition.
And my point is that trusting in Jesus implies belief in all of the topics typically included in Christian theology:
theology, christology, pneumatology, soteriology, anthropology, ecclesiology, eschatology, ethics, apologetics, history and science.
It makes a complicated Venn diagram! However, a person may begin being saved as a child by simply trusting Jesus, yes.
I see you distinguish between religion and relationship/faith, as I also do, saying:
A soul’s relationship with God begins when the person becomes a truthseeker (cf. Matt. 7:7, Heb. 11:6), because God’s Spirit is Truth (1John 5:6), although the young soul may not realize it (Rom. 1:17). As a truthseeker at any time in history contemplates creation, Paul indicates that they will be able to discern God’s being and loving will in nature (Rom. 1:20, 2:14-15, Gal. 5:14) by means of what theologians call general revelation. In this regard it is good to plumb the depths of Gen. 1:1-3 describing the Spirit of God’s presence as God spoke creation into existence and connect it with John 1:1-3 saying the Word was in the beginning and through Him all things were made (cf. Acts 17:27-28).
When souls realize that God has a moral requirement, if they worship Him they become like Abraham, and the relationship with God becomes personal (Rom. 4:1-25). Presumably God provides such believers the opportunity to learn the proto-gospel, so they may repent of sin and accept the pre-incarnate foreshadowing of the sacrifice of Christ (cf. Gen. 3:21), whether in the form of Abraham’s ram (Gen. 22:13) or Moses’ lamb (Exo. 12:21). At the moment of worship and saving faith like Abraham, the Spirit of Christ/God’s Holy Spirit enters the believer’s spiritual heart– again even though they do not realize it–because Paul taught that whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Christ (Rom. 8:9). Of course, partial knowledge of God’s Word will limit ability to cooperate with Him, so there is a need for evangelism and learning the full Gospel (Matt. 28:19-20).
The personal relationship between Believers/Christians and God may be viewed as having three stages: conversion, spiritual growth or maturation (Eph. 4:13), and glorification (1Pet. 5:10) or immortality (1Cor. 15:53) in heaven. The kerygmatic prayer that is necessary in order for a sinner be saved and walk with God is confession (1John 1:9, Psa. 32:1-5). Because a convert’s commitment to Christ is in accordance with God’s perfect will (1Tim. 2:3-4), the moment of Spirit baptism fulfills the command to be filled with the Spirit (in Eph. 5:18), which means to cooperate fully with the love of God (Eph. 3:16-19) or of the HS (Rom. 15:30).
Unfortunately, some saints may not appreciate the process of spiritual growth or being transformed by the renewing of their minds (Rom. 12:2), perhaps because it involves admitting sins or having “guilt trips”. Guilt is like a warning light, and until we gain the wisdom to welcome God’s reproof, we will not feel the satisfaction of becoming a new and improved version of ourselves (Heb. 10:19-22). Thus, guilt is good (John 9:41). Woe to the one who become so callous that no guilt is felt when wrong is done (Matt. 13:14-15)!
The unstable phase is followed eventually by a second phase in a believer’s relationship with God’s HS of relative maturity, signified in the Bible (especially the KJV) by the phrase “walking with God” (cf. Enoch in Gen. 5:24) or walking in light (1John 1:7). Paul also described this phase as walking in love (Eph. 5:2), in a new life (Rom. 6:4) according to the Spirit (Rom. 8:4) and in good works (Col. 1:10).
Like physical walking, spiritual walking has two steps. The first step is listening to God (LGW), and the second step is responding to or cooperating with God. God’s message for mankind is revealed partially by the world He has created but more fully by the Scriptures He has inspired. The crux of God’s Word is the Gospel of salvation (kerygma), while the secondary teachings (didache) consist of the manifold applications of the law of love (1John 3:11). The Believer’s main types of responses to God’s Word are prayer to God and good works unto others for God (cf. 1John 4:20, Eph. 2:10).
Regarding the formal statement: I like the first paragraph, but the second one strays from essential implications of the kerygma into secondary doctrines that I distinguish from the kerygma by use of the term "didache". These topics include: the Trinity, the Inspiration of Scripture, and the Virgin Birth.
Regarding the third paragraph: I agree that we (and God) use words to communicate ideas, and that the meaning of words must be understood for communication of truth/the Christian Gospel. Anyone who does not believe the essential doctrine/Gospel is a heretic and NOT a Christian by definition.
The kerygma/GRFS should be every Christian’s creed, and only belief in this crucial truth should be viewed as a test for orthodoxy or heresy. As Paul wrote in Romans 10:9, “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Conversely, judgments concerning a person’s spiritual orientation or ultimate destiny should not be made on the basis of didachaic or secondary doctrines. (If any judgment is made, it should begin with a self-examination per Matt. 7:1&5, 2Cor. 13:5-8).
A major reason many Christians throughout history have not manifested the love and unity of God’s Spirit (Eph. 4:3) as well as they should is because of failure to realize this truth. If they did, it would free them to speak honestly and fellowship without becoming unduly upset about relatively minor issues. They would receive God’s blessing as peacemakers, who draw inclusive circles around people based on the kerygma rather than denominational lines between them due to didachaic differences. Jesus prayed for spiritual unity (cf. John 17:20-23, “May they be one…”). Thus, unity regarding the Gospel is more important than accuracy regarding doctrinal details.
Over...
Yes sir.
There is a BIG difference.
I believe those of us that want to be known as Christian require BOTH....
The relationship
and the acceptance of the religion's tenets/core beliefs.
To do otherwise is to create a different religion,
or, at least, an attempt to change the meaning of the existing one.
Agreed. God has always revealed Himself through genreal revelation.
OK
Read it twice to make sure I understood.
You're moving/progressing from Revelation in Romans 1.20....to the actual act of replying Yes or No to God.
Agreed.
Even through general revelation a person might come to the understanding that a higher being exists...
but they still have the free will to deny Him or decide not to worship Him.
Agreed.
I name it like this:
JUSTIFICATION
SANCTIFICATION
GLORIFICATION
You've explained each step.
Are these your words?
If so, I plan on following you.
Something I don't do.
But the explanations are so simple yet precise and intelligent that I feel I could learn from your posts.
Really.
let me know.
Not being scholarly, I sometimes find it difficult to explain some doctrine or other.
Have had to post John 13.35 many times in these Forums.
Sometimes the love a Christian should feel is just not there.
I put myself in the fold - at times.
Agreed.
I'll be needing your address !
LOL
The second statement is referring specifically to the Christian religion.
When i tell someone I'm Christian...these are the tenets that should come to mind.
I'm surprised you're saying this since you understand the difference between faith and religion.
Not all do.
Agreed.
When you use the word DIDACHE do you mean teaching or do you mean THE didache?
i believe we are not to make any judgment as to the state of a person's soul.
ONLY to their theology.
Some of which is heretical although they do not believe so.
The very word HERETIC is no longer understood and taken to be a personal insult in most cases which is why I hesitate to use it, but do at times.
i do believe we agree.
I do not reply to denominational disputes except to always state the following:
The CC is Chirstian - it does teach the gospel - at least it does today.
The reformed denominations distort the character of God and none of TULIP is biblical.
Thanks for a great conversation. Not easy to come by.
Amen re meaningful discussion rarely happens on CC. I feel blessed today by encountering a fellow truthseeker.
(NightTwister must be rolling over in his bed!) I am glad my insights regarding God's Words are deemed true by you,
but the reason they are reasonable is because I amend my beliefs as soon as I realize they are wrong.
An example is the doctrine of once saved always saved (OSAS). Being raised as a Baptist I knew the SBC statement of faith
included the P part of the hyper-Calvinist TULIP dogma, but when I read the Bible from cover to cover for the first time as a teenager,
I learned that understanding was false and became a believer in moral free will (MFW) per the Scriptures cited below.
The plain sense of these Scriptures suggests that it is possible for a believer to commit apostasy, and saying that this understanding is false seems to make God tricky. Also, God’s plan of salvation from the miserable consequences of choosing to reject Him makes sense only if people are morally accountable or free, and free will is meaningful only if a person can choose between essentially opposite options (Deut. 30:19). Third, Jesus said “The truth will set you free” (John 8:32 & 36). As a disciple of Christ I feel free, and I find every day fraught with significance as I fight on God’s side against evil in a war that has ultimate consequences for the destiny of my soul.
Because Christians retain the same freedom they had as non-Christians to accept or reject Christ’s Lordship, the second most important truth to learn in life after the Gospel/kerygma is the necessity of persevering in accepting Christ as Lord in order to learn more of God’s Word (LGW, didachaic doctrines) until we die in order to achieve our God-given purpose in life: the fullness of Christ or spiritual maturity (Matt. 4:4). The doctrine of perseverance or LGW serves as a bridge from the kerygma (creed) to the didache (teachings helpful for lifelong spiritual growth per 2Tim. 3:15-16) or from spiritual birth to maturity. Scriptures that teach the possibility of apostasy include the following:
Matt. 10:22, “All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” [Back-sliding is the opposite of standing firm or persevering.]
Rom. 11:22, “Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off.”
1Cor. 15:2, “By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.”
Gal. 5:4, “You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.”
Col. 1:22-23, “But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel.”
2Thes. 1:4-5, “Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.”
2Tim. 2:12, “If we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us;”
Heb. 3:6&14, “But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast… We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.”
Heb. 6:4-6, “It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.” This passage indicates that apostasy may be viewed as total depravity or blasphemy against the HS (MT 12:31).
Heb. 10:26-36, “If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God… So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.”
Jam. 1:12, “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”
2Pet. 1:10-11, “Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
2Pet. 2:20, “If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.”
1John 2:24-25, “See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what he promised us—even eternal life.”
Jude 21, “Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.”
Rev. 2:10, “Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
Over...
Since you were reformed and mentioned the words hyper calvinist I do have a question for you.
I began to study Calvinism about maybe 20 years ago.
It is my contention that there is no such strata as calvinist and hyper calvinist.
This is a term that has been coined by those that are reformed but cannot fully accept what Reformed theology teaches...that is:
that God created everything, including evil and, by extension, sinful acts by mankind.
So, to soften up this idea...they believe that God created everything, but is in no way responsible for sin.
This is repeated in the 2 confessions I've read (which are basically the same...Westminster, Baptist 1689),
and which makes no logical sense.
Amen to that !
The reformed reject the description of "robot" - but what else do they think a being with no free will would be??
If God directs our every action as Calvin states (I believe in his book 3) what does that make us other than robots?
It's the very definiton of a puppet on strings or of a robot that is programmed to act a certain way.
Yes sir.
All scripture I've used many times.
And I've expressed many times that we do not lose our free will AFTER we become born again.
We retain that free will and can leave God whenever we wish to. Nothing can take us out of the hand of God...
but we can remove ourselves from His hand if it is our desire at any given time.
IOW, if we are unable to become unsaved, then we have lost our free will and have become the very puppets most on the OSAS side declare that we are not! Thus creating a conflict. According to the teachings of OSAS ... we actually BECOME puppets when we decide to follow God (the very idea they deny) ....which means VOILA'....that God will be responsible for our sinning --- which, of course, they vehemently deny.
Synergism would come into play here...but I'll leave it at that.
I read Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion while in seminary some 45 years ago and do not remember much,
but I use the term hyper-Calvinism to refer to the most problematic part: TULIP.
I have reformed Reformed doctrine by explaining that God created the evil option in order to actualize human MFW,
which as a theoretical option was good for that purpose but became actual evil when A&E freely chose to sin,
which thus was their responsibility.
The first time I encountered tulipists was when I joined CC, and I was amazed at how dogmatic was their illogical interpretation
of Scripture. Every time I studied their prooftexts systematically or in context TULIP was disproved, but they resorted to ad hominem
attacks rather than amend their view. BTW, these studies are posted in the thread about Resolving Problematic Interpretations of Scripture if you want to comment there as well.
Calvin's TULIP adopted Augustine of Hippo's teachings but failed to notice the way Augustine avoided the charge of making humans into robots: God foreknows what choice the elect would make and presents them with the options that lead to faith in Christ. Of course, this theory does NOT absolve Augustine of the charge of making God unloving and unjust.
Interaction (I won't credit it with being discussion) with tulipists did help me clarify that there is no qualitative difference between faith that accepts God’s saving grace at conversion and faith that accepts God’s working grace or motivates good works while walking/living (Eph. 2:8-10, 2Cor. 5:7), but only a quantitative difference as each additional moment passes–and of course faith remains non-meritorious during the saint’s entire lifetime (Rom. 1:17). IOW, the ability to do good works as well as have saving faith are both due to God’s grace.
Yes, being unsnatchable (John 10:27-29) does not disallow a person from choosing to jump out of the “Father’s hand”.
Also, in John 6:37 “never drive away” does not mean a person cannot go away, and in John 6:39 “I shall lose none” may refer
to those who persevere or do not stray, who stand firm, who endure, who hold firmly, etc. Other passages cited by tulipists
that seem to support predestination may be harmonized with those supporting free will or perseverance as follows:
2. Rom. 8:38-39 – “anything else” may refer to powers other than one’s own will.
3. Rom. 14:4&10, Paul says not to judge a servant of Jesus, who is able to make them stand before God’s judgment. The verb “make” may mean “provide a way”.
4. 1Cor 1:8, 10:12 & 15:58, Paul says that Jesus will keep the Corinthian believers firm to the end, warns them that if they think they are standing firm to be careful that they don’t fall and therefore, stand firm, letting nothing move them from the work of the Lord. These verses indicate that standing firm involves a believer cooperating with the way Jesus provides or makes.
5. 2Cor 1:20-24, Paul says that God makes us stand firm in Christ and anointed our hearts with the HS as a seal and deposit; it is by faith that we stand firm. This indicates that the way God provides for standing firm is for believers to persevere in cooperating with the HS.
6. Eph. 1:11-14 – what is “predestined” is God’s plan to choose or elect anyone who desires to be “in him” or to satisfy GRFS. Thus, being “marked in him with a seal” does not abrogate moral free will (cf. 2Pet. 1:10f).
7. 1 John 2:19 – when synthesized with verse 24 must mean that those who repudiate their Faith do not eternally “belong”.
8. Psalm 135:6 – in light of “volitional verses” (such as Deut. 30:19 & Matt. 23:37) means that God “pleases” to permit limited free will.
9. Pro. 21:1 – in order not to make God responsible for the sins cited in the rest of the chapter must mean that the “king’s heart” or will is choosing to cooperate with the Lord’s “hand” or directions.
Yes, synergism comes into play if defined as cooperation with GW, which I state succinctly thusly:
God initiates; sinners may cooperate or not (Phil. 2:12-13, Eph. 1:15-19, 1Tim. 2:3-4, John 3:16, etc.).
Going to watch more Olympics on the DVR (Vonn pressed her luck, I saw).
Over...