God God exists eternally (Psalm 90:2; Psalm 93:2) as one being in three persons (Triune God): Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (John 14:16-26; John 16:7-15). God is holy (Leviticus 11:44; 1 Peter 1:16; Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:8), self-sufficient (Psalm 50:10-12; Acts 17:25), omnipotent (Jeremiah 32:27; Job 11:7-11; Matthew 19:26; Romans 1:20), omniscient (1 John 3:20; Psalm 139:1-3; Isaiah 40:28; Romans 11:33-36), and omnipresent (Psalm 139:7-10; Proverbs 15:3; Jeremiah 23:24). God is love (1 John 4:8) and is also a just judge (James 4:12).
Jesus Jesus is the Son of God, God Himself, full of grace and truth (John 1:1,14; 5:18, 8:24, 8:58; Colossians 2:9; Philippians 2:5-6). Jesus became flesh (John 1:14) and was born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18; Luke 1:26-38), all the while remaining fully divine (Isaiah 9:6; Matthew 1:23). He lived a sinless life (2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 1:18-19, 2:22; 1 John 3:5) and taught that the kingdom of God was at hand while performing many miracles which are recorded in the Gospels. Jesus was delivered over and died for our transgressions (Romans 4:25) and, in fact, “bore our sins in His body on the cross” (1 Peter 2:24) becoming “sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Having become sin on our behalf, He bore the wrath of God for our sin, being a “propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10; Romans 3:24-25). On the third day after His death, Jesus rose bodily from the grave to give new and eternal life to those that believe in Him (Romans 6:4; 8:11; 1 Peter 1:3). Later, Jesus ascended to the Father (John 20:17; Acts 1:9-11) and promises to return again (see “Last Things” section below). Jesus Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords. God “bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9b-11).
Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity and therefore fully God (Psalm 139:7-8; Acts 5:3-4; 1 Cor. 2:10-11). At the moment God draws a person unto faith in Jesus Christ (John 6:44) for the forgiveness of sin, the Holy Spirit is the agent of regeneration (Titus 3:5). At that same moment, the Holy Spirit is given as a deposit guaranteeing our eternal inheritance (Ephesians 1:14; 2 Corinthians 1:22, 5:5). He is also given to us to testify to our spirit that we are God’s children (Romans 8:16). Furthermore, the Holy Spirit guides us into all truth (John 16:13) and works to sanctify us so that we will be transformed into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Creation God is the sole creator of the universe by His divine decree in six 24-hour days, not through evolutionary process (Genesis 1:1-2:25; Psalm 33:6-9; Hebrews 11:3). Jesus is the One through whom all things were created, the One for whom all things were created, and the One who holds all things together by the word of His power (John 1:3; Colossians 1:15-17; Hebrews 1:2-3).
Sin Mankind is inherently born with sin nature, which places us in a state of total depravity, (Ecclesiastes 7:20, Isaiah 64:6, Jeremiah 17:9, Romans 3:23, 1 John 1:8, Ephesians 2:1) unable to avoid the consequence of sin. Sin has caused us to be separated from God (Isaiah 59:2), making it imperative that we be reconciled with Him (2 Corinthians 5:20, Romans 5:10), which can only be done by means of God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8). Sin is any thought, word or deed, that breaks God’s perfect law, either by omission or commission. Apart from Christ our sin renders us guilty before God, who is a Just Judge (Romans 3:19). The result of this unrepentant sin is spiritual death and eternity in hell (Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:1-3, Revelation 20:15).
Man Man was created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27) for the purpose of glorifying God. In Isaiah 43:7 God states, “Everyone who is called by My name, and whom I have created for My glory, whom I have formed, even whom I have made.” However, when Adam and Eve sinned, their sinful nature was spread through the generations from Adam (Romans 5:12). Romans 3:10 states, “There is none righteous, not even one” and Romans 3:23 states, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Ephesians 2:1 is instructive regarding our condition in that it labels us “dead in [our] trespasses and sins.” Being dead, man is entirely incapable of being reconciled to God through his own efforts. If a person remains in his sins, unconverted, he is destined for the lake of fire, eternally separated from God (Matthew 10:28, 25:41, 46; Revelation 20:15, 21:8).
Salvation Jesus is the way, and the truth, and the life, and that no one comes to the Father but through Him (John 14:6). Salvation, therefore, exclusively belongs to our God and to the Lamb, Jesus Christ (Revelation 7:10). As we read in Acts 4:12, “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” This salvation is entirely a work of God’s grace through a person’s faith in Jesus Christ and not at all on account of any human merit or work (John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 Peter 1:18). This work of grace begins with God’s sovereign choice of His elect (Romans 8:28-30; Ephesians 1:4-11; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 2:10; 1 Peter 1:1-2) and is made possible by His effectual calling of the elect to faith in His Son (John 6:44; Romans 1:6; 8:28-30; 2 Timothy 2:25). Salvation is entirely a free gift of God (Romans 6:23) through the shed blood of Christ, the unblemished and spotless Lamb of God (1 Peter 1:19). Genuine, repentant faith results in a person being born again as a new creature into a living hope (John 3:3,7; 2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 Peter 1:3). The essence of this living hope is the promise of eternal life (John 3:16, 5:24, 6:40; Romans 6:23; 8:10-11, 19-23). Finally, a new creature in Christ is eternally secure in Him and can never be separated from Him or removed from His kingdom (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Ephesians 4:30; 1 Peter 1:4-5; Jude 24).
The Church The church is the bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:27). The church is not a physical building, but a spiritual building comprised of all those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul refers to the church as God’s household, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Jesus Christ being the cornerstone (Ephesians 4:19-20). He then likens the household of the church to a building being fitted together into a holy temple in which God dwells (Ephesians 2:21-22). The church is also like a body with many parts, each part contributing a special function to benefit the whole (Romans 12:4-8; 1 Corinthians 12:12-31) and to glorify God. Each member of the body of Christ is given a spiritual gift or gifts as apportioned by Christ (Ephesians 4:7-16) and is to use the gifts “in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” so that “in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 4:10-11). The church should gather regularly to show love and encouragement and to hold each other accountable to do the Lord’s work (Hebrews 10:24-25). Furthermore, the fellowship of the church is the context in which the two ordinances of the church are exercised: baptism as the symbol of a believer’s faith (Matthew 3:13-17; 28:19; Acts 2:28) and the Lord’s Supper as a remembrance and proclamation of the Lord’s death (Luke 22:14-23; 1 Corinthians 11:23-34).
Last things The rapture of the church is a future moment in which Jesus Christ will “descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God” (1 Thessalonians 4:16). In a twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet (1 Corinthians 15:54), the dead in Christ will rise first to meet the Lord in the air and to be joined by those believers who are alive (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). Following the rapture of the church, a seven-year period of tribulation will commence (Daniel 9:24-27; Matthew 24:1-28; Mark 13:1-24; Revelation 6-19) in which God will pour out righteous judgments upon the wickedness of the world. At the conclusion of the tribulation period, Jesus Christ will return to earth in all His glory, to bind Satan, to execute all the wicked who remain, and to throw the beast and the false prophet into the lake of fire (Revelation 19:11-21; 20:2-3). Jesus will then reign on the earth for a thousand years with all the saints before releasing Satan and proceeding to cast him forever into the lake of fire (Ezekiel 37:21-28; Revelation 20:4-10). At that point, Jesus will judge all unbelievers and commit them for eternity to the lake of fire (Revelation 20:11-15). Believers, on the other hand, will be admitted into the heavenly city, the New Jerusalem, where we will be with the Lord forever (Revelation 21:1-27; 22:1-5; 1 Thessalonians 4:17).
Marriage and Human Sexuality Marriage is a sacred union created by God between one naturally born man and one naturally born woman for life (Genesis 2:22-24). A husband and wife become one, signifying unity and permanency (Mark 10:9, Matthew 19:6). The gift of s*xual intimacy is given by God to a husband and wife to enjoy monogamously (Hebrews 13:4, 1 Corinthians 7:3-4), and any s*xual behavior outside of the marriage relationship is adultery (Ephesian 5:5, 1 Corinthians 6:18-20, 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8, Matthew 5:27-28). Any perversion of God’s design, which include homos*xuality, lesbianism, bis*xuality, be******ty, po*******hy, fornication, adultery, in**st, and polygamy, are sinful to God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Leviticus 20:13, 1 Timothy 1:8-11, Leviticus 18:22-23, Deuteronomy 27:21). Any attempt to change your biological s*x or try and appear as the opposite s*x is offensive and sinful to God and His creation (Deuteronomy 22:5, Genesis 1:27, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, 19-20).
