Thread: 🤔🤔 so what is essential Christian doctrine ❓❓
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🤔🤔 so what is essential Christian doctrine ❓❓
Posted : 23 Oct, 2021 10:43 AM
The Bible itself reveals those doctrines that are essential to the Christian faith. They are 1) the Deity of Christ, 2) Salvation by Grace, 3) Resurrection of Christ, 4) the gospel, and 5) monotheism. These are the doctrines the Bible says are necessary. Though there are many other important doctrines, these five are the ones that are declared by Scripture to be essential (I call them primary essentials since the Bible declares them as essential). A non-regenerate person (i.e., Mormon or Jehovah’s Witness, atheist, Muslim), will deny one or more of these essential doctrines. Please note that there are other derivative doctrines of scripture that become necessary also and the Trinity being one.
The Deity of Christ
Jesus is God in flesh (John 8:58 with Exodus 3:14). See also John 1:1, 14; 10:30-33; 20:28; Col. 2:9; Phil. 2:5-8; Heb. 1:8
1 John 4:2-3, “This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.”
The above verse needs to be cross-referenced with John 1:1, 14 (also written by John) where he states that the Word was God and the Word became flesh.
1 John 4:2-3 is saying that if you deny that Jesus is God in flesh, then you are of the spirit of Antichrist.
John 8:24, “I said, therefore, to you, that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins.”
Jesus said that if you do not believe “that I am,” you will die in your sins. In Greek I am is ‘ego eimi,’ which means ‘I am.’ These are the same words used in John 8:58, where Jesus says “…before Abraham was, I am.” He was claiming the divine title by quoting Exodus 3:14.
The Greek Septuagint is the Hebrew Old Testament translated into Greek and done by Jews around 250 B.C. They translated Exodus 3:14 as ‘ego eimi’ “I AM”).
Jesus is the proper object of faith
It is not simply enough to have faith. Faith is only as valid as the person in whom you put it. You must put your faith in the proper person. Cults have false objects of faith (false gods); therefore, their faith is useless – no matter how sincere they are.
If you put your faith in a guru, a philosopher, or a past teacher (and not Jesus) to save you from your sins on Judgment Day, then you will be in a lot of trouble no matter how sincere or strong your faith is. You might have great faith but so what? Faith in something false has the same effect as no faith at all.
The Doctrine of the deity of Christ includes:
The Trinity – There is one God who exists in three persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are all coeternal and of the same nature.
Monotheism – There is only one God in all existence (Isaiah 43:10; 44:6, 8; 45:5, 14, 18, 21, 22; 46:9; 47:8). Mormons believe that many gods exist though they serve and worship only one. Therefore, they are polytheists which excludes them from the camp of Christianity.
The Hypostatic Union – That Jesus is both God and man.
The sufficiency of the sacrifice of Christ–The sacrifice of Christ is completely sufficient to pay for the sins of the world, and it is only through Jesus’ sacrifice that anyone can be saved.
As God – Only a perfect sacrifice to God is able to cleanse us from our sins. This is why Jesus, who is God in flesh, died for us.
He had to die for the sins of the world (1 John 2:2). Only God could do that.
As man – Jesus must be man to be able to be a sacrifice for man.
As a man, He can be the mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5).
This means that the Jehovah’s Witnesses, The Way International, Islam, etc., are outside of Christianity.
Salvation by Grace
“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast,” (Ephesians 2:8–9).
“You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace,” (Gal. 5:4).
This verse and its context plainly teach that if you believe that you are saved by faith and works, then you are not saved at all. This is a common error in the cults. Because they have a false Jesus, they have a false doctrine of salvation. (Read Rom. 3-5 and Gal. 3-5).
You cannot add to the work of God. Gal. 2:21 says, “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”
“Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.” (Rom. 3:20).
“However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness,” (Rom. 4:5).
“Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law,” (Gal. 3:21).
Salvation is not universal resurrection as Mormonism would declare. Rather, it is the saving from God’s righteous judgment. Furthermore, salvation, which is the forgiveness of sins, is accomplished by faith alone (Rom. 4:1-11).
Roman Catholicism denies salvation by grace through faith alone in Christ alone. Therefore, Roman Catholicism is outside of Christianity.
The Resurrection of Christ
“And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith,” (1 Cor. 15:14). “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins,” (1 Cor. 15:17).
To deny the physical resurrection is to deny that Jesus’ work was a satisfactory offering to God the Father. It would mean that Jesus was corrupt and needed to stay in the grave. But, he did not stay because his sacrifice was perfect.
These verses clearly state that if you say that Jesus did not rise from the dead (in the same body He died in – John 2:19-21), then your faith is useless.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Muslims deny Jesus’ physical resurrection. Therefore, they are outside of Christianity.
The Gospel
“But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! 9 As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!” (Galatians 1:8–9).
Verses 8 and 9 in Galatians are a self-declarative statement that you must believe the gospel. The gospel message which in its entirety is that Jesus is God in flesh, who died for sins, rose from the dead, and freely gives the gift of eternal life to those who believe.
Furthermore, it would not be possible to present the gospel properly without declaring that Jesus is God in flesh per John 1:1, 14; 10:30-33; 20:28; Col. 2:9; Phil. 2:5-8; Heb. 1:8.
1 Cor. 15:1-4 defines what the gospel is: “Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,” (1 Corinthians 15:1–4).
Within these verses are the essentials: Christ is God in flesh (John 1:1, 14; 10:30-33; 20:28; Col. 2:9); Salvation is received by faith (John 1:12; Rom. 10:9-10); therefore it is by grace; and the resurrection is mentioned in verse 4. Therefore, this gospel message automatically includes the essentials.
Born Again
“Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God,” (John 3:3).
Jesus declares an essential doctrine by saying without it, you cannot see the Kingdom of God
Monotheism
There is only one God (Exodus 20:3; Isaiah 43:10; 44:6, 8)
“You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments,” (Exodus 20:3-6).
We can see that God will visit iniquity on the descendants of those who do not follow the true and living God.
Mormonism, for example, is not monotheistic. Mormonism teaches that there are many gods but only one is worshiped. Therefore, Mormonism is outside of Christianity.
Secondary Essentials
Secondary essentials are necessary truths, but there is no self-declared penalty for their denial – yet they are still essential to the Christian faith. Again, by way of example, Jesus says that he is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father but by him. (John 14:6). I call this a secondary essential because there’s no penalty associated with its denial. Nevertheless, it is a statement of absolute truth and is an essential Christian teaching that cannot be denied.
Jesus is the only way to salvation
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.‘” (John 14:6)
Jesus declared that he was the only access to God the Father. To deny this is to deny what Jesus said.
Jesus’ Virgin Birth
“’Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which translated means, ‘God with us.’” (Matt. 1:23).
Without the virgin birth, we cannot substantiate the doctrine of the incarnation of Jesus being God in flesh. This would put at risk what Jesus said above in John 8:24 where he declares, “I said, therefore, to you, that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins.”
The doctrine of the Trinity
Matt. 28:19, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,” (see also, Matt. 3:16-17; 1 Cor. 12:4-6; 2 Cor. 13:14; Eph. 4:4-6).
This doctrine is not represented by a single verse per se though it is hinted at. The doctrine of the Trinity is arrived at systematically by looking at the totality of Scripture. It is, nevertheless, the proper representation of scriptural revelation concerning the nature of God.
The Trinity is denied by Mormonism, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Islam, The Way International, etc.
You're vastly incorrect on faith and works. The reference to works in your context are works of the Law (as in the Law provided to the Hebrews by Moses on Mt. Sinai) and there is no way that James teaches to the contrary as evident in James 2.
James 2:14-26
"14 What use is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17 In the same way, faith also, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
18 But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” 19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. 20 But are you willing to acknowledge, you foolish person, that faith without works is useless? 21 Was our father Abraham not justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called a friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 In the same way, was Rahab the prostitute not justified by works also when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead."
You cannot obey without works. The moment you obey something from Christ, your faith is working. Baptism is such a work for example. The people who erroneously teach faith alone tend to twist James' meaning into saying "works alone". James does not say this.
The people who teach faith alone are called Solifidians. Such a doctrine is not what Christ nor His Apostles ever taught.
No appropriate works = dead faith which of course cannot save. Faith can exist without works but like James says, it is a dead faith. For example, there were Jews who believed on Jesus and then killed Him (John 12:42).
The people who teach grace alone and faith alone are byproducts of false teaching since at least the 1400s.
The people who state things like "works are an expression of faith" are equally incorrect. The most practical and prevalent example of this is the people who treat Baptism as "an outward sign of an inward feeling". This is further refuted by the Apostle Paul's statements stressing deeds done by a believer in places like Romans 2:6-10 and 2 Corinthians 5:10.
James Burton Coffman has an excellent writeup covering this: https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/bcc/james-2.html
I encourage everyone to read and understand it before continuing preaching and/or believing in the incorrect Gospel message of "Faith alone".
" I encourage everyone to read and understand it before continuing preaching and/or believing in the incorrect Gospel message of "Faith alone "
🤔❓ Okay let's say that I'm standing on one side of a very busy Street I do what it says to do in Romans 10:9 and 10 confess our sins to Christ believe he died and rose again on the third day and we will be saved
I crossed the busy Street to go to a church to get water baptized but I get hit and killed by a bus ‼️
Also I must point out it's very revealing you don't even consider what is said nor even weigh the statements in the bible. You dismiss it and immediately resort to a failed "counter" example, an example that isn't a counter at all, really it's a woeful "gotcha" moment that doesn't hold weight.
is not capable of answering a simple question nor does he believe what the Bible says about salvation
Acts 15:11
On the contrary, we believe it is through the grace of the Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are."
Romans 3:24
and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
Romans 5:1 you are justified apart from works of the law saved by faith
🙂👍💯 the answer is yes ‼️ the person who confessed his sins to Christ and then was killed by the bus is most definitely saved just like the thief on the cross was
is not capable of answering a simple question nor does he believe what the Bible says about salvation"
I did answer your question. Amazing you try and catch me here but you avoided answering my question. Hypocrisy at the very least.
The answer is very clear from Scripture. You stand condemned if you do not obey. In your example hell is the outcome.
Appreciate the broadside and personal attack. The person doing this in a discussion is the immediate loser of said discussion. When you can't win on merit, attack the person! Such a winning proposition huh?
The bible is very clear on baptism.
Jesus commands baptism:
Matthew 28:18-20
"18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”"
-and-
Mark 16:15-16
"15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 The one who has believed and has been baptized will be saved; but the one who has not believed will be condemned."
Jesus says if you love Him you will keep His commandments:
John 14:15
"15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments."
Jesus also says not everyone who calls Him Lord will enter the Kingdom of Heaven:
Matthew 7:21-23
"21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.’"
Scripture references you shared:
"Acts 15:11, Romans 3:24, Romans 5:1"
Your scripture reference to Acts 15:11 is talking about Jewish ceremonial rites, it is not talking about works of faith.
Your scripture reference to Romans 3:24 is talking about how justification from God is now available to all men everywhere, it is not a counter to James' statements nor Christ's commands.
Your scripture reference to Romans 5:1 is not talking about a new method of salvation (i.e. faith alone) rather Paul is talkinga bout obedient faith. After all he goes through great lengths to talk about walking in Abraham's faith, you know, where he offered up Isaac before God said "I will provide".
"🙂👍💯 the answer is yes ‼️ the person who confessed his sins to Christ and then was killed by the bus is most definitely saved just like the thief on the cross was"
The person in your hypothetical is not saved, they are condemned if they die. It references to this begin to produce false dilemmas spawning from incorrect understanding of Scripture fueled by hypotheticals that tremendously miss the mark.
This is like the people who cannot settle the question: "Can God create an object so heavy He cannot lift it?"
In fact, talking about the thief on the cross there is more evidence for the thief on the cross being baptized than there is not. We find this in various places in Scripture, one such example is Luke 3 and another is Mark 1. This is trivial however because to think Jesus was "different" the day He died than when he commissioned baptism after His resurrection is really the kind of disputes we are commanded against pursuing.
Since you bring up scripture, here are some verses for you and others to digest. You have been warned to shed the false doctrine of faith alone. It cannot and will not save.
A believer puts on Christ:
- Galatians 3:27
How do they do it? They are baptized into His name:
- Acts 19:5
As it is only His name under heaven that is given to mankind wherein we must be saved:
- Acts 4:12
When does a believer enter the body of Christ? When they are baptized into it:
- 1 Corinthians 12:13
Plainly stated that the people of the Lord are admitted into Christ when they are baptized into Christ:
- Romans 6:3
So how do believers die to themselves and then participate in the newness of life in Christ, aka born again?
- Romans 6:4
How do we know it is being born again? It is because the believer dies through their own denial and repudiation of themselves
and then begins to live the new life in Christ:
- John 3:5
And when is the believer sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise into the Kingdom of God? When they believed in this same manner:
- Ephesians 1:13
Earlier I shared that Christ commands baptism but you make excuses not to. This is wrong because even the Apostles taught it
as necessary:
- Acts 2:37-41
For there is One Lord, one baptism, and One God and Father over all, through all and in all:
- Ephesians 4:5-6
Baptism commanded by Christ, taught for 2000 years and yet people hold onto deception, lies and misunderstanding from the 1400s so as to supplant the word of God with their own devices and their own understanding. They even rigorously defend such nonsense so as to destroy churches, divide people instead of uniting them and even defend their ignorance on modern day message boards.
The most dominant theme concerning salvation in Acts is baptism. Every conversion it is commanded and either explicitly recorded or implicitly understood by way of action. Even the Jailer asked "Sir, what must I do to be saved?" a few verses later he and his household are baptized. Imagine that if it were unnecessary like you say. (For reference this is in Acts 16).
⚠️⚠️The problem with baptismal regeneration (the belief that baptism is part of salvation and necessary for it) is that it contradicts other scriptures that state we are justified by faith. Justification is God’s declaration upon a sinner that the person is declared righteous in God’s sight. In other words, only Christians are justified; only Christians are saved. Please consider the following verses:
Rom. 4:3, “For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.”
Rom. 5:1, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Gal. 3:8, “And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.”
Eph. 2:8, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.”
See also Rom. 4:5; 9:30; John 5:24; Gal. 2:16; Gal. 3:11-14; and Phil. 3:9.
🙂🙂💯 There are other verses, but these are sufficient to show that we are made right in God’s eyes–justified, forgiven–by faith, not by faith and baptism. If baptism were necessary for salvation, then these verses would state that we are justified by faith and baptism; but they don’t. In fact, that is not what Paul says that the gospel is; and it is the gospel that saves us.
“Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,” (NASB) (1 Cor. 15:1-4).
The gospel is defined as the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus for our sins. Baptism is not mentioned here.
Paul said that he came to preach the gospel, not to baptize: 👉👉 “I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized into my name. (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel . . . ” (1 Cor. 1:14-17).
🤔🤔If baptism is necessary for salvation, then why did Paul downplay it and even exclude it from the description of what is required for salvation ❓❓It is because baptism isn’t necessary for salvation.
Additionally, in Acts, Peter was preaching the gospel, people got saved, and then they were baptized. Acts 10:44-46 says,
“While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the Word. 45And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. 46For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God…”
These people were saved. The gift of the Holy Spirit was on the Gentiles, and they were speaking in tongues. This is significant because tongues is a gift given to believers (see 1 Cor. 14:1-5). Also, unbelievers don’t praise God. They can’t because praise to the true God is a deeply spiritual matter that is foreign to the unsaved (1 Cor. 2:14). Therefore, the ones in Acts 10:44-46 who are speaking in tongues and praising God are definitely saved; and they are saved before they are baptized. This simply isn’t an exception. It is a reality.
⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️ Saying that baptism is necessary for salvation is dangerous because it is saying that there is something we must do to complete salvation. That is WRONG 👎❗❗ See Gal. 2:21; 5:4
🤔🤔 now that we cleared the air about that I still wonder if valiant still believes that we have to perform good works to be saved ❓❓a simple yes or no would do
There is no way you read and digested anything of what I said. It's clear you're only looking to spread falsehood and not even afford common decency. After all, you've personally attacked me over this.
Baptismal regeneration (or whatever plagiarized title you want to give it by another name) does not contradict Scriptures.
Jesus taught it, Jesus commands it, the Apostles taught it and the Apostles commanded it. People who twist the scriptures to their own demise disagree. Ironic especially when they claim Jesus's words are twisted. Denying Baptism is literally twisting Jesus words. Why do you work so hard to be found defiant of God's commandments?
Fact:
Baptism is required. Jesus says so. No amount of scriptural twisting and mental gymnastics will change this.
Fact:
Without it people stand condemned. Jesus says so regardless of how you feel.
I've said my piece here, you're not interested in a discussion, you're only interested in spreading lies and falsehoods from Scriptures. This is not something I'm going to entertain further.
PS: I found where you ripped off the false reply from:
https://carm.org/oneness-pentecostal/is-baptism-necessary-for-salvation-oneness/ <-- false teaching and ignorant understanding from an organization that has done more to lead people astray than to actually help them grow in faith and understanding.
You could have at least cited your source for a reply that clearly isn't your own.
well there you have it folks valiant disciple