In this time where there's so much confusion and even confrontation about theological doctrine andarguments about things that aren't essentials, this is a paper I wrote last year during my Anthem year simply entitled "My Essentials." I don't want you to think these have to be yours, but rather to stir in your heart and mind what the essentials of your faith are.
I. I believe in Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God (John 3:16) who came to save the world from sin.
a. I believe that He is fully God and fully man. The deity of Jesus is rightly expounded in: John 1:1; Romans 10:9-10; Acts 2:34. And the humanity of Jesus is just as poignantly shown to us in John 8:12, 16, 19, 23, 26, 29, 42, and 51. To believe that Jesus is fully God and fully man is to believe in the person of Jesus, and to acknowledge Him to be relatable with us, and not just a God who is far off and doesn’t understand our troubles.
b. I believe in the Virgin Birth of Jesus, that it was essential for Him to be conceived by the Holy Spirit. (Isaiah 7:14) “Those who doubt or deny the Virgin Birth of Jesus, do so because of a presupposition of unbelief. The fact that the Scriptures teach the Virgin Birth is undeniable.” (Foundations of Pentecostal Theology, pg. 92) “He would not have been Infinite, and if some method could have been arranged to avoid a corporate identity with Adam, He could not have died for the world.” (Foundations… pg. 93) If Jesus had been born of a normal birth, man and a woman, then He would have only been a very special man who was close with God; only a very powerful prophet. Scripture would also show to lie and be false and therefore put an end to its inerrancy and infallibility. By being born of a virgin, Jesus fulfilled prophecy and also shows that God truly is His Father, both in the physical sense and Spiritually as well, being one with the Father (John 17:21). It also sets Jesus apart by His miraculous birth, setting Him apart for the work set before Him.
c. I believe that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life and that no one can come to the Father except through Him (John 14:6) His claims are singular to all religious figures in history, and sets Him apart as the One who is authentic, showing all who come to Him, the way to life everlasting.
d. I believe that Jesus lived a perfect life. I believe that in Hebrews 5:7-10, where it says, “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverent submission. Although He was a son, He learned obedience from what was suffered and, once made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.” And that in Matthew 5:28 when Jesus said, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect,” He was admitting to His perfection because He later says that He and the Father are one (John 17:21). If Jesus wasn’t perfect, then His sacrifice for us was never complete and it was only a momentary dying for sins, as in the Old Testament.
e. I believe that Jesus died and rose again and is seated at the right hand of the Father (Luke 22:69, “of the Father” in this case, is “of the Mighty God” who is the Father). This is the central and most important tenet to my faith, and the faith of all Christianity. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, our faith is useless and we should be pitied above all men in this world (1 Corinthians 15:19); but “Christ has indeed been raised from the dead,” (15:20)
II. I believe in the Holy Trinity. I believe that the Father, Spirit and Son are a threefold personality and persons in one complete and united being. “The Three are One in Nature, Will, and Purpose.” (Foundations of Pentecostal Theology, ph. 91)
a. I believe in the Father, the “Maker of heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:2). I believe that God is our heavenly Father, and that when Jesus taught us how to pray “Our Father in heaven…” (Matt 6:9) This gives us a sense of identity in God, being His sons we have confidence to approach Him. Also I believe that all authority comes from God (John 19:11 Jesus answered, "You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above), and that He reigns over all things (Psalm 97:1). “The relationship of Father and Son has to do with their self-revelation to us in the context of Redemption. It does not mean that once the Father existed alone and then He begot the Son at a point of time.” (Foundations of Pentecostal Theology, pg. 91)
b. I believe in the Son, Jesus Christ. I believe that He was and has always been one with the Father (John 17:22) “The Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, being very and eternal God, of one substance, and equal with the Father, did, when the fullness of time was come take upon himself man’s nature, with all the essential properties and common infirmities thereof, yes without sin.” (Foundations… pg. 94) I believe that He is fully God and fully man and that He is totally relatable with us, being our High Priest who sympathizes with us and comforts us in or times of trouble (Hebrews 5:1-10).
c. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity. I believe that He is equal with the Father and with the Son, making the Trinity not a hierarchal group but as a totally unified force flooding the world with the love that pours from the heart of God. I believe that the Spirit is our Comforter, or Counselor, and that He was sent by Jesus after Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension to convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment (John 16:7-8).
III. I believe that because of sin, humanity is totally depraved and separated from God, and that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
a. Gen 3:6 “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” I believe that the Original sin, the sin of Adam and Eve, caused humanity to divorce itself from God, choosing the desire of the flesh over the ultimate pleasure of being in relationship with a good and holy God. “Over God, they choose to feed their fever” (song “Live Free” by Lecrae; album: Rebel). “God only stipulated that ‘of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it, you shall die’ (Gen. 2:7). The man received this command and evidently related it to the woman after her creation, or perhaps God himself did so. It was only one command: a test, not a temptation. God had good purposes in mind. But then enter the serpent, with malevolent designs of almost unimaginable proportions.” (Truth Aflame, pg. 253)
b. I believe that sin completely separates us from God. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23); “for the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Because of the sin that we have in our hearts, and sin being evil, we cannot have relationship with God that was intended for us in the Garden of Eden. When David wrote “there is none good, not even one,” I believe that he wasn’t only just talking of his people Israel, but entire humanity because Jesus later states that “the only one good is God” (paraphrase of Matthew 19:17).
c. I believe that because of the original sin, that it inevitably exists in our being and it is because “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Nobody is free from the disease that has costs the life of billions of people, the only remedy for which is the blood of Jesus Christ.
IV. The believe that the Bible is the word of God, and that it is the ultimate authority for my life in regard to how I live, theology and is the ruler that all revelation should be measured by.
a. I believe that the bible is infallible (absolutely trustworthy) and inerrant (free from error). I believe that throughout history, “through God’s supernatural guidance and inspiration the teachings of the Bible are totally trustworthy in all areas.” (Truth Aflame, pg. 60) I trust that God guided the hands of the writers to write exactly what He wanted in a way that the “word of God is living and active” (Hebrews 4:12)
b. I believe that the Bible was completely inspired by God. “All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correction and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). “Inspiration is a supernatural influence upon divinely chosen prophets and apostles whereby the Spirit of God assures the truth and trustworthiness of their oral and written proclamation. Historic evangelical Christianity considers the Bible as the essential textbook because, in view of its quality, it inscripturates divinely revealed truth in verbal form.” (Truth Aflame, pg. 51)
c. I believe that the Bible has total authority over my life and that it is the ruler that my life should be measured by. The Bible is useful for “teaching, rebuking, correction and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16b). “God’s Word, supersedes all human words… By the authority of the Bible, we mean that the Bible, as the expression of God’s will to us, possesses the right supremely to define what we are to believe and how we are to conduct ourselves” (Truth Aflame, pg. 50). When we are given revelation, or “perceived revelation”, it has to be measured by scripture to see if it lines up with His word. He doesn’t contradict His own word and will remain faithful to His word with the revelation that He gives.
V. I believe in God, the Creator of all things, the One True God.
a. I believe that God is the Creator of all things. That when He spoke at the beginning of time, all things came into being. (Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”) I believe that He is eternal and has had no beginning or end, just as we can’t see the beginning or end of a circle.
b. I believe that God is the one true God, the only One who rules the skies, who is the ultimate authority and only true authority of this world. “But the LORD is the true God; he is the living God, the eternal King. When he is angry, the earth trembles; the nations cannot endure his wrath.” (Jeremiah 10:10) I believe also that to know Him, is to know eternal life: “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (John 17:3)
VI. I believe Salvation is from God and God alone. I believe that only in Christ is there Salvation and eternal life for us.
a. I believe that we are “saved by grace, through faith” (Ephesians 2:8) so that no one can boast. This is of utmost importance because it means we do not earn our Salvation, but only by the work of Jesus on the cross and rising to life. “God’s plan of salvation is so simple that the least among the sons of men can grasp enough of it to experience its transforming power. At the same time, it is so profound that no inadequacy has ever been discovered in it. In fact, those who know it best are continuously amazed that one, and only one, plan of salvation is needed to meet the vast array of spiritual needs among the almost limitless varieties of the needs of men in every race, culture and condition among the nations of this world. The heart of God’s plan of salvation centers around the office and function of a Mediator—One who could go between an offended God and a helpless sinful creature, man.” (Foundations… pg. 179) Salvation, if taught correctly, will be accused of being too simple, too easy, and therefore not a sound teaching; yet if it is taught correctly, and for those who receive it, they receive it with joy because of the One who offered it, not because of the content.
b. I believe that there is a literal heaven and a literal hell. If there was no hell, then was no reason for Jesus to die for our sins, that His sacrifice for us was in vain and had absolutely no point. Scripture is pungent in its references to hell, but perhaps the best of these are: “For when he dies he shall carry nothing away; his glory shall not descend after him” (Psalm 49:17); “”For Sheol cannot thank You, death cannot praise You; those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your truth” (Isaiah 38:18); “But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed has power to cast into hell, yes, I say to you, fear Him!” A belief without hell is like life without purpose. Meaningless. Jesus died so that we don’t have to endure the eternal flames of hell. As John MacArthur says, “No one in scripture spoke more of judgment than Jesus. He spoke of sins that could not be forgiven, of danger of losing one’s soul forever, of spending eternity in the torments of Hell, of existing forever in outer darkness, where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Christian Theology, second ed,, 1243)
c. But the even greater reality is the existence of heaven. The dwelling place of God is the ultimate destination of every believer who has placed their faith in Him who is trustworthy to hold our lives in His hand. Perhaps the greatest section of scripture for heaven is Revelation 21:1-2 “Then I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth,’ for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.” Also, “In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” Jesus was speaking about God’s dwelling place, our ultimate destination because of our faith in Him.
The Importance of Theology
Theology is what we think and believe about God. The importance of this is how we think and what we believe about God will shape how we live our lives and treat other people. If God is not ultimately good, all of the time, then we will live in a life of despair and depression and not in the joy that God wants us to live in. However, if God is good all of the time and has nothing but good thoughts and intentions for me, then even in the times of trial and fire, I can live in the “joy of the Lord.” Though it’s not something that I work up, it’s totally out of who God is and who is in my life. I believe that God’s goodness is something that the church needs to grab hold of. We’ve been living in a belief that God is only good in the good times. The enemy—Satan and his minions—have crippled the church in this aspect because we’ve been living in a lack of joy. If our theology is biblical and founded in Jesus, then we should be living our life in the truth of God being good all of the time, that it’s in His very nature for Him to be good and that every thought He has for us is good.
All sound theology is found in Jesus Christ. If Jesus didn’t live it, preach it or if the belief isn’t found in the Bible, then we need to toss is out because it is not of Jesus. God will reveal everything in our life through fire; this means our beliefs as well. If they are not founded upon the Rock and upon the very breath of God (2 Tim 3:16) then they are not sound doctrine and we should not entrust ourselves to them. With the Bible as my ruler by which I measure all beliefs that get put onto my plate, I don’t need to get shaken, rather, we don’t have to be shaken by those beliefs because it doesn’t measure up to the word of God on which I stand, it is to be tossed out into the flames because it will not bear fruit.
As a church, the collective body of Christ needs to get back to the importance of a personal theology. There’s been too much talk that we don’t need theology. Christianity without theology is like a human without a backbone. Our faith will be soft and won’t have any real “meat” to it. I’m not saying we should all go to seminary; it can be a thing of importance, though for those who feel they have the call to go there. If people have that call, may they go with a soft heart, only to get closer to Jesus than to become bigger in man’s eyes by the knowledge they acquire. Theology is essential to every believer, and everyone has some sort of theology in their life, whether they acknowledge it or not. First and foremost, theology is the study of God which should cause us to stand in awe and in wonder of God, not to gloat in our head getting “bigger” or acquiring more knowledge. We should always point to the source of all that we are and continue to seek ever more fervently because of who God is. “In the essentials, unity; in nonessentials liberty; in all things love.” -Augustine
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