Grace Notes - Online Training in Bible Teaching

2 Tim. 3:16,17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21; Matt. 5:15; John 16:12,13; Rev. 22:18,19.

Revelation: the content of the Bible has been revealed by God in order to reveal Himself to man.

Inspiration: through inspiration God made certain that this revelation about Himself was written down without error in the original documents (every Scripture is God-breathed)

Authority: Since the Bible is without error, it is our authoritative guide in all spiritual matters.

Canonicity: The Bible is our sole source of information for faith and practice. I do not accept the apocryphal books as canonical.

The Bible reveals a single, triune God, existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, eternal in being, identical in nature, equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections. Deut. 6:4; 2 Cor. 13:4.

1. The Father plans and supervises. Eph. 1:11; 3:11.

2. The Son carries out the Father's plans and links the Godhead to Man. 1 Tim. 2:5; John 4:34; Heb. 10:7.

3. The Holy Spirit reveals information about God's plan to men. John 16:13; 1 Cor. 2:10.

The Incarnation

The Lord Jesus Christ, the Eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God. John 1:1,2,14.

The Virgin Birth

He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. Luke 1:35.

His Substitutionary Death

He accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice. 1 Cor. 15:3; 1 Pet. 1:18,19.

His Resurrection

His literal physical resurrection from the dead guaranteed that redemption forever. Heb. 10:9-14; 1 Pet. 1:3-5.

His Present Session

The Lord Jesus Christ in His glorified body is now in Heaven, exalted at the right hand of God the Father, where He presently fulfills the ministry of representative, intercessor, and advocate as the high priest for His people. Heb. 9:24; 7:25; Rom. 8:34; 1 John 2:1,2.

The Salvation Work of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is a Person who convicts the world of sin; at the moment of salvation He indwells a believer, baptizes him into the body of Christ, and seals him unto the day of redemption. John 16:8-11; Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 12:12-14; Eph. 1:13,14.

The Post Salvation Work of the Holy Spirit

It is the duty of every believer to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit fills the believer at the time of salvation and completely controls him until he sins, after which filling is conditioned upon the acknowledgement (confession) by the believer of his personal sin to God the Father in private prayer. Eph. 5:18; Gal. 5:16; 1 John 1:9.

Spiritual Gifts

The Holy Spirit sovereignly bestows one or more spiritual gifts on every believer. Heb. 2:4; 1 Cor. 12:7-11.

Existence

There exists a superior creation called angels, now divided into two categories known as "elect" and "fallen" angels. Fallen angels are further divided into two section: imprisoned and free (demons). 1 Tim. 5:21; Mark 8:38; 2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6; 1 Tim. 4:1.

Satan

The Bible reveals the personality and program of Satan, the leader of the fallen angels. His falls and future confinement in the Lake of Fire, with all fallen angels and unbelieving humans, to experience everlasting conscious torment, are clearly set forth. Isa. 14:12-14; Ezek. 28:12-

17; Job 1:6,7; Rev. 12:7-9; 20:10.

Creation

Genesis provides the account of creation in which God created the universe out of nothing by His spoken word, and during the seven consecutive days there recorded. Gen. 1; Psalm 33:6,9.

The Fall of Man

Man was created in the image and likeness of God, but in Adam's sin the human race fell, inheriting a sinful nature and becoming alienated from God. Gen. 1:26,27; Rom. 3:22,23; Eph. 2:12.

Total Depravity

In the state of total depravity man is totally unable to retrieve his lost condition. Rom. 4:4,5; Tit. 3:5; Isa. 64:6.

The Scriptures describe three categories of sin: Imputed Sin, Inherent Sin, and Personal Sin.

Imputed Sin: At birth every member of the human race shares in the responsibility and penalty for Adam's sin. Rom. 5:12; 5:18,19; 1 Cor. 15:22.

Inherent Sin (Sin Nature): At birth every member of the human race inherits a capacity which entices and enables him to commit personal acts of sin. Rom. 6:6; 7:17,18; Eph. 4:22.

Personal Sin: Personal acts of sin fall into three categories:

• Mental Sin. 2 Cor. 10:5
• Sins of the tongue. James 3:5,6
• Open sins. Rom. 6:12,13

Since God is unable to be unfair to any person, loves all men equally, desires all men to be saved, is not willing that any should perish, invites all men to be saved, and has atoned for the sins of the entire world, He has used the drawing ministry of Christ and the convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit to make it genuinely possible for any member of the human race to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. John 12:32; 16:7-11; Acts. 10:34,35; 16:31; Isa. 45:21; Rom. 8:32; John 3:16; Rom. 5:8; 1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet. 2:2; 1 John 2:2.

God, in eternity past, because of His love for and foreknowledge of all those who would respond to His universal invitation to believe in Christ, provided for them to share His eternal destiny. Psalm 2:9; 2 Tim. 1:9; Eph. 1:4; Rom. 8:28-30; 1 Pet. 1:2.

Salvation was provided totally by the death of Jesus Christ for the sins of all members of the human race as a free gift. Each person must decide either to accept or reject God's offer of the gift of salvation. Eph. 2:8-10; John 1:12; Eph. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:18,19.

Having decided to receive Jesus Christ as Savior, the believer is kept secure forever, disciplined when necessary by the Father, as a beloved child. Rom. 8:38,39; Heb. 10:14; John 10:27-30; John 3:3-7; 1 Cor. 12:12; Heb. 12:6-13.

The Universal Church, which is the Body and future Bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again believers, irrespective of their affiliation with Christian organizations. Eph. 1:22,23; 5:25-27; 1 Cor. 12:12-14; Eph. 4:11-16.

The local church is an assembly of believers meeting together for the purposes of worship, spiritual edification, prayer, fellowship, and witnessing. Acts. 2:41-47; 1 Cor. 11:23-26.

The Lord Jesus Christ instituted the Ordinances of baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper, but these in no way affect the salvation of man. Matt. 28:19,20; 1 Cor. 11:23-26.

Baptism

It is the command of the Lord Jesus Christ that every person who has accepted Christ as Savior be baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This baptism in no way affects the salvation of the individual, but is designed to be a symbolic testimony of the identification of the believer with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. The Scriptural mode of baptism is by immersion, being the truest picture of our Lord's death, burial, and resurrection. Matt. 28:19,20; Mark 1:5; Matt. 3:16; Acts 8:36-39.

The Lord's Supper

Our Lord instituted the ordinance of the Lord's Supper, which is commanded for all believers. The two elements of the Lord's Supper, the bread and wine, represent the physical and spiritual death of the Lord Jesus Christ, and remind the believer that Christ died for all men and that He will come again to receive His own. Scripture requires that a partaker of the Lord's Supper be a believer in Christ and in fellowship with the Father by means of confession of known sins to Him. Luke 22:14-10; Matt. 26:26-30; 1 Cor. 11:23-32.

I believe: that Christians will be taken to meet Christ in the air, the dead immediately preceding the living, to stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ; that there will be seven years of tribulation on the Earth, during part of which the Anti-Christ will reign; that Christ will then return physically to the Earth and conduct a 1,000 years reign; that people who reject Christ will be condemned at the Great White Throne Judgment; that there will be a final battle between Satan and his angels; that Satan and his angels will be incarcerated and finally condemned to the lake of fire; and that Christians will either participate in or be witness to these things.