Creation/Fall into
Sin
God created the universe in six regular 24-hour days. God tells us this
in the Bible.2 God's
creation was completely perfect at
its
beginning, but since that time
has
been corrupted by sin. The sin
of Adam
and Eve corrupted
themselves and
all of their
offspring including us.
However,
God is a loving God, and
for this
reason He promised to send a
Savior for
all people. That Savior
was and is
Jesus the Christ.
2 2 Genesis 1-3
The Creation
In the beginning God created the heavens and the
earth. The earth was without form,
and void; and darkness was on the
face
of the deep. And the Spirit
of God
was hovering over the face
of the
waters.
Then God
said, "Let there be light"; and
there was
light. And God saw the
light, that
it was good; and God
divided
the light from the
darkness. God
called the light
Day, and the darkness He
called
Night. So the evening and
the
morning were the first day.
Then God
said, "Let there be a
firmament in the
midst of the
waters, and let it
divide the
waters from the waters." Thus
God
made the firmament, and
divided
the waters which were under the
firmament
from the waters which
were above
the firmament; and it
was so.
And God called the
firmament
Heaven. So the evening
and the morning were
the second
day.
Then
God said, "Let the waters
under
the heavens be gathered
together
into one place, and let the dry
land
appear"; and it was so. And
God
called the dry land Earth, and
the
gathering together of the
waters
He called Seas. And God saw
that it was
good.
Then
God
said, "Let the earth bring forth
grass, the
herb that yields seed,
and the
fruit tree that yields
fruit
according to its kind, whose
seed
is in itself, on the earth";
and it was
so. And the earth
brought forth
grass, the herb that
yields seed according
to its kind,
and the tree that
yields fruit,
whose seed is in itself
according
to its kind. And God saw
that it
was good. So the evening and
the
morning were the third day.
Then God
said, "Let
there be lights in the
firmament
of the heavens to divide
the day from the
night; and let
them be for signs
and seasons, and
for days and years; and
let them
be for lights in the
firmament of
the heavens to give light on
the
earth"; and it was so. Then
God
made two great lights: the greater
light to rule the day, and the
lesser light to rule the night. He
made the
stars also. God set them
in the
firmament of the heavens to
give light on
the earth, and to
rule over the
day and over the
night, and to divide the
light
from the darkness. And God
saw
that it was good. So the evening
and
the morning were the fourth
day.
Then
God
said,
"Let the waters abound with
an
abundance of living creatures,
and let
birds fly above the earth
across
the face of the firmament
of the
heavens."
So God created great sea
creatures
and every living thing that
moves,
with which the waters
abounded,
according to their kind, and every
winged bird according to its kind.
And God saw that it was good. And
God
blessed them, saying, "Be
fruitful
and multiply, and fill
the waters in
the seas, and let
birds multiply
on the earth." So
the evening and the
morning were
the fifth day.
Then God
said, "Let the
earth bring forth
the living
creature according to
its kind: cattle and
creeping
thing and beast of the
earth, each
according to its kind"; and it
was
so. And God made the beast of
the
earth according to its kind,
cattle
according to its kind, and
everything that creeps on the
earth according
to its kind. And
God saw that it
was good.
Then God
said, "Let
Us make man in Our
image,
according to Our likeness;
let
them
have dominion over the
fish of the
sea, over the birds of
the air, and
over the cattle, over
all the
earth and over every
creeping thing that
creeps on the
earth." So God
created man in His
own image; in the image of
God He
created him; male and
female He
created them. Then God blessed
them, and
God said to them, "Be
fruitful and
multiply; fill the
earth and
subdue it; have dominion
over the
fish of the sea, over the
birds of the
air, and over every
living thing
that moves on the
earth."
And God
said, "See, I have given
you every herb
that yields seed
which is on the
face of all the
earth, and every tree
whose fruit
yields seed; to you it
shall be
for food. Also, to every beast
of
the earth, to every bird of the
air, and
to everything that creeps
on
the earth, in which there is
life,
I have given every green
herb for
food";
and
it was so. Then God saw
everything
that He had made, and indeed
it
was very good. So the evening
and
the morning were the sixth
day.
The Garden of Eden
Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host
of them, were finished. And on the
seventh day God ended His work
which He
had done, and He rested
on the
seventh day from all His
work which He had
done. Then God
blessed the seventh
day and
sanctified it, because in it He
rested
from all His work which God
had
created and made.
This is the
history of the heavens
and the earth
when they were
created, in the day
that the LORD
God made the earth and
the
heavens, before any plant of
the
field was in the earth and before
any
herb of the field had grown.
For
the LORD God had not caused it
to
rain on
the earth, and there was
no man to
till the ground; but a
mist went up
from the earth and
watered the
whole face of the
ground.
And the
LORD God formed man of the
dust of the
ground, and breathed
into his
nostrils the breath of
life; and man became
a living
being.
Life in God's Garden
The LORD God planted
a garden eastward in Eden, and
there He put the man whom He had
formed.
And out of the ground the
LORD God
made every tree grow that
is pleasant
to the sight and good
for food.
The tree of life was
also in the midst of
the garden,
and the tree of the
knowledge of
good and evil.
Now a
river
went out of Eden to water
the
garden, and from there it parted
and
became four riverheads. The
name
of the first is Pishon; it is
the
one
which skirts the whole land of
Havilah, where there is gold. And
the gold
of that land is good.
Bdellium and
the onyx stone are
there. The name of
the second
river is Gihon; it is
the one
which goes around the whole land
of Cush.
The name of the third
river is
Hiddekel; it is the one
which goes
toward the east of
Assyria. The
fourth river is the
Euphrates.
Then the
LORD God took the man and
put him in the
garden of Eden to
tend and keep
it. And the LORD God
commanded the man,
saying, "Of
every tree of the
garden you may
freely eat; but 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 surely
die."
And the LORD God said,
"It is not
good that man should be
alone; I
will make him a helper
comparable to
him." Out of the
ground the LORD
God formed every
beast of the field and
every bird
of the air, and brought
them to
Adam to see what he would call
them. And
whatever Adam called
each living
creature, that was its
name. So
Adam gave names to all
cattle, to
the birds of the air,
and to every beast
of the field.
But for Adam there
was not found a
helper comparable to him.
And the
LORD God caused a deep
sleep to
fall on
Adam, and he slept; and He
took
one of his ribs, and closed
up the flesh
in its place. Then
the rib which
the LORD God had
taken from man He made
into a
woman, and He brought her
to the
man.
And
Adam said:
"This is now
bone of my
bones
And flesh of
my
flesh;
She shall be called
Woman,
Because she was taken
out of
Man."
Therefore a
man
shall leave his father and
mother and be
joined to his wife,
and they shall
become one flesh.
And they
were both naked, the man
and his wife, and
were not
ashamed.
Exodus 20: 8-11
...For in six days the LORD made
the heavens and the earth, the
sea, and all that is in them, and
rested
the seventh day.
Romans 5:18-19
Therefore, as through one man's
offense judgment came to all men,
resulting in condemnation, even so
through one Man's righteous act
the free gift came to all men,
resulting
in justification of
life. For as
by one man's
disobedience many were made
sinners,
so also by one Man's
obedience
many will be made
righteous.
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Trinity
Trinity means three in one. One God who has revealed Himself in three
persons. 'Hear, O Israel: The LORD
our God, the LORD is one!'?
(Deuteronomy
6:4). The Father is
God. The Son
is God. The Holy Spirit is
God.
Not three Gods but One God.
Coequal!
Coeternal! Go!
Baptizing
in the name of the
Father and of
the Son and of the
Holy Spirit. (Matthew
28:19) God
is our Creator,
Redeemer, and
Sanctifier. One God in Trinity
and
Trinity in Unity.
John 10:30
I and My Father are one.
John 14:6
Jesus said to him, "I am the
way, the truth, and the life. No
one comes to the Father except
through
Me."
Matthew 3:16
When He had been baptized,
Jesus came up immediately from the
water; and behold, the heavens
were
opened to Him, and He saw the
Spirit of God descending like a
dove and
alighting upon Him. And
suddenly a
voice came from heaven,
saying, "This
is My beloved Son,
in whom I am
well pleased."
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Sin
Sin is doing contrary to the Will of God3. "Jesus said
'You shall love the LORD your God
with all your heart, with all your
soul,
and with all your mind.'
This is
the first and great
commandment. And the
second is
like it: 'You shall love
your
neighbor as yourself.' "(Matthew
22:37-40)
Anything,
whether it is thoughts,
words or
actions,
that is contrary to this
perfect
love of God and this
perfect love for
your neighbor, is
sin. By this
standard all
people sin and fall short
of the
glory of
God.4 No
amount of good works will wash
away these
sins5 or
their
consequences, eternal
separation
from
our
God6.
3 1 John 4:3
and every spirit that does not
confess that Jesus Christ has come
in the flesh is not of God. And
this is
the spirit of the
Antichrist,
which you have heard
was coming, and is now
already in
the world.
4 Romans 3:23
...for all have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God.
5 Galatians 3:10
For as many as are of the works
of the law are under the curse;
for it is written, "Cursed is
everyone who
does not continue in
all things
which are written in
the book of the law,
to do
them."
6 Romans 6:23a
For the wages of sin is
death.
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Salvation
Salvation means being saved. From before man's fall into sin God
established the means whereby God
would save man. From the cross
Jesus
declared His saving work
complete7. Jesus
announces to the
world, "I am
the resurrection
and the life. He
who believes in Me,
though he may
die, he shall live.
And whoever
lives and believes in Me
shall
never die.'? (John
11:25)
Sin and death
have been
swallowed up in victory
by our
Savior. There is nothing
left for you to
do, Jesus has done
it all. God
continues to hold out
His saving, rescuing
hand through
the true teaching of
God's
Word8 through His
Church and
its called
workers9.
Jesus died
that we might be
made alive,
cleansed of all our
sins.
7 John 19:30
So when Jesus had received the
sour wine, He said, "It is
finished!" And bowing His head, He
gave up His
spirit.
8 Romans 10:17
So then faith comes by hearing,
and hearing by the word of
God.
9 Hebrews 10:25
...not forsaking the assembling
of ourselves together, as is the
manner of some, but exhorting one
another,
and so much the more as
you see
the Day approaching.
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Grace
Grace is God's underserved love. The Bible teaches us that we are to be
perfect (without sin) as our
Father in heaven is perfect. The
Bible also
teaches us that all
have sinned
and fallen short of
the glory of God.
Contradiction?
Quiet the contrary,
they are in
complete harmony! From
eternity,
God in love, desired,
designed,
and carried out the plan of
Grace
(God's undeserved
love10)
whereby He
would save man.
'When the
fullness of the time
had come, God
sent forth His Son, born
of a
woman, born under the law, to
redeem
(purchase from sin)
those
who were under the law.'?
(Galatians 4:4) 'For by grace
(God's
underserved love)
you have been
saved through faith,
and that not of
yourselves; it is
the gift of God,
not of works,
lest anyone should
boast.'?
(Ephesians 2:
8-9)
10 John 3:16
For God so loved the world that
He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him
should not
perish but have
everlasting
life.
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The Church
We rejoice over all people of every age and nation who are children of
God by faith in Jesus Christ as
their Savior11 and
therefore
belong to the Holy
Christian
Church.12
Yet, in our earthly
religious
associations, God asks
us to unite
(worship, pray, and commune)
with
those who follow His
Word13
and out of love
for God and
concern for souls to
stay away
from harmful error (e.g.
false teachings,
those causing
divisions,
etc.).
11 Galatians 3:26
For you are all sons of God
through faith in Christ Jesus.
12 Ephesians
2:19-20
Now, therefore, you are no
longer strangers and foreigners,
but fellow citizens with the
saints and
members of the
household of God,
having been
built on the foundation of
the
apostles and prophets, Jesus
Christ
Himself being the chief
corner
stone.
13 1 Corinthians
1:10
Now I plead with you, brethren,
by the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ, that you all speak the
same thing,
and that there be no
divisions
among you, but that you
be perfectly joined
together in
the same mind and in
the same
judgment.
Matthew 7:15
Beware of false prophets, who
come to you in sheep's clothing,
but inwardly they are ravenous
wolves.
Romans 16:17-18
Now I urge you, brethren, note
those who cause divisions and
offenses, contrary to the doctrine
which you
learned, and avoid them.
For those
who are such do not
serve our Lord
Jesus Christ, but
their own belly,
and by smooth
words and flattering
speech
deceive the hearts of the
simple.
2 Corinthians
6:14-18
Do not be unequally yoked
together with unbelievers. For
what fellowship has righteousness
with
lawlessness? And what
communion
has light with darkness?
And what accord
has Christ with
Belial? Or what
part has a
believer with an unbeliever?
And
what agreement has the temple
of
God with idols? For you are the
temple of
the living God. As God
has said:
"I will dwell in them
And walk
among them. I will be
their God,
And they shall be My
people." Therefore
"Come out from
among them And be
separate, says
the Lord. Do not touch
what is
unclean, And I will
receive you. I
will be a Father to you, And
you
shall be My sons and
daughters,
Says the LORD Almighty."
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Baptism
Baptism forgives sins7, clothes with faith in
Christ8,
saves9, makes us heirs
of eternal
life.10 In
baptizing 'all
nations"11, we
include
children because they are
born
sinful and need the 'washing of
rebirth.'?12
7 Acts 22:16
And now why are you waiting?
Arise and be baptized, and wash
away your sins, calling on the
name of the
Lord
8 Galatians 3:26-27
For you are all sons of God
through faith in Christ Jesus. For
as many of you as were baptized
into
Christ have put on
Christ.
9 1 Peter 3:21
There is also an antitype which
now saves us; baptism (not the
removal of the filth of the flesh,
but the
answer of a good
conscience toward
God), through
the resurrection of Jesus
Christ.
10 Titus 3:7
...that having been justified
by His grace we should become
heirs according to the hope of
eternal
life.
11 Matthew 28:19
Go therefore and make disciples
of all the nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father and of
the
Son and of the Holy
Spirit...
12 Titus 3:5
...not by works of
righteousness which we have done,
but according to His mercy He
saved us,
through the washing of
regeneration and renewing of the
Holy Spirit...
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Lord's Supper
Holy Communion was established by our Savior for the
forgiveness-assurance and
faith-strengthening of His
disciples and all
believers.13
In the
Lord's Supper, the true
body and
blood of
Christ are
received14
in faith by
those who are spiritually
prepared15
and agreed
in what they
believe.16
13 Matthew 26:28
For this is My blood of the new
covenant, which is shed for many
for the remission of sins.
14 Mark 14:22-24
And as they were eating, Jesus
took bread, blessed and broke it,
and gave it to them and said,
"Take,
eat; this is My body." Then
He
took the cup, and when He had
given thanks
He gave it to them,
and they all
drank from it. And He
said to them, "This
is My blood of
the new covenant,
which is shed
for many."
and 1 Corinthians
10:16
The cup of blessing which we
bless, is it not the communion of
the blood of Christ? The bread
which we
break, is it not the
communion of
the body of
Christ?
15 1 Corinthians 11:28
But let a man examine himself,
and so let him eat of the bread
and drink of the cup.
16 1 Corinthians 10:17
For we, though many, are one
bread and one body; for we all
partake of that one bread. and
Romans 16:17 Now I
urge you, brethren, note those who
cause divisions and offenses,
contrary to the doctrine which you
learned,
and avoid them.
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Abortion
An individual's life begins at conception17. We know this
because God reveals this to us in
the Bible18. All who
live,
live because God has given
them
life. We do not have the
right to end the
life of another.
God tells us
specifically not to
murder19.
Therefore, no
one has the right to
end the life
of a child regardless of
the
circumstances. In addition to
the
murder of an unborn child,
abortion
may likely cause
irreparable
psychological damage
to the
mother. The God
of the Bible does
not desert those
in need. Those
who trust in God will
find that
their creator will not
leave them
to despair, but will turn even
their
worst situation to benefit
them
and strengthen their
faith20.
17 Psalm 139:13-16
For You formed my inward
parts;
You covered me in my
mother's womb.
I will
praise You,
for I am fearfully and
wonderfully
made;
Marvelous are
Your
works,
And
that my soul knows
very
well.
My frame was not
hidden
from You,
When I was
made in
secret,
And skillfully
wrought
in the lowest parts of the
earth.
Your eyes saw my
substance,
being yet
unformed.
And in Your
book they
all were written,
The days
fashioned
for me,
When as yet
there were
none of them.
18 Psalm 51:5
Behold, I was brought forth in
iniquity, And in sin my mother
conceived me.
19 Exodus 20:13
You shall not murder.
20 Romans 8:28
And we know that all things
work together for good to those
who love God, to those who are the
called
according to His
purpose.
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Homosexuality
God tells us that homosexual relationships are sinful.19 In
1 Corinthians He specifically
tells us that those who do not
repent of
their homosexuality will
not enter
the Kingdom of heaven.
Thankfully, the
sins of
homosexuality, like all
other
sins, have been paid for by
Jesus.20
God knows that
some struggle
against same sex
attractions,
and He will not leave
them to face
this hardship alone.
Instead,
God will constantly
remind them of
the forgiveness that is found
in
Jesus Christ, and in this way
strengthen
those in need of His
love.
19 Leviticus 18:22
You shall not lie with a male
as with a woman. It is an
abomination.
and Romans 1:26-27
For this reason God gave them
up to vile passions. For even
their women exchanged the natural
use for
what is against nature.
Likewise
also the men, leaving the
natural use of
the woman, burned
in their lust
for one another, men
with men committing
what is
shameful, and receiving in
themselves
the penalty of their
error
which was due.
20 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
Do you not know that the
unrighteous will not inherit the
kingdom of God? Do not be
deceived.
Neither fornicators, nor
idolaters, nor adulterers, nor
homosexuals, nor
sodomites, nor
thieves, nor
covetous, nor
drunkards, nor revilers, nor
extortioners
will inherit the
kingdom of God.
And such were some
of you.
But you were washed, but
you were
sanctified, but you were
justified in
the name of the Lord
Jesus and by
the Spirit of our
God.
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The End Times
Many have been deceived by those who hold unscriptural beliefs about
the end of the world. Bible verses
are often used improperly in
support of
these false ideas. What
God has
revealed to us about the
end times is
found in the Bible.
Jesus will
physically return once
on the last day of
the earth's
existence. He will
raise all
people, the living and those who
have died.
The believers will be
raised to
eternal life with God
(Heaven),
and the unbelievers to
eternal
separation from God
(Hell). Because God
desires all
men to live eternally,
he moves
Christians across the world to
share the
message of the Savior of
Mankind,
Jesus Christ.
1 Timothy 2:4
...who desires all men to be
saved and to come to the knowledge
of the truth.
John 6:40
And this is the will of Him who
sent Me, that everyone who sees
the Son and believes in Him may
have
everlasting life; and I will
raise
him up at the last day.
Revelation 1:7
Behold, He is coming with
clouds, and every eye will see
Him, even they who pierced Him.
And all the
tribes of the earth
will mourn
because of Him. Even
so, Amen.
Matthew 25:31-33
When the Son of Man comes in
His glory, and all the holy angels
with Him, then He will sit on the
throne of
His glory. All the
nations will be
gathered before Him, and He
will
separate them one from
another, as
a shepherd divides his sheep from
the goats.
And He will set the
sheep on His
right hand, but the
goats on
the left.
Matthew 24:23-25
Then if anyone says to you,
'Look, here is the Christ!' or
'There!' do not believe it. "For
false
christs and false prophets
will
rise and show great signs and
wonders to
deceive, if possible,
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