Who is God?

The Bible is the Word of God. The Bible is God’s instruction manual for mankind, which gives answers to all of life’s questions as well as direction through all of life’s challenges. The Bible is completely true and timeless, so it is never outdated regardless of modern advances or changes in society. The Bible is to be taken literally like you might read the newspaper or a business report.

The Bible was written by approximately forty men over the span of nearly 1500 years (1400 B.C. to A. D. 90). It contains 66 books. The first 39 are called the Old Testament and the last 27 are called the New Testament. The Old Testament was written to the Jews to call them to represent God to the nations of the world. It contained rules and regulation to remind them of their position before God and their need for forgiveness. In the New Testament God turns the privilege of representing Him over to the church. The New Testament contains principles and promises that differ from the Old Testament because they are based on the finished work of Jesus on the Cross.

Who is Man?

Man was created by God to represent Him on earth. Adam, the first man God created, failed to believe God and therefore disobeyed, which God called sin. Because of sin, every person is separated from God. In our separation, we desire those things, which go against God, rather than those things, which please God.

Who is Jesus?

Jesus is God. He came from heaven, lived in sinless life and died as a payment for man’s sin. Jesus not only forgave sins, something only God can do, but he also said He is the only way to heaven.

Who is Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is one of the persons of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. The Holy Spirit works on our conscience to show us when we do things that go against God’s Word. The Holy Spirit also points us to what we should think, say, or do. The Holy Spirit lays on our hearts the understanding of future judgment for sin. The Holy Spirit comforts believers when they are following Jesus.

What is the Gospel?

The gospel is literally the good news that Jesus became a man while remaining fully God, and came to this earth to pay for our sins through His death. A price we deserved to pay but could not.

How do you respond to the Gospel?

Repent of your sin and believe Jesus is God who died to pay for your sins. Repentance is one side of the coin and implies recognition of and sorrow for sin, because we realize we were rejecting God’s love and rebelling against Him. Belief is the other side of the coin, and is the confidence that what Jesus said of Himself is absolutely true, He is God and He came, died, and rose again to conquer both sin and death.

What is the church?

The church is not a building but the people who believe in Jesus. The people of God in the New Testament come together with other believers in their area to form local churches or gatherings of Christians to celebrate Jesus. These local churches are lead by pastors/elders, who oversee the work. Pastors/Elders are those who give oversight and act as the spiritual rudder. Deacons are servants who help make sure the practical needs of the congregation are being meet.

The reason the church exists is to bring worship to God. The church does this by helping people understand how great God is and how to express our joy in His greatness through our lives. This comes through the study of God’s Word, prayer, singing, fellowship, service, and evangelism. The church fosters worship through encouraging faithfulness and confronting waywardness. Confronting waywardness is the disciplining side of the church, which seeks to correct those in sin and restore them to usefulness and faithfulness.

The church is God’s tool for accomplishing His work on this earth and is essential for every believer. God wants to use us and change us, and His primary tool is the local church.

What are Christian liberties?

As Christians, God has given us much freedom of choice and conscience, even while calling us to hold unwavering to the doctrines and directives specifically given in scripture. We must hold loosely our freedoms, which broaden our ability to serve and reach others. At the same time we must hold tightly to: God’s sovereignty, the gospel, the Trinity, eternity, etc. as well as specific practices like: don’t get drunk, don’t speak or be entertained by evil, dress modestly, share your faith, sing to God, give thanks for all things, as well as many more clear biblical directives. Some things we must hold loosely are: whether we drink alcohol, whether we watch movies or TV, tattoos, playing cards, schooling choices for our kids, celebrating certain days or not (i.e. Christmas, Easter, etc.), what foods we eat, what style of music we listen to, what clothing styles we wear, our methods of ministry including; methods of evangelism, musical worship styles. All these things are to be held loosely, in order to maximize our impact for God on our mission.

What are spiritual gifts?

Spiritual gifts are God given gifts that work with our natural talents to promote God and set the pace for others in certain areas of our ministry. They are super natural abilities given to us when we respond to the gospel. These abilities are for serving others. The way you find out what gifts you have is by serving others and it becomes evident by where you’re most drawn and most effective.

What is baptism and communion?

Baptism is the first step of obedience following believing in Jesus. Baptism is a formal proclamation of the inward change God has brought in our lives. It’s publicly giving God praise for saving you from your sins and bringing you into a relationship with Himself. It’s the “I was _______, but God, now I am ______.” Baptism is also for accountability, so others can hold you accountable to living the standards set by Jesus for Christians.

Communion on the other hand is an ongoing ceremony done at the gathering of believers to celebrate Jesus. This is a celebration that Jesus came in the flesh (bread) and died for our sins (wine). The celebration is for repentance, keeping short accounts with God, and celebration, celebrating we are forgiven and Jesus will come back and take us to be with Him.

What is eternity?

Eternity is life after death. The scriptures tell us we were all made with a beginning but no end. There are two places people go upon death. One is heaven the other is hell. Once a person dies they are sealed in that condition for eternity. Heaven is a place of joy and peace, a place described as “rest”. Heaven is the presence of God for all eternity. Hell on the other hand is described as a place of torment, a place of isolation and separation from God and others, a place of burning and torture.

What is the responsibility of all who believe?

1) Responsibility of Christians to God?

Christians are responsible to build their relationship with God. Just like any relationship, time is required to not only maintain but also strengthen the relationship. So it is with God. God desires for us to listen to Him through the Word, and talk to Him through prayer, and act upon what He tells us.

Matt 4:4

James 4:7-10

1 Thess 5:16-18

2) Responsibility of Christians to other Christians?

God has called all who believe in His name to join a local church. Being a part of a local church implies far more than watching it on TV and giving financially. Being a part involves a commitment to give or your time, talents, energy and money to support the work God has called us to.

Our responsibilities require time with one another and include: Praying for one another, serving each other, encouraging, correcting, and helping one another, in order to grow in love and good deeds. This includes using our spiritual gifts to accomplish this work.

3) Responsibility of Christians towards those who do not believe?

Our responsibility to those who have not come to believe in Jesus also requires time. We are called to spend time with them in order to present Jesus to them that God might open their eyes to see the truthfulness of our message.