Non-Negotiables for Theology/Christian Life
Non-Negotiables for
Theology/Christian Life
I.
The Divine (1-2)
1. The Eternal, Triune God – God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit; One God, Three Persons. (Deut. 6:4, Mt. 28:19, Jn. 10:30, Jn. 15:26)
·
Analogies
are useless to describe the Trinity. They generally fail in at least one
aspect, and I don’t know of a single analogy failure that isn’t heretical (at
least to its fullest extent).
·
The
best sources for the Trinity are the Bible and the Athanasian Creed.
2. Jesus Christ – hypostatic union, virgin birth, sinless life, death, burial, bodily resurrection, ascension, seated on the right hand of God the Father, imminent bodily second coming. (Mt. 1:23, Jn. 1:1-2, Jn. 1:14-18, Jn. 3:16-18, Rom. 5:12-21, 1 Cor. 15:1-11, 2 Cor. 5:10, Phil. 2:5-11, Hebr. 12:1-2)
·
Jesus’s
second coming is certain, but the timeline of the End Times is not certain to
us. I hold to Historic Premillennialism, but with an open hand.
· Amillennialism, Dispensational Premillennialism, and Postmillennialism are theories of the End Times that believers can hold, and I am fine with fellowshipping with believers as fellow members of a local church.
II.
The Bible (3-4)
3. The Inerrancy of The Bible – Verbal, Plenary Inspiration of God’s Word – The Word of God is sufficient for everyday living. (Ps. 19:7-13, Ps. 119, 2 Tim. 3:16-17, Hebr. 4:12-13)
· Does the Holy Spirit ever speak to
believers outside of Scripture? I believe only in ways the Bible declares, and
He will never contradict His Holy Word.
4. Genesis 1-11 is Literally True – Seven-day creation, fall of man in the Garden, global flood, Tower of Babel. (Mk. 10:6-8, Lu. 3:34-38, Rom. 5:12-21, Rom. 8:19-22, 2 Pet. 3:5-6, 1 Jn. 3:11-15)
·
Conclusive: I
hold the content of these chapters to be literally true in faith. If
something in these chapters is clearly held to be metaphorical, it will be
because the text is clear of its metaphorical nature.
III.
Mankind (5-6)
5. The sinfulness of all mankind, apart from Jesus Christ. Because of sin, the bodies of all mankind will die, but their souls will live eternally. (Gen. 3, Eccl. 3:1-11, Is. 64:6-7, Jn. 3:16-17, Rom. 3:10-18, 2 Cor. 5:1-5, Hebr. 4:15-16)
· Is the makeup of mankind twofold or threefold? In my opinion, either view (dichotomy and trichotomy) are solid orthodox views. There is a difference between the soul and the spirit of man (soul being the immaterial human makeup [think of everything but "strength" in Mark 12:30] and spirit being the immaterial connection to divinity [see Eccl. 3:11]), yet they are both (or all) immaterial as opposed to the material body. Trichotomy would be body, soul, and spirit (as stated in 1 Thess. 5:23), while Dichotomy would be the categories of what is material and what is immaterial (placing the soul and spirit in the same category). If the whole theology rides on 1 Thess. 5:23, then Trichotomy wins. But it doesn't, and valid Biblical arguments are presented for Dichotomy. I prefer the Dichotomy view.
6. Justification by faith alone, by grace alone, through Christ alone. Regeneration of our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Sanctification and glorification are gifts given to all believers by God alone and in His timing. In response, believers strive to please the Lord by listening to His Word, doing as He says, being guided by the Holy Spirit, faithfully worshiping Him in spirit and truth, and regularly gathering with likeminded believers. (Ezek. 36:25-27, Rom. 1:16-17, 5:1, Rom. 8:29-30, 1 Thess. 5:23)
IV.
The Atonement of Jesus Christ (7)
7. Jesus lived the sinless life on Earth the first Adam and all other men and women could not live and died the death mankind deserved (and still deserve) because of sin. His execution on a cross satisfies the sin debt of mankind to God the Father and forgives the sin of all who are saved by Him. By His resurrection, all in Christ will experience new life in Him; and will one day be changed from perishable bodies to imperishable bodies, living forever in Heaven with Him. (Ps. 22, Is. 53:1-12, Lu. 23:26-49, 1 Cor. 15:51-57, Hebr. 4:15-16)
· There are many theories of Christ’s
atonement, and generally the older theories have a nugget of truth in them. I
believe God the Father is the ultimate object of the Atonement, and therefore
prefer the Satisfaction and Penal Substitution Theories.
V. The Church (8-9)
8. The Church founded upon the Solid Rock of Jesus Christ. He calls, gifts, and qualifies men to shepherd His local churches. (Mt. 16:18, 1 Cor. 3:10-11, 1 Tim. 2:5-15, 1 Tim. 3:1-7, 1 Pet. 2:11-12)
·
I've been a part of a denominational structure that considers all local churches as autonomous (even calling it a "denomination" is up for debate). I respect the idea of hierarchical Protestant denominations, but not currently to the point of joining one.
· Women are called, gifted, and qualified by God to work in a variety of ministries, but not as pastors, elders, or bishops. Churches and denominations that permit and/or encourage women as pastors, etc. are in severe doctrinal error. This issue is non-negotiable to me.
· Since I hold to local churches be autonomous, I also believe missions organizations outside of the local church must consider the local churches to be doing the work of missions and evangelism. It is not great for lone rangers to go at this task alone, but to be partnered with and sent by the local church of which they are a part.
VI. Social Issues (10-13)
10. The Sanctity of Human Life – abortion, abortifacient birth control, embryonic stem cell research, and euthanasia must all be rejected. (Ex. 20:13, Lev. 18:21, Deut. 30:19, Ps. 139, Jere. 1:5, Mt. 5:21-22, Mt. 19:13-15)
· I abhor the death penalty, but am not
fully against it. However, I know the estimated rate of innocence for death row
offenders in the United States is 1 in 25 (4% - which is a conservative estimate), with some statisticians placing
the rate as high as 10%. I’m concerned about that. Each civil entity that
practices the death penalty must ensure that everything possible is accomplished
to come to the truth of the perpetrator’s guilt, and that the extent of the
crime necessitates death.
11. God’s design for marriage is as a covenant made before Him between one man and one woman for a lifetime commitment. Fornication, adultery, homosexuality, bestiality, divorce, incest, and all other sexual relationships outside of Biblical marriages are sinful. (Gen. 2:23-24, Ex. 20:14, Lev. 18:6-23, Mal. 2:16, Rom. 1:24-27, 1 Cor. 6:9-10)
·
God
permits divorce for adultery, but husbands and wives should work to keep their
marriage together. Repentance after sexual immorality must be the standard in
the lives of believers.
12. God’s design for males is to remain male and females to remain female. (Gen. 1:26-27, Gen. 2:7, Gen. 2:18-24, 1 Cor. 11:3, 1 Tim. 2:13-15)
· An estimated 1.7% of people worldwide are intersex in some biological way. Each believer with intersex characteristics must be treated with individuality, dignity, solemnity, and (as needed) privacy. God created all intersex people according to His purposes and for His glory. However, intersex people do not inherently have permission by God to pursue an LGBTQ+ agenda and lifestyle.
13. We are to pray for the peace of
Jerusalem and for their protection. Pray for the salvation of Jews, whom God chose in His will to be His people, and from whom came our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Supporting mission and evangelism efforts in Israel is an absolute must
for a believer. Antisemitism is a grievous sin that must be avoided by
believers and rebuked when witnessing it (particularly among believers). (Gen. 12:1-3, Gen. 17:6-8, Ps. 121, Ps. 122:6-9, Jere. 31:31-34, Mt. 23:37-39, Acts 1:8, Rom. 11:17-27)
· All allies of Israel must be honest about what is truly defense and what is an offensive strike (not only concerning Israel but also themselves). Supporting a nation’s defense does not mean supporting a nation’s war machine and global military strategy.
· All Christians, regardless of stance on Israel, must highly support and pray for mission and evangelism efforts focusing on all people in that region, including Jews and Arabs (not above all other regions of the world, but not to neglect that region). It is a vital yet often a dangerous task to serve as a missionary in the Middle East, many times having to work undercover.
· Also, all believers should remember, pray for, and support the growing and heavily-persecuted Arab Christians living in the Middle East.
VII. Documents, Creeds, Sources I Hold Dear
·
The
Holy Bible
·
The
Athanasian Creed
·
The
Apostle’s Creed
·
The
Nicene Creed
·
The
Baptist Faith and Message (all editions, particularly 2000)
·
The
1689 London Baptist Confession
·
The
Thirty-Nine Articles (do not fully agree)
·
The
Westminster Confession of Faith (do not fully agree)
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