Sound Doctrine
The apostle Paul writes,
“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” 2Timothy 4:3,4.
There are times when I listen to men and women calling themselves Christians in the media and wonder where they get their information from. They are certainly not preaching the word of God. They may sound like it but they are not.
I know there is a lot of diversity in Christianity, that is to be expected. We within Christianity have various denominations and church congregation which at times will disagree with one another over the interpretation of certain what amount to minor parts of scripture or for that matter how best to worship God.
This for the most part is not a problem.
I personally believe God allows that diversity so that people of all backgrounds and lifestyles have a choice as to how they want to worship God.
The problem comes when people calling themselves Christians fail to correctly administer the word of God.
The apostle Paul tells us,
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15.
If we are not doing this we God will judge us.
Christians are told by the Apostle Paul,
“What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?
God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.” 1 Corinthians 5:12,13.
Notice he told the church not to judge those outside it. That is God’s job. However we have the right to judge anyone who calls themself a Christian in order to see that they are administering the world of God correctly. If they are not we are to expel them from our congregations.
Core Christian beliefs I believe are expressed in what is called the Apostles Creed. While not written by one of Christ’s apostles it is scripturally based. It states,
1.I believe in God the Father the almighty maker of heaven and earth
2. I believe in Jesus Christ God’s on and only Son, our Lord and Saviour.
3. I believe Jesus was conceived by the Holy Ghost, and born of the Virgin Mary
4. I believe Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate; That He was Crucified, died, was buried. That he descended in hell.
5. I believe He rose again on the third day from the dead.
6. I believe that he ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
7. I believe Jesus will one day Judge the living and the dead.
8. I believe in the Holy Ghost
9. I believe in the Church which is the communion of the saints,
10. I believe in the forgiveness of sin.
11. I believe in the resurrection of the body.
12. I believe in life everlasting.
The Writer of Hebrews tells us,
“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” Hebrews 1:1-3
The apostle John states,
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
In him was life, and that life was the light of men....
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. ” John 1:1-4,14.
The Apostle Paul tells us,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8,9.
It is by the grace of God we are saved, by having faith in the salvation Christ Jesus offers. Jesus himself saying,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son”. John 3:16-18
These are very basic beliefs of all who would call themselves Christians. You cannot believe anything else and be truly Christian.
Please think about it.
The apostle Paul writes,
“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” 2Timothy 4:3,4.
There are times when I listen to men and women calling themselves Christians in the media and wonder where they get their information from. They are certainly not preaching the word of God. They may sound like it but they are not.
I know there is a lot of diversity in Christianity, that is to be expected. We within Christianity have various denominations and church congregation which at times will disagree with one another over the interpretation of certain what amount to minor parts of scripture or for that matter how best to worship God.
This for the most part is not a problem.
I personally believe God allows that diversity so that people of all backgrounds and lifestyles have a choice as to how they want to worship God.
The problem comes when people calling themselves Christians fail to correctly administer the word of God.
The apostle Paul tells us,
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15.
If we are not doing this we God will judge us.
Christians are told by the Apostle Paul,
“What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?
God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.” 1 Corinthians 5:12,13.
Notice he told the church not to judge those outside it. That is God’s job. However we have the right to judge anyone who calls themself a Christian in order to see that they are administering the world of God correctly. If they are not we are to expel them from our congregations.
Core Christian beliefs I believe are expressed in what is called the Apostles Creed. While not written by one of Christ’s apostles it is scripturally based. It states,
1.I believe in God the Father the almighty maker of heaven and earth
2. I believe in Jesus Christ God’s on and only Son, our Lord and Saviour.
3. I believe Jesus was conceived by the Holy Ghost, and born of the Virgin Mary
4. I believe Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate; That He was Crucified, died, was buried. That he descended in hell.
5. I believe He rose again on the third day from the dead.
6. I believe that he ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
7. I believe Jesus will one day Judge the living and the dead.
8. I believe in the Holy Ghost
9. I believe in the Church which is the communion of the saints,
10. I believe in the forgiveness of sin.
11. I believe in the resurrection of the body.
12. I believe in life everlasting.
The Writer of Hebrews tells us,
“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” Hebrews 1:1-3
The apostle John states,
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
In him was life, and that life was the light of men....
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. ” John 1:1-4,14.
The Apostle Paul tells us,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8,9.
It is by the grace of God we are saved, by having faith in the salvation Christ Jesus offers. Jesus himself saying,
“...“I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6.
John’s Gospel also quoting Jesus as saying,“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son”. John 3:16-18
These are very basic beliefs of all who would call themselves Christians. You cannot believe anything else and be truly Christian.
Please think about it.
