1.
Why we base our beliefs on the Bible |
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2.
Why does it matter what we believe |
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3.
How the BASF was developed |
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4.
How did we arrive at our Statement of Faith? |
2. Why does it matter what we believe?
“The
Gospel” is intimately bound up in a knowledge of 1. God, 2.
Jesus Christ and 3. the Kingdom of God.
How can we possibly have a totally different understanding of these 3
fundamentals and still believe “the Gospel”? Belief in the Gospel
is obviously essential for salvation.
“The
Gospel” is the “gospel of God” (Rom 1v1; 15v16; 2 Cor
11v7; 1 Thess 2v8,9; 1 Tim 1v11; 1 Pet 4v17). It is often called “the
gospel of Jesus Christ” (Mark 1v1; Rom 1v9;,16; 15v16,19,29; 1
Cor 9v12,18; 2 Cor 9v13; 10v14; Phil 1v27; 2 Thess 1v8; 1 Tim 1v11; 1
Pet 4v17). Jesus went about preaching “the gospel of the kingdom
of God” (Matt 4v23; 24v13; Mark 1v14-15). The Kingdom of God
was such an important focus in the preaching of Jesus Christ and the Apostles
(Luke 4v43; Acts 8v12; 19v8; 28v23,32). How can we possibly believe
a different gospel and still be saved?
Mark 16v15-16 “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and
preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”
1 Cor 15v1-2 “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain”
Acts 8v12 “But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.”What
is the main focus of the gospel that Philip preached?
1. The Kingdom of God and 2. the name of Jesus Christ!
God Himself is intimately linked with both these.
Rom 1v16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” (KEY VERSE)
Eph 1v12-13 “That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,”
2 Tim 1v9-10 “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel”
• “Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the WORD OF GOD” (Rom 10v17)
• “But without faith it is impossible to please God” (Heb 11v6)
• “For by grace you are saved through faith” (Eph 2v8)
• “We are saved by hope” (Rom 8v24)
• "Even so, faith, if it hath not works, is dead.... I will show thee my faith by my works" (James 2v17)
• "For we are HIS WORKMANSHIP, created in Christ Jesus unto good works." (Eph 2v10)
How
then are we saved?
Grace is the means. Faith is the basis. Works are the essential outworking
of our Faith and an outward expression of our love. They are all interlinked.
“Belief in “the gospel” was the principle found in the Old Testament also:
Rom 4v3 “For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.”
Gal 3v6 “Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”
James 2v23 “And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.”
The gospel was preached to Abraham and he BELIEVED GOD. Imagine if Abraham said to God,
“Thanks for calling me out of Babylon, I really do love you, but I also quite like the religions here. As for this promise of your Kingdom on earth, it all sounds really nice, and it might even one day happen, but I would also like to continue believing that I go to heaven when I die. It’s not that I don’t respect your opinion, but I just believe open fellowship and freedom of worship is OK. I don’t want to become too narrow minded or bigoted on this issue. Even so, I know that your grace is so amazing that I can be saved anyhow.”
Clearly this is madness! What hope would Abraham have had with this sort of attitude?
(From Andrew Dangerfield's work 'Doctrine - Does It Matter What We Believe?')