Everyday Theologian's Doctrinal Statement

Luke 10:27 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” 

I don’t know about you, but loving God with my mind can be hard. This can take work, discipline, patience, and study. But we know, studying the revelations He has given us about Himself is one way to love Him with our mind. In return, it helps us love others more. This is a great motivation to me and hopefully you to dive into scripture. 

Last week we talked about “Why Theology?” This week we need to know “Why Dogma and Doctrine.”

Theology is the study of God. Doctrine is the teachings that are taught by a belief system. For instance, Christian doctrine would be the foundations of what is taught within church bodies. Doctrine is different than dogma. Dogma is the core belief of what all Christians believe.

Simply put, there are beliefs that Christians must hold to be followers of Christ. There isn’t wiggle room in Christian dogma.  It’s undeniable certainty of the faith. This would be the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. We are going to build from dogma and explain Everyday Theologian’s doctrinal statement.

We are aware of different Christian beliefs that multiple denominations hold. Discussing different views is a great way to sharpen faith and spur one another to Christ. Regardless of different theological and denominational views, there are core doctrines that most Christians believe.

At everyday theologian we believe in these core doctrines. When I say “core” I am emphasizing that whatever theological topics we discuss on this platform, the following beliefs will not change.

• We believe in the inspiration, infallibility, inerrancy, sufficiency, authority and canonicity of Scripture. Simply put, we hold to the belief that the Bible is God’s living Word without error and could never have error. (Heb 4:11), (2 Tim 3:16), (2 Peter 1:20-21). There are accounts in the Bible that are not glorifying to God. Take the fall of man for example. The Bible does not condone everything it records. The Bible also does not condone everything it says. There are quotes from Satan in the Bible. “Did God really say?” (Genesis 3:1). The Book “Exploring Christian Theology” By Holsteen and Svigel says it this way, “The Bible is not verifying these false statements; it’s quoting them accurately. This is why we clarify that Scripture is true in all it affirms but doesn’t affirm everything it accurately reports.” The Bible is the governing authority in our lives and is useful for everyday living.

•  We believe in one eternal God who exists in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God is the creator of all things. (Gen 1:1), (Acts 17:28).  We believe in the full deity and humanity of Jesus Christ. He was fully God and fully human, born of a virgin while on Earth. (Isaiah 9:6), (Phil 2:6-7). We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells in all believers. (1 Corinthians 3:16), (John 16:13). 

• We believe in the total depravity of the humanity. (Isaiah 64:4) Total depravity means if humans were left to our own devices, we would choose to sin every time. Go back to the Genesis chapter 3 with me. Eve is in the Garden of Eden... everything is perfect, sin hasn’t entered the world yet. BUT something inside of her desired to disobey God. Through Adam and Eve’s sin we are born into a sinful world and born with that sin desire inside of us.

• We believe salvation from sin is a gift from God through Jesus sacrifice on the cross. Romans 3:23, 6:23, 5:8, 10:9-10, Eph 2:8 One cannot do enough works to save themselves from sin. Salvation is by faith alone through grace alone.

• We believe that after Jesus died on the cross, He physically rose again three days later and is now sitting at the right hand of the Father interceding for His people. (Rom 8:34). You may wonder. why is it so important that he physically rose again? If He didn’t rise again in bodily form, there is no hope for mankind. We would still be living in our sin, and we would still be eternally separated from God. Without this piece of doctrine, all the other ones go to the waste side. Our hope is in the belief that Jesus is alive today.

• We believe Jesus will physically return for His people. (Rev 1:7); (John 14:3). There are multiple theological views on the book of Revelation. Without discussing the different views here, we can rest and rejoice in the HOPE that all Christians have knowing Jesus will physically return for His people.

Remember, Christian doctrine is relevant because it’s the foundation of our beliefs, The way we live our lives stem from what we believe about our faith.