Beliefs

Divine Document

The Holy Bible is God's inspired, infallible word, spoken by God through his chosen prophets. The Bible, in the original languages, is our final authority on all matters of the Christian faith (2 Timothy 3:15-16; 2 Peter 1:20-21). The Scriptures consist of both the Old Testament and New Testament.

Human Documents

GraspingGod.com greatly respects the following creeds and confessions, while recognizing them as human documents: The Apostles' Creed, The Athanasian Creed, The Creed of Chalcedon and The Nicene Creed, The Baptist Confession Of Faith (1689) and, The Westminster Confession Of Faith. Paul Pavao's Christian History site, dedicated to publicizing historic Christian writings and doctrines, is recommended.

Summary Of Beliefs

Trinity
The One True God is the Holy Trinity made up of three individual beings: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Mark 12:29; Isaiah 43:10-11; Matthew 28:19-20).

Jesus Christ
The eternal Son of God, Jesus Christ, is the second person of the Christian Trinity:
1. Jesus Christ is fully God (John 5:23; 10:30).
2. Jesus Christ is fully human (John 1:14).
3. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin (Matthew 1:20-25).
4. Jesus Christ lived a completely sinless life (1 Peter 1:19).
5. Jesus died on the cross for sinners (Romans 5:8).
6. Jesus rose from the grave to defeat Satan, hell, and human eternal death (1 Thessalonians 4:14).
7. Jesus grants eternal life to all who trust in him alone for eternal life (John 3:16).
8. Jesus will come again to judge both the living and dead (2 Timothy 4:1).
9. Jesus Christ, along with the chosen angels and saints, will reign supreme over the universe for eternity (Revelation 11:15).

Creation & Fall Of Man
Man is created in God's image according to the Genesis chapters 1 & 2 account of creation (James 3:9). Mankind fell from their original state of goodness by their sin against God's command (Genesis 3:1-7). All people are born sinners, remaining sinners throughout their earthly lives (Romans 3:23). Anyone who says they don't sin is calling God a liar (1 John 1:8-10).

God's Plan Of Redemption
Jesus Christ, by God's grace, paid the penalty for our sins (Romans 3:24). Those people who believe in God through his Son, Jesus Christ, receive eternal life (Romans 3:25-26). True believers become friends of God, and will not suffer judgment and eternal death (Romans 5:11; 8:1-2). Those who fail to believe in God are condemned to perish forever (Romans 6:23).

Salvation Of Man
God saves people through his original processes, by his power (John 1:12-13). The basis of salvation is God's mercy and love and the life, death and resurrection of his Son, Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:6; 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12; Acts 4:12).

Election
God the Father elected souls from before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4), basing his choices solely on his good pleasure (Ephesians 1:5). God's grace (aka undeserved favor and mercy) and ultimate glory are his purposes for saving those whom he chooses.

Regeneration
The Holy Spirit is sent by the Father to work regeneration in the heart, soul and spirit of a chosen person (John 3:3-8; Titus 3:5). The person that is born again receives the ability to hear the word of God and see God at work in his life (Acts 16:14; Luke 24:45).

Justification
The regenerated soul becomes convicted of his sinful nature and particular sins, eventually expressing faith in God by turning to him in repentance unto life (Isaiah 55:7; Acts 11:18). God alone determines when the repentant sinner expresses belief in him. At that moment, God forgives the person's sins, justifying the new believer (2 Corinthians 6:2). The perfect life and sacrificial death of Jesus Christ are then fully applied to the forgiven sinner's account (Colossians 2:13-14; 2 Corinthians 5:17,21).

Sanctification
Saved man remains in a sinful body living in a sinful world, therefore, the saved man will continue to be subject to temptation and sin (Galatians 5:17-18). However, the indwelling Holy Spirit battles the sin nature within, and empowers the man to conquer evil desires and eventually sinful acts (Galatians 5:22-25). God instructs and empowers the saved man through the Holy Spirit and Scriptures (Ephesians 6:10-17), leading to a godly life which glorifies his Savior.

Judgment Day
Lost man will stand before Jesus Christ at the White Throne Judgment, having all sins exposed. The person will be condemned to eternal death in outer darkness (Matthew 22:13). Saved, resurrected man will stand innocent before God, based solely on the applied life and death of his Savior, Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:51-54; Romans 8:1).

Evangelism and Discipleship

GraspingGod.com employs: © Whole Bible Evangelism (for example, see Series 1 & 2 Bible Study Lessons on this site). This evangelistic method is based upon the fact that people are in dire spiritual need of the entire counsel of God. Christian evangelistic efforts should focus on presenting an initial survey of the Scriptures to those seeking to understand God. Orthodox Christian doctrines pertaining to God and man should be focused on in this effort.

© Whole Bible Discipleship (for example, see Series 3 Bible Study Lessons on this site) is then employed to teach the new Christian as he or she grows in faith. Efforts should consist of a survey of the Scriptures at a deeper level of understanding.

I believe the following document to be the best overall representation of Whole Bible Evangelism: Biblical Evangelism Today: A Symposium