Before you can defend your faith as the Bible commands, you must first know what you believe and why you believe it.

     In the Christian faith, there are basically two categories of doctrine: central and peripheral. This means some teachings are central to the Christian faith and some are not. On these peripheral teachings, there may well be a right or a wrong answer to the given question, but the salvation of your soul or the life you live do not depend on getting these doctrines "right." For example, think about worshipping on Saturday vs Sunday. Some groups, such as Seventh-Day Adventists, say that Saturday is the proper day for Christians to have their weekly services. They believe that Sunday worship is not ordained by God. Other groups believe that "Saturday is for Jews" and that Christians should worship on Sunday. What does the Bible say? It says it's not that important! Paul addresses this very subject:

One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.

Paul's point is that either is okay, as long as it's done for the Lord. There are a number of teachings like this: wine vs grape juice during Communion; sprinkle, dunk or pour in Baptism, etc.

But there are also some doctrines that are definitely NOT compromiseable. These doctrines are those which do affect the salvation of the soul or the life that is lived. In other words, these doctrines are so central to the Christian faith that if they were removed or compromised the faith wouldn't be the faith any more. The "salvation of the soul" doctrines are these:

1. The Authority of Scripture

2. The Trinity and Deity of Jesus Christ

3. The Virgin Birth

4. Vicarious Atonement

5. The Bodily Resurrection

6. Eternal Judgment: Heaven and Hell

7. Salvation by Grace

8. The Second Coming of Christ

Doctrines concerning lifestyle that cannot be compromised have to do with moral living such as not engaging in homosexual acts, adultery, incest, bestiality, drunkenness, thievery, gluttony, Occultic activities, and other similar beliefs. Of course, no one is sinless. Everyone falls and commits sin at times. However, what we're talking about here is habitual unrepentant activity that is not the occasional mistake but a lifestyle. God will joyously forgive us of all our sins, but He does ask of us that we repent of these sins. But these things are often considered "lifestyle choices" in our society. Some people try and live the sinful life they enjoy without ever repenting. 

What follows is a brief discussion of each of these doctrines and why we believe them. These are the real "deal-breakers" of the faith. Believing something other than these things does not make you a worthless or less valid person, of course. But believing something other than these core doctrines does exclude you from the Biblical definition of a Christian.

1. The Authority of Scripture--The Bible is the inerrant, infallible Word of God. The Bible does not just "contain" the message from God; the Bible itself is the message. No translation is perfect, because they are all the work of men. But in the original manuscripts, the Bible is perfect. Of those original manuscripts, we have letter-for-letter more than 95% of the Old Testament and more than 97.5% of the New Testament as we believe they were given. The places where there is some question do not effect the faith in the least. Most of them are spelling differences or additions to the text by scribes, which we now know to be additions. That sort of thing. There are still some few disputed passages, but nothing that bothers the Christian or what he or she believes. William F. Albright, the famed archaeologist, said that there has never been an instance where archaeology has disproven the Bible. (For more details on this, see our soon-coming Archaeology page.) Some of the verses upon which these beliefs are based include 2 Timothy 3:13-15; 2 Peter 1:20 and 3:16.

2. The Trinity and Deity of Christ--Another more concise way to put this doctrine is "The Nature of God." The Trinity is often misunderstood and over-defined, but in essence it is very simple. The Bible says that there are three divine Persons. Each of those Persons is called hwhy (YHWH, Jehovah, Adonai, Ha'Shem, whatever the word used for the "great unpronounceable." In this article we will simply call Him "Jehovah.") However, the Bible also says that there is only one hwhy. Therefore the three Persons are the One True God. From the time of His conception to the time of His Resurrection and thereafter, Jesus Christ was both fully God and fully man. "God and man in completeness," as the late Walter Martin once put it. Isaiah 7:14 says that a Virgin would conceive someone who would be called "God Among Us" (la-WnMu, Imm-anu-El, "amongst-us-God") and he later says that this person would be called "The Mighty God" (roBg-la, El-Gibbor, "Mighty-God" Isaiah 9:6.) Christ was addressed both as a man (For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, 1 Timothy 2:5) and as God (Thomas said to Him, "My Lord and My God." John 20:28; literally o kurio" mou kai o qeo" mou, ho kurios mou, kai ho theos mou, "My Lord and my God.") People worshipped Him, and He accepted that worship. If they had done so and He was not God, it was His duty as a rabbi and a good observant Jew to tear His clothes, rebuke them and accuse them of blasphemy. But look at His reaction--He told Thomas in John 20 that those who shared his confession of Jesus as God were "blessed" (John 20:29). He accepted worship from others, both before He was raised from the dead (Matthew 2:11; 20:20) and after (Luke 24:52) which worship is only due to God (Matthew 4:10.) Jesus was both addressed and worshipped as God before and after He died. He was also addressed as human before and after He died and was raised. Therefore He was both God and Man in completeness, both before and after His conception and His death.

As for the Trinity, this doctrine has been over-defined and, frankly, abused by people on both sides of the Trinity question. Those disbelieving the Trinity have gotten abusive and demeaning of the intellect of those who believe it. (Read some of the Watchtower and Oneness Pentecostal stuff sometime, particularly Rob Sabin, if you don't believe that.) Some of those who do believe the Trinity can get over-prideful of their intellect in their efforts to define things to which the Bible doesn't even allude. However, the Trinity is solidly biblical and supportable--if you limit yourself to what the Scripture says and clearly reflects on the subject. And that's exceedingly simple. Ready? Here it is, restated from the above:

The Bible says there are three Persons, each of which is called "Jehovah;"

There is only one "Jehovah;" 

Therefore, the three Persons are, and must be, the one true Jehovah God.   

We could launch into lengthy passages and explanations at this point, but let's do it the easy way. First, in the New Testament, the passages are written in Greek, not Hebrew or Aramaic like in the Old Testament. The Greek equivalent of "God" is qeoj, "theos," literally "God;" and sometimes kurioj "kurios," literally "Lord."  Thus if those words are used, the author is saying "Jehovah." (Some claim that the only way you can tell that it is saying "Jehovah" is if the definite article "the" is used. It's true that if the NT passage says "the God" and uses the article then it's referring to Jehovah. However, there are some times that there is no definite article but it still should be translated "the" God; however, we can settle that debate by simply avoiding the controversy altogether. Herein we'll refer only to passages that use the definite article. We'll save the "definite article debate" for another day.) Sometimes the best way to tell is to go back and see from where in the Old Testament the NT writer is quoting, and see if the four-letter-word "YHWH" or "Jehovah" is used. Also, if in the New Testament one of these Persons is quoted and the OT passage that's taken from says "Jehovah said . . . " then that identifies the NT Person as Jehovah. So let's take a look:

Is the Person called "The Father" ever called "Jehovah" or "God?" Yes! Check out 1 Corinthians 8:6, which says in part, yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live. Also there is Peter, who in 1 Peter 1:2 addresses the Church as Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. There are several other passages, but this point really isn't contested by Anti-Trinitarians, so let's move on.

Is there a Person called "The Son" who is ever called "Jehovah" or "God?" Yes! See John 8:58-59, where Jesus called Himself "I AM." ("I AM") is what the four-letter name of God means in Hebrew. It was never used for anyone except God Himself, on pain of death. The reaction of His antagonists was to try to kill Him because He had in their eyes committed blasphemy. (Of course, as my father says, "It ain't braggin' if you can do it!" It wasn't blasphemy if He really was God.) "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham came into being, ‘I AM!" At this, they picked up stones to stone Him, but Jesus hid Himself , slipping away from the temple grounds. As noted above in the kurios/theos discussion, Thomas called Jesus both "Lord" and "God" in John 20. In addition, is there actually a place where Jesus is called Jehovah God by the Father Himself! In Hebrews 1:8, the Father is quoted. The verse says, He also says, "Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom. In verse ten, God also says, He also says, "In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands." God the Father is a pretty good source! There are several other places where Jesus is directly addressed as Jehovah, but let these two suffice for now. Also, there are places in the New Testament where the Old Testament is quoted and that quotation is attributed to Jesus. Take a look at the following chart:

SAYING OR TITLE	Jehovah or  hwhy	Jesus
Who's the only Rock?	Isaiah 44:8	1 Corinthians 10:4
Who's the only Savior?	Isaiah 43:3,11	Philippians 3:20; 2 Peter 1:1
Who's the First & Last?	Isaiah 44:6; 48:12	Revelation 1:17; 2:8; 22:13
"To Me every knee shall bow"	Isaiah 45:23	Philippians 2:10-11
Who got pierced?	Zechariah 12:10	John 19:34-37; Revelation  1:7
Whose way is prepared?	Isaiah 40:3; Malachi 3:1	Matthew 3:1-2; Mark 1:7-8;  Luke 3:4-6; John 1:15
Who's the "I AM?	Exodus 3:14	John 8:58
Who properly receives worship?	Exodus 34:10	Matthew 4:10; Luke 4:8
Who laid the earth's     foundations?	Job 38:4; Isaiah 48:13	Hebrews 1:10

There are several other Scriptural examples of Jesus and the Holy Spirit being shown to be God. In Acts 13, it is the Holy Spirit who called Saul and Barnabas to their ministry. Acts 20:28 says that God bought the Church "with His own blood." Since the Father is spirit by nature and therefore has no blood, this has to refer to Jesus as divine.

There are several passages that say there's only one Jehovah. Of all of these, Isaiah 45:5 is very blunt: I am Jehovah and there is no other. For further reference, see Deuteronomy 4:39; 1 Kings 8:60; Isaiah 44:8, 45:14, 45:18, 45:21-22, 46:9; Joel 2:27; Mark 12:32; and 1 Corinthians 8:4. They all pretty much say the same thing.    

Thus there are three Persons, each of them is called God, and there is only one God. That is what the Bible says about the Trinity.   

3. The Virgin Birth--There are some who believe that the doctrine of the Virgin Birth is not important--that it is either a peripheral doctrine or, worse, not true at all. But it is. First of all, it's important that Jesus was born of a virgin because the Scripture said that's how it would happen. If the doctrine is, then, disbelieved, it takes with it the doctrine of the Authority and Inspiration of Scripture. Isaiah 7:14 says Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The Virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel. Note that the verse says that the Virgin will give birth. Some maintain that Mary was a virgin until she had sex with her husband Joseph (or, according to some ancient Jewish writings, committed adultery with a Roman soldier named Panterus) so she was sexually pure until she had sex. However, if the sentence is diagrammed in either English, Hebrew, or Greek, it can be seen that she was not only a virgin when she got pregnant but also at the time she gave birth. This is supported by the New Testament account, which is more detailed than the Isaiah passage. Matthew bluntly says that Mary was impregnated by the Holy Spirit: tou de Ihsou Cristou h& genesi" ou&tw" h*n. mnhsteuqeish" th" mhtro" autou Maria" tw Iwshf, prin h* sunelqein autou" eureqh en gastri ecousa ek pheumato" a&giou  The English translation literally says, Now the birth of Jesus Christ was like this: His mother Mary had become engaged to Joseph; before having sex she was found to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit. The Greek particle "ek" is described when used with the genitive case as "denoting source, cause, motive, reason; from, of, by." This usage is called a dative of means, and it tells the meant of how something happened–the agency or source of the action. Thus it was the Holy Spirit, according to Matthew, that got Mary pregnant.

The second reason that the Virgin Birth is important is that without it, Jesus could not have been a proper sacrifice for our sins because He would have had His own sins to pay for. The Scripture says that sin came into the world through Adam. Adam and his male descendants, in effect, are the "carriers." They contain the "virus" of sin. And since every single human person, regardless of conception by regular sex, in vitro fertilization, sperm donor, or any other method, has a biological father everyone is tainted by Original Sin. Everyone, that is, except Jesus. We inherit our sin natures from our fathers. Jesus’ Father, however, was sinless, and Jesus inherited that nature. His human frailty, aging, and other human characteristics came from Mary, of course; in other words, the genetic blueprint. However, sin did not taint Him. Any other human would’ve had his own sins that would have to be atoned for. Jesus, though, did not; so when He was penalized for sins, He could transfer that credit to us. Only a sinless person could do that.

The third and final reason is that no child of Joseph could be the King of Israel. True, because Joseph was a descendant of King David, and the last of a long line of firstborn sons, Jesus would’ve inherited the legal right to the throne. But the Scripture says that one of Joseph’s ancestors, King Jeconiah (sometimes called Jehoiachin or Coniah) was cursed by God. Jeremiah 22:30 says of him, This is what the Lord says: "Record this man as if childless, a man who will not prosper in his lifetime, for none of his offspring will prosper, none will sit on the throne of David or rule anymore in Judah." So if Jesus was to be the King of Israel, He would have to get that lineage of David from His mother, not His Father. And we know that to be true. Matthew gives the lineage of Joseph, establishing Jesus’ legal right to the throne. Luke gives Mary’s lineage, establishing Jesus’ physical right to the throne. Both Mary and Joseph were descendants of David, and Jesus needed both a legal right and a physical descent to claim the throne. He had both: one through Joseph, and the other through the Virgin Mary. And just for the record, the Scripture says that after she gave birth to her firstborn Son, Mary did not remain a virgin. And he did not have sex with her until she gave birth to a Son, and he named Him Jesus. (Matthew 1:25) For more information on perthenogenesis (virgin birth) as it occurs in nature, click here.

4. Vicarious Atonement--We often hear that "Jesus died for our sins" but we don't often stop to think about what that means. It's actually fairly simple. We racked up a debt we couldn't pay. We have sinned and because of those sins every human being deserves the death penalty. The debt is owed to God, not Satan as some heretics (Benny Hinn, Fred Price et al) believe. God, being infinitely holy, is infinitely offended by any sin, no matter how small. Think of it this way: you're mad at someone. You punch them in the nose. If it's your first offense and they're not seriously injured, you might even get off with probation and community service. But imagine the person you punch in the nose is President Bush. Immediately you're covered by weapons and if you try and hit him again you'll find yourself shot at by Secret Service personnel. You'll be wrestled to the ground in any case and will quickly find yourself in federal prison on a charge of Threatening the President of the United States. You'll do years for the crime. It's a bigger crime by virtue of the greatness of the person you assault. In the same way, God is so holy that any sin, no matter how slight, is offensive to Him. God does not see sin in degrees--you're either tainted by it or you're not. You're either perfect in His eyes or you aren't. Just as there's no such thing as a little bit pregnant or a little bit dead, there's no such thing in God's eyes as a little bit sinful. You either are or you aren't. It is simply because of His love and mercy that we aren't all immediately struck dead; instead, He gives us lots of chances to repent of our sin. And Jesus' sacrifice in our place covers that sin and takes it away. The bottom line is that we should've died on the Cross but He did in our place. He was the sacrifice we couldn't provide. It was the Cross that made our final total even. But all that did was make us even; it didn't then make us alive. He did that at the Resurrection.

5. The Bodily Resurrection of Jesus--Jesus' atonement for us on the Cross cleared our account. Our tab was paid. But that still does nothing for us in eternity as far as receiving eternal life. But when He proved that He could raise Himself from the dead, it was proof that He certainly could raise us. Jesus said He was going to raise His own physical body from the dead: Then the Jews demanded of Him, "What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?" Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days." The Jews replied, "it has taken forty-six years to build this temple and you are going to raise it in three days?" But the temple He had spoken of was His body. After He was raised from the dead, His disciples recalled what He had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken. John 2:18-22. The Greek word translated into the English word "body" is swma, soma, and it means exactly that: the physical body of flesh that decays and turns to dust when we die. Jesus raised His own, and after the Resurrection He proved it to Thomas: Then He said to Thomas, "put your finger here–see my hands; reach out your hand and put it into my side; stop doubting and believe!" Thomas said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20: 27-28) Jesus proved that He was not raised a spirit but was raised a physical, glorified version of His own body. Paul reveled in the historicity and virtually dared people to disprove it, citing overwhelming eyewitness testimony: For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, He appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then He appeared to James, then to all the Apostles, and last of all He appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. (1 Corinthians 15:3-8). Paul was not such a fool that he would dare someone to look up the proof if it wasn’t there. In fact, no one ever tried to challenge the historicity of the Resurrection for three hundred years after it happened. No Roman or Jewish author/skeptic tried it, because the evidence for the Resurrection was there. Not until all of the five hundred were dead did anyone try. By that time, the Scriptures were firmly rooted and the attempt to disprove the historicity of the Resurrection was given the consideration the evidence deserved--none. Skeptics today are two thousand years after the fact. More than 514 peoples’ eyewitness accounts is enough to establish any fact in any court in this nation. Or as Walter Martin put it, as a historical fact it is reliable enough to be reported in the New York Times.

6. Eternal Judgment: Heaven and Hell-- If there was no Hell, then what do we need to be saved from? As previously mentioned, God is infinitely holy. Thus any punishment for sin is going to be infinitely unpleasant. Hell is described as outer darkness and separation from God. It is described also as a Lake of Fire. That's pretty much all we know. Paul said, To be absent from the body is to be at home with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:8) Thus upon death the human Christian's spirit goes to Heaven to be with the Lord. There it awaits the Resurrection of the body at the Second Coming of Christ. Heaven is described as bliss and joy, sharing in the presence of God. The concept of Heaven and Hell goes back as far as the Old Testament, where it is mentioned in the book of Daniel. Discussing the End Times, Daniel records that the angel says, "Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will be awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt." (Daniel 12:3) Jesus preached more on Hell than He ever did on Heaven, the reason being that more people are going there. It should be noted at this point that there is a misconception about Hell that is very ancient and persists in the hands of heretics such as Fred Price to this day. That misconception is that just as Heaven is where God reigns, Hell is where Satan reigns. This is patently false. Hell is Satan's prison, not his kingdom. He is going to be as much a prisoner there as the lowliest sinner. Dante has Satan saying, "Better to rule in Hell than serve in Heaven." But those aren't his choices. His choice is only one: to have run of the earth until such time as he is cast into the Lake of Fire. Peter says in 1 Peter 5:8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the Devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. This is followed up by Revelation 20:10 and 15: And the Devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever . . . If anyone's name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.  So Satan isn't in Hell right now, he's on earth. And he doesn't want to go to Hell because it's where he will be incarcerated, not enthroned.

7. Salvation By Grace-- Grace is the essence of the Gospel. You can't earn your way into Heaven. Grace means "unearned favor." There is nothing about you that makes you worth saving. You aren't lovable in your sinful condition. You can't get to Heaven by "being a good person." There is one thing and one thing only that saves you" God's unmerited favor. And unmerited means exactly that--it's a free gift, given without expectation of return, and entirely devoid of merit on your part. You can't achieve it by obeying God's laws, either. The Twelve Apostles at the First Council of Jerusalem addressed this subject while discussing under what circumstances Gentiles should be let into the Church: "Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? NO! We believe that it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are." (Acts 15:10-11) Paul agrees with this, saying But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved . . . 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 2:4, 8-9) You can't earn your salvation. It must be accepted as a free gift when you come to the Lord. And as if humans needed further proof of their spiritual weakness, you can't even decide to come to Jesus by yourself--the Father gives you that ability! John 6:44 makes this clear: No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day.

8. The Literal Second Coming of Christ--Though some theologians and some movies have posited that Jesus will in essence be "reincarnated" into a new Christ Child (The Omen movies, the miniseries Revelations, et al) the Lord Himself said that He would return the same way He left--in the sky, on the clouds, in glory. At His Ascension when He left earth, according to the Book of Acts, After He said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid Him from their sight. They were looking intensely up into the sky as He was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into Heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into Heaven." (Acts 1:9-11) Though there are several other passages, let us allow 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10 to ultimately make the point: God is just. He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from Heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power on the day he comes to be glorified in His holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed in our testimony to you. (2 Thessalonians 1:6-10) Two of the words used in the New Testament to describe that the Second Coming will be like indicate that "subtle" isn’t a good way to think of it. One word is apokalypsi" (apokalypsis, from which we get the word "apocalypse"). It means a sudden, dramatic unveiling such as the pulling away of the covering for a statue that’s never before been seen by the public. Another word sometimes used was epifanea (epifanea) which means "shining forth" so you can’t possibly miss it. When Jesus comes back, Revelation 1:7 says it’ll be a really showy event: Look, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him, and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be! Amen. Some, like Jehovah’s Witnesses, believe that Jesus either came back secretly already and only every eye of understanding could see Him (the words "of understanding" are a blatant effort to add to the text to make it say what one wants it to say) or that when He does come back it’ll be a quiet affair. Nothing could be further from the truth. Even the Didache, written at the end of the first century and thoroughly orthodox, says that the sign of Jesus (presumably a giant cross) will appear in the sky and then Jesus Himself will appear. Not exactly subtle.

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