| BELIEF STATEMENTS ON DOCTRINES BY DR. JAD JAMAL KHALAF Belief Statement on Doctrine of Sin Rom. 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” It is evident in the Bible that mankind is a sinner. Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, which began the sinful nature of mankind. “The New Testament clearly recognizes the all-pervading presence of sin, and the problem or predicament which sin creates for man.” Sin is universal. Lying , cheating, stealing, cursing, disobeying parents, rebelling against God, murdering, and any thing is unrighteous can be considered sin. “But always, for the common man, the dominant concept was that ‘To do wrong, and nothing else, is sin.’” The key word in the previous sentence is “to do.” That means in order for man to sin, man has to do wrong. When wrong is done then there are consequences that follow behind. Sin, therefore, keeps God from having fellowship with man. The only way that man can have fellowship with God is through Jesus Christ. That is where the Doctrine of Salvation comes into the picture. Belief Statement on Doctrine of Salvation Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, was a sinless man. Jesus walked upon this earth and was tempted in all ways that man is tempted, yet remained sinless. Christ took the sins of the world upon Himself and died. Meaning that God had to turn His back on His only Son. Christ willingly went to the cross for the sins of the world. Christ’s own blood was shed on Calvary. Since sin separates mankind from God, an individual who wants to be saved must be willing to turn from sin and be willing to turn to God. “God in Christ through the Spirit proposes to save the whole person.” There is a gap that is between sinful man and Holy God. The gap cannot be bridged by any other way except by the cross of Christ. “God paid the ransom to himself in order to satisfy the demands of his holy, righteous nature. This he did though Jesus’ death and resurrection. A person cannot buy salvation, earn salvation by doing good works, or just get dunked in water. Salvation, though, is a gift from God. That leads us to our next discussion about the Doctrine of God. “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (Jn. 3:3). Belief Statement on Doctrine of God There is no doubt that God exist and that He has always been around. In fact, God created every single thing. God is Spirit, power, a personal being, love, righteousness, and truth. God is alive and He does not sleep nor does He slumber. God is distinct yet He is three in one, which will be discussed later. God deserves the praise of His children. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever more and He never ever changes. Discussions have been raised as to whether or not God is perfect or not. God cannot and will not sin. God has been and will continue to be perfect. God reigns and will forever reign as infinite and timeless. God created all things for His glory and He chooses to do as He pleases. No one could ever compare to God. Just a few of the names for God in the Bible include Elohim, Jehovah, Yahweh, I Am, Jealous, Almighty, Lord God, Heavenly Father, and Adonai. “As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him” (Ps. 18:30). Belief Statement of Doctrine of Trinity God is one yet consist of three in one. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit/Ghost make up the trinity. However, there are not three gods. Now it is not simple to explain but by faith we hold on to what the Bible says. The Great Commission found in Mat. 28:19 commands Christians to, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” From there we can now move on to seeing God as the Father. “God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace.” Since God is the Father, that would be considered the first in the trinity. God is also revealed and seen in Jesus Christ. God came in the form of flesh when Jesus was conceived in Mary’s womb by the Holy Spirit. Interesting to note that Isaiah prophesied the coming Messiah and how it came to pass. “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us” (Mat. 1:23). God is also revealed in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was sent down after Jesus had gone up to Heaven. To name just a few things that the Holy Spirit does, He convicts men of sin, calls men to Jesus, and comforts the Christian. The God the Holy Spirit is just as real as God the Father and God the Son. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Rom. 8:14). Someone once explained to me that a man could be a husband, a father, or a son. While that man might hold all of those positions he is still one person. In the same sense, that is how the Trinity works. Belief Statement on Doctrine of Bible The Bible is God’s Holy Word in which He inspired men in the Old and New Testament to write down His message. God is perfect and so is His Word, the Bible. William A. Powell is correct in talking about the significance of the Bible. “Not only is the Bible inerrant but it is also incapable of error - - thus it is infallible.” That statement sparks much heated debate in seminary, churches, and among pastors. The position has been taken and the mind has been made up. If the Bible cannot be taken for what the Truth and nothing but the Truth, then why put one’s faith in Jesus. Jesus is the Rock of all ages and He never changes. Paul wrote to Timothy (2 Tim. 3:18), “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” This Scripture seems to be self explanatory. With many different versions out there, then people can begin to distort the truth. The King James Version has always been and will always be the Bible that will be read and studied without any question. Belief Statement on Doctrine of Baptism Baptism done by itself does not save anyone. Baptism is a serious and should not be taken lightly. A new believer is commanded to be baptized. In doing so, the new believer is showing his obedience. “It (baptism) is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection of the dead.” In fact, Jesus Himself was baptized by John the Baptist. A Christian is baptized in the name of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. There is no doubt that every single believer should be baptized because baptism was ordained by Christ. “After the convert appears in a public service, making his confession, and giving evidence of his repentance of sin and trust in Christ, and applying to the church for membership, he is then baptized and received into the full fellowship of the church.” After becoming a member of the church, then and only then is that person able to participate in the church ordinances. W. Wiley Richards book says the following: “Nearly all denominations, he noted (Backus), required baptism before allowing anyone to participate in the Supper.” Belief Statement on Doctrine of Lord’s Supper The Lord’s Supper is to be only received by those who know Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Savior. “The Lord’s Supper is a church ordinance, and can be properly observed only as a church ordinance. And therefore those only who are members of a church can properly partake of it.” There are those who do not understand completely the reason behind the Lord’s Supper. It is important that this church ordinance never be done away with just because this is a new century. Just as the disciples broke bread with the Master at the Last Supper, Christians should also come to God’s House willing to break bread with Christ. The believer must be cleansed from within before he can come and partake. In the Bible, Jesus never said when the Lord’s Supper was to take place. The pastor should pray and let God lead him in leading the Lord’s Supper. Whenever the Lord’s Supper happens, the believers and the church must do it in remembrance of Jesus Christ. How awesome it is to partake of such a privileged ordinance. Belief Statement on Doctrine of Lord’s Day The Lord’s Day is the first day of the week. God created the heavens and the earth for six days and then He rested on the seventh. The Sabbath should be taken seriously and should be a day of rest. The Blue Law used to be in effect in Louisiana until the government decided to do away with it. It is sad that people work seven days a week. God intended for mankind to rest. Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for man and was intended to be a blessing. Sunday is the day in which believers celebrate the Sabbath. Since the Sabbath is considered to be the Lord’s day, then Sunday should be set aside as a day of worshiping God and resting from work. Belief Statement on Doctrine of the Family God intended the family to be special. Today’s society has completely twisted the meaning of the family. God intended for one man to be married to one wife for life. God said that a man would leave his father and mother and would cleave to his wife. God intended for the man to be the head of the home. The wife is to be submissive to her husband. The children are to obey the parents in the Lord. Marriage is to be for lifetime, hence the phrase till death do you part. Even though the father/husband is to be head of the home, he is to love his family with God’s love. God’s plan for the family is not seen within the church today. For Christians are divorcing their spouses at a tremendous rate. How sad to see the family being demolished by Satan and his evil tactics. Sex should be only between a husband and his wife. There are no exceptions to these rules. Unpopular as God’s design for the family may be, God’s Word is still very clear on the family. Christians must live a life that is pleasing to God. How sad to hear how people say that the love for one another has just gone out. Friend, God’s love never goes out and neither should ours. Applying All of This to Church Growth These are just a few of the issues that are important in the life of a Christian and in the life or a church. There are many programs that a church can do in order to try to grow in numbers, but it all comes down to preaching the Word of God without compromise. Bernard and Marjorie Palmer say, “It has been our experience that most evangelical pastors and laymen feel that, regardless of other shortcomings, their church can be credited with a strong Bible emphasis. This is undoubtedly true insofar as the doctrine of salvation and the emphasis on the Bible as the infallible word of God is concerned.” People are looking for a church that is real, believes the Bible in its entirety and trust God one hundred percent. Many churches today are trying to grow without doing anything Biblical. Evangelism is a big way in which churches can share the Gospel of Jesus Christ and bring in people to the church. A church must put its faith and trust in God or else the church should disband. Herb Miller says, “Without the faith that God wants evangelism done, and without the faith that he will help us do it, little happens. With it, anything can.” How true that statement is. Some churches are operating by their own strength and they wonder why they don’t grow or see people come to Christ. A good number of Southern Baptist Churches in the Southern Baptist Convention are dead spiritually. That is strong to say but it is so true. The saying goes that the truth hurts. Talking about hurting. There are many in the church who are hurting or who need help. There are many in the church who need someone to talk to or just someone to pray with. Sometimes members go to church in order to socialize and act like they are at a country club. All one needs to do is to look around on any given Sunday or Wednesday and see the needs of the church. “Actually, I don’t know of a congregation, anywhere, that doesn’t have within its bosom the gifts and the people necessary to meet the needs of that particular congregation.” Above all, a church must pray and seek God’s face in all that is done. So many times prayer is left out while everything else is brought in. The Bible says to pray without ceasing. A church must put God first in every decision that is made. Prayer must be constantly going on. Not just ritualistic prayer, but genuine heart pouring out to God prayer. A church can build the biggest buildings and have the most money and still not be advancing the Kingdom of God. When priorities are in place, the Church will be growing by leaps and bounds. “Then saith he (Jesus) unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest” (Mat. 9:37-38). The believer and the church must be willing to stand up and say, “Lord, Here am I, send me.” |
| Copyright 2005-2008 Dr. Jad Khalaf, Ph.D. All Rights Reserved |
| "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." II Timothy 2:15 |
| Dr. Jad Khalaf |