I said earlier that there are many different believers in the body of Christ. You will find that there are many different beliefs about certain things, as well. Not everyone is going to agree on everything all of the time. And, we don’t have to. There are some things we will never all agree on until we get to Heaven. But, there are some beliefs we have to agree on. These are our core beliefs.
We all make up the body of Christ. Paul said in 1 Corinthians that a body is made up of many different parts, but they are still “the body”.
1 Corinthians 12:12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
No part is more important than another. Every part is needed to be whole. It’s the same way with the body of Christ. It’s made up of different parts (believers) and no part (believer) is more important than another. Every part (believer) is needed to be whole.
The word Christian is a very broad term. Believers in Christ are called Christians. Believers were first called Christians at Antioch, according to the Book of Acts. As you look around at your brothers and sisters in Christ you will find many different denominations. Think of denominations as branches. You will see there are many different branches of Christianity. For example, Baptist, Free-will Baptist, Southern Baptist, Pentecostal, Holiness, Church of God, Methodist, just to name a few.
Soul Seeker Ministries is nondenominational. We chose that because we are made up of believers from several different denominations, but we didn’t want to get boxed into certain beliefs just because our “denomination” believes that way. We wanted the freedom to believe, and act, on what we read in the Bible for ourselves.
To put it simply, Christians believe that humans are sinful and in need of a savior. Jesus, the Son of God, came into this world to be the perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world, and He is the only way to go to Heaven. He was born of a Virgin, had an earthly ministry, died on the Cross, rose again in three days, ascended to Heaven, and is coming again for His church. When we are saved, or born again, we are believing these things to be true, asking for forgiveness for our sins, and confessing Jesus as our Lord and Savior. These are our core beliefs.
Any other beliefs other than those are not critical beliefs. We have to let God guide us, let the Holy Spirit teach us, and think for ourselves. God has given us the ultimate tool to be able to do just that...the Bible. God is able to guide us through the Bible. The Holy Spirit teaches us through the Bible, and with the Bible, we are able to think for ourselves. God gave us all brains, and He expects us to use them. Don’t believe something because so and so said it. Don’t believe something because I might have said it. Don’t believe something because the denomination you join says it. Verify everything for yourself. Study for yourself. Pray about these things for yourself:
Philippians 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
The next several posts will be about topics that I consider Foundational Beliefs. Jesus Christ is our foundation, and it’s up to us what we build on that foundation:
1 Corinthians 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. 14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
I plan to write about the following topics:
The Bible
Faith
The Trinity
End Times
Jesus Is the Only Way (Apologetics)
Baptism
Gifts of the Spirit
I’m really excited to get into this. It’s my prayer that you’re blessed by this in some way. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask! See you next time.
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