Week 11: The Fundamentals
For twenty-one centuries the Church, made up of Jewish and Gentile believers (Ephesians 2:14) has believed certain fundamentals of the faith. Those outside these fundamentals one cannot be considered to be a believer, and should be evangelized. There are certain doctrines, however, that we can disagree on. These include miracles, tongues, healings, prophecy, eternal security, the tribulation, and governance of the congregations of God. But these ten fundamentals below cannot be compromised.
1. Monotheism, the concept of one God (Deuteronomy 4:35, 6:4).
2. The Deity of our Lord Yeshua Messiah (Matthew 26:63-64; Mark 14:61-64; Luke 22:70; John 1:1; John 20:28; Hebrews 1:8-9; Psalm 110:1).
3. The Virgin Birth (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:27).
4. The Blood Atonement (Acts 20:28; Rom 3:25, 5:9; Ephesians 1:7; Heb 9:12-14).
5. The Bodily Resurrection (Luke 24:36-46; First Corinthians 15:1-4, 15:14-15).
6. The inerrancy of the scriptures themselves (Psalms 12:6-7; Romans 15:4; Second Timothy 3:16-17; Second Peter 1:20).
7. Salvation by grace (Ephesians 1:7, 2:8-9; Romans 5:6-8).
8. Salvation through Yeshua Messiah alone (Acts 4:12; John 14:6), the only mediator between God and mankind (First Timothy 2:5).
9. The Trinity (Genesis 1:1 (Elohim, plural noun), 11:7 (Elohim, let us go down); Isaiah 6:8 (who will go for us), 48:16-17; Matthew 3:16-17 and 28:19; Luke 1:35 and 3:22; John 14:25-26; Acts 10:38; Romans 8:9-11; First Corinthians 12:4-6, Second Corinthians 13:13-14, and First Peter 1:2). The Trinity is an antimony, two things that seem to be contradictory, but both are true.
10. The Second Coming (First Thessalonians 4:16-17; Acts 1:10-11; Hebrews 9:28; Matthew 24:42-44; Titus 2:11-13; Revelation 1:4-8).
What God Does for Us at the Moment of Faith:
1. God rescues us from the kingdom of darkness and makes us alive in Messiah (Colossians 1:13; Ephesians 2:5; Romans 6:10; John 3:3-16; 2 Corinthians 5:17).
2. God raises us up and seats us in Messiah, at the right hand of the Father (Psalms 110:1; Matthew 22:44; Acts 2:34, 7:55; Ephesians 1:1, 3-4, 6, 9, 11-13, 20), whereas our High Priest, He continually intercedes for us (Job 16:19-21; Romans 8:26-27, 34; Hebrews 7:25; First John 2:1).
3. God unites us with Himself in Messiah (John 6:56, 17:20-23; Romans 7:4, 12:5; Ephesians 4:25, 5:30).
4. God seals us with His Ruach (Ephesians 1:13-14; Second Corinthians 1:21-22), and baptizes us in, by, and with the Ruach (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33; Acts 1:5, 11:16; First Corinthians 12:13), into the Body of Messiah (Galatians 3:27; First Corinthians 12:13).
5. God has peace with us through Messiah (Romans 5:1). Because “Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4b).
6. God transfers the righteousness of Messiah to us by faith, which is apart from works (2 Cor 5:19 and 21; Galatians 2:16, 3:6-9, 24; Rom 3:21-24, 5:9, 10:14).
7. God, as Judge, declares that the guilt and penalty for our sin has been paid for once and for all. He forgives us our sins and we have a right standing before Him. Therefore, we are justified (Romans 3:21-26; Titus 3:7; 1 Cor 6:11; Hebrews 10:10).
8. God adopts us into His family (Ephesians 1:4-5; John 1:12; Galatians 3:26-29).
9. God writes our name in the Lambs Book of Life (Daniel 12:1; Luke 10:20; Philippians 4:3; Hebrews 12:23; Revelation 3:5, 20:12 and 15, 21:27).
Paul wrote: For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, not any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation (that includes us), will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Messiah Yeshua our Lord (Romans 8:38-39). Once God does all of the above, we cannot possibly undo it (see the commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer).
Propitiation: The averting of God’s wrath by the sacrifice of Messiah that satisfies every claim of God’s holiness and justice so that God is free to act on behalf of sinners. From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land, for the sun stopped shining (Matthew 27:45: Mark 15:33; Luke 23:44-45a). Those three hours of darkness mark three hours of spiritual death. This was the cup that Yeshua did not want to drink, but would drink it if it was the Father’s will. For three hours, for the first time in all eternity, Yeshua Messiah is spiritually dead and suffers the wrath of God. During that time God the Father turned His back on God the Son as the Messiah became sin on our behalf. YHVH made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him, we might become the righteousness of God (Second Corinthians 5:21). Peter said it this way: He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed (First Peter 2:24).
Imputation: To charge to another’s account. When John says the Spirit gives life (John 6:63a), he means that all the righteousness of Messiah is transferred to our spiritual account at the moment of faith. The theological name for this is imputation. The Bible teaches us that we have all inherited Adam’s sin nature. Just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 5:12 and 3:23). In the TaNaKh, there had to be a sacrifice. Blood had to be shed, and a death had to occur; therefore, because of the death of Yeshua on the cross we have a perfect, absolute, righteousness that God the Father imputes to us through His Son. Because of our faith, we have passed God’s final exam of the universe with a hundred percent. When God sees us, He doesn’t see our sin, He sees the righteousness of His Son (Romans 1:17). We are in the Holy One, and He is in us. The only way we get to heaven is a result of the perfect righteousness of Yeshua Messiah. Therefore, what is true of Messiah is true of you.
Union with Messiah: The uniting of the believer to Messiah in such a way that what is true of Messiah becomes true of the believer, minus His deity. The result of what God does for us at the moment of faith, is that through the baptism of the Holy Spirit, there is the actual uniting of the believer to Messiah (Ephesians 1:1-14; John 17:21). The Spirit of God is placed in us and we are placed in Messiah at the moment of faith. This union is personal, intimate, and cannot be broken. Ever. In order to make the teaching drawn from nature to be clearly understood, Messiah said: I AM the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in (Greek: ev) Me and I in (Greek: ev) you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing (John 15:5). All believers have a “union with Messiah.” But if we attempt to operate independent of Him, we will not bear fruit. We can’t! Operating in the flesh will produce no lasting fruit.
Justification: The act of God whereby, negatively, He forgives the sins of believers and, positively, He declares them righteous by imputing the obedience and righteousness of Messiah to them by faith. This is a one-time act by God at the moment of faith. Truly, truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life (John 5:24). We will never die, we will merely change our address to the presence of God. To be justified means to be declared righteous. We are eternally righteous because we have [already] been justified at the moment we were saved. Many believers fear the prospect of facing an angry God; knowing He is holy and we are sinful. They haven’t grasped the fact that we have [already] been justified before our Holy Father because Yeshua has already paid the penalty for our sins, establishing our peace with God. Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we [already] have peace with God through our Lord Yeshua Messiah (Romans 5:1).
Sanctification: To set apart, specifically, to the holy use and purposes of God. Yeshua said, “As You sent Me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify Myself, that they too may be truly sanctified” (John 17:16-19). To be sanctified means to be set apart, specifically for the holy uses and purposes of God. However, the word sanctify is archaic and removed from most people’s vocabulary today so I will use the phrase separated for holiness. What is the difference between being justified and being separated for holiness? Justification is a one-time act, accomplished by God. It is always spoken of in the past tense because we already belong to God, paid for by the blood of Messiah. However, sanctification, or being separated for holiness is a process that takes a whole lifetime. It is the work of God in which you cooperate (Romans 12:1-2; First Corinthians 10:13; Hebrews 12:3-4; First Peter 5:8-9); and is a process Ephesians 4:11-16), trusting in God, apart from whom we can do nothing (John 15:5; Ephesians 3:16; Colossians 1:11; Hebrews 2:18 and 4:14). He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Messiah Yeshua (Philippians 1:6). But even Paul, as a mature believer, struggled with sin until the end of his life (Romans 7:14-25 CJB).
Predestination and Election: The Bible teaches that we are dead in our sins and we are unable to make the first move in the salvation process. We are spiritually dead. It is not surprising then, that the Bible repeatedly teaches that salvation is the work of God. This is called predestination, and is confirmed by Yeshua in John 6:44, where He stated the truth that no one come to Him unless drawn by the Father (Romans 8:29-30; Ephesians 1:4-5 and 11, 2:8; First Thessalonians 2:13).
So the question naturally arises, “Is there a place for human responsibility?” The answer is that the Bible affirms this truth as well. We are not merely preprogramed spiritual robots. We have free will to choose or reject Messiah. Isaiah 55:1, John 3:16, and Revelation 3:20, 22:17 invite whosever wills to come and be saved. This is called free will, or election. Isaiah 45:22 and Acts 17:30 command all mankind to turn to God, repent and be saved. First Timothy 2:4 and Second Peter 3:9 tell us that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should be saved. Finally, Yeshua said that the one who comes to Me, I will certainly not cast out (John 6:37). So which is it? Predestination or election? The answer is both. This may seem strange. However, this is called an antinomy. In the Bible, an antimony are two truths that seem to be opposite, but both are true and accepted by faith. For example, the Trinity is an antimony. God is One, but revealed in three distinct, separate personalities. Romans 9 teaches predestination, and Romans 10 teaches us that we have free will to accept or reject Messiah. Yeshua is the door of salvation (John 10:9), and as approach him we see the words, whosoever may come; but as the door closes behind us, we read, saved from the foundations of the world.
Omniscient: God is all knowing.
Omnipresent: God is present everywhere at the same time.
Omnipotent: God is all powerful, limitless in ability, within the range of His holy character.
Grace: The unmerited favor of God that cannot be earned. Getting what we don’t deserve.
Mercy: The deliverance from judgement. Not getting what we do deserve.
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