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Full Doctrinal Statement Membership: What We Believe 201 TABLE OF CONTENTS A. The Bible B. God C. Earth D. Humanity E. Sin F. God’s Written Law (Torah) G. Jesus H. Salvation I. What Repentance Is and Isn’t J. The Holy Spirit K. Gifts of the Holy Spirit L. Sanctification M. Rewards for Believers N. The Believer O. Prayer P. The Church/Synagogue/Congregation Q. The Future R. Jesus’ Return to Earth S. Resurrection of the Dead T. The Kingdom of God U. Judgment Day V. Heaven W. Hell X. The Trinity Y. Healing Z. Tithes and Offerings AA. Baptism BB. Communion CC. Sexual Immorality DD. Ordination www.HopeHill.com 1 A. THE BIBLE How was the Bible written? We believe that the Bible is the infallible Word of God, inspired by God, and without error in the original manuscripts. Under the direction of God, men throughout history have written down the things that God directed them to write, down to the very word. This was God’s kind choice to reveal Himself and His important truths to humanity in written format so that it would be objective, unchanging, and accessible to the nations of the world. There are sixty-six books in the Bible. The Bible teaches us: “…[N]o prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:20-21, NKJV) “Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Messiah who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Messiah and the glories that would follow.” (1 Peter 1:10-11, NKJV) “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness…” (2 Timothy 3:16, NKJV) What does the Bible teach us? The Bible reveals the will of God to humanity, it tells us how God has interacted with humanity in history past, and it tells us what God will bring about in the future. We also read that “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17, NKJV). There are many important truths that the God of the Universe has revealed to humanity solely within the text of Scriptures, and because of this, it is very important for every believer to be well acquainted with the Bible. Can we trust the Bible? Understanding God’s good character will produce a firm trust in God’s ability to protect the accuracy of His Holy Scriptures for truth seekers of all generations. Strong, observable textual, historical, and archaeological evidence exists that leads to the conclusion that the Bible we have is the Bible that was written by the original authors. Can we trust the New Testament? Dr. Ravi Zacharias, a visiting professor at Oxford University, comments: "In real terms, the New Testament is easily the best attested ancient writing in terms of the sheer number of documents, the time span between the www.HopeHill.com 2 events and the documents, and the variety of documents available to sustain or contradict it. There is nothing in ancient manuscript evidence to match such textual availability and integrity." (Can Man Live Without God?, Word Publishing, 1994, p. 162.) Can we trust the Old Testament? The Old Testament has also been remarkably well preserved. Our modern translations are confirmed by a huge number of ancient manuscripts in both Hebrew and Greek, including the mid-20th century discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. These scrolls hold the oldest existing fragments of almost all of the Old Testament books, dating from 150 B.C. The similarity of the Dead Sea manuscripts to hand copies made even 1,000 years later is proof of the care the ancient Hebrew scribes took in copying their scriptures. How is the Bible set up? First Portion of the Bible: Old Testament Historical Records from Creation to Approximately Books 1-17, Genesis-Esther History Books 430B.C. Books 18-22, Job-Song of Poetry Books Song Lyrics of Praise, Wise Sayings, and Poetry Solomon Prophetic Messages from God to Man Written Between Books 23-39, Isaiah-Malachi Prophetic Books Approximately 700-400B.C. Second Portion of the Bible: New Testament Records of Jesus’ Life and Works on Earth Books 1-4, Matthew-John The Gospels History of the Early Church Written Approximately Book 5, Acts History Book 60A.D. Letters of the Letters Written by the Apostle Paul that Include Rich Books 6-19, Romans-Hebrews Apostle Paul Explanations of Doctrine Letters of Various General Letters Written by Various Apostles and the Books 20-26, James-Jude Apostles Half-Brothers of Jesus A Prophetic Message About Future Events Book 27, Revelation Prophetic Book * Please view this chart along with the Table of Contents in the front of your Bible. Can we trust the Old Testament Historical Records? Jesus treated the accounts in the Old Testament as historical fact. These historical accounts include Adam and Eve as the first married couple (Matthew 19:3–6; Mark 10:3–9), Abel as the first prophet who was killed (Luke 11:50–51), Noah and the Flood (Matthew 24:38–39), Moses and the serpent in the wilderness (John 3:14), Moses www.HopeHill.com 3 and the manna from heaven to feed the Israelites in the wilderness (John 6:32–33, 49), the experiences of Lot and his wife (Luke 17:28–32), the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah (Matthew 10:15), the miracles of Elijah (Luke 4:25–27), and Jonah and the big fish (Matthew 12:40– 41). Jesus taught that the historical records of the Old Testament were to be fully trusted. Can we trust even the individual words of Scripture? We know that Jesus taught that even the individual words of the Old Testament had been originally inspired by God, preserved through time, and could be fully relied upon as accurate. In Matthew 22:29-32, Jesus reasoned from the Old Testament with those that opposed Him, and the main point of His argument rested on the fact that a single word was in the present tense rather than the past tense. Can we trust Paul’s Letters? The Apostle Peter declared that the letters of the Apostle Paul were Scripture, to be followed accurately, and that to twist the meaning these letters would bring destruction. Peter wrote: “…[O]ur beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures” (2 Peter 3:15b-16, NKJV). The Apostle Paul wrote: “If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandment of the Lord” (1 Cor. 14:37, NKJV). Paul was an apostle of Jesus by the will of God (Acts 9:15; 2 Timothy 1:1; 1 Corinthians 1:1; Galatians 1:11-12). Can we trust the Book of Revelation? The book of Revelation was written by the Apostle John. John was an eye witness to Jesus’ life, ministry, death, and resurrection. John was arguably the closest friend to Jesus while Jesus was on earth. John reported that Jesus said: “[W]hen He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come” (John 16:13-14, NKJV). A few decades later, the Holy Spirit of God gave John a vision regarding what would take place in the future on planet earth. This vision was written down, and it became the book of Revelation — the last book of the Bible. What else confirms the trustworthiness of the Holy Bible? The following also confirm the trustworthiness of the Holy Bible: • Extra-Biblical Historical Evidence Confirms the Bible • Science Confirms the Bible • Archeological Evidence Confirms the Bible • The Internal Conceptual Perfection of the Scriptures Confirms the Bible www.HopeHill.com 4 • The Moral Conscience of Humans Confirms the Bible Why is the New Testament made up of the 27 books? Why not accept the Apocrypha, the Gospel of Judas, or the Gospel of Thomas, etc.? There are solid reasons for trusting in today's list of New Testament books. The early church accepted the New Testament books almost as soon as they were written. Their authors were associates of Jesus or His immediate followers, men to whom Jesus had entrusted the leadership of the early church. The Gospel writers Matthew and John were some of Jesus' closest followers. Mark and Luke were companions of the apostles, having access to the apostles' firsthand account of Jesus' life. The other New Testament authors had immediate access to Jesus as well: James and Jude were half-brothers of Jesus who initially did not believe in Him. Peter was one of the 12 apostles. Paul started out as a hater of followers of Jesus, but he became an apostle after he had a vision of Jesus. He was also in communication with the other apostles.
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