Curriculum: What doctrinal
affirmation must all OnlineDiscipleship.com curriculums adhere to?
- The Bible is God's unique
revelation to people. It is the inspired, infallible Word of God, and the
supreme and final authority on all matters upon which it teaches. No other
writings are vested with such divine authority.
- There is only one God, creator
of heaven and earth, who exists eternally as three persons - Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit, each fully God yet each personally distinct from the
other.
- All people are created in
God's image and matter deeply to Him. Central to the message of the Bible
is that God loves people, and invites them to live in communion with
Himself and in community with each other.
- Apart from Jesus Christ, all
people are spiritually lost and, because of sin, deserve the judgment of
God. However, God gives salvation and eternal life to anyone who trusts in
Jesus Christ and in His sacrifice on his or her behalf. Salvation cannot
be earned through personal goodness or human effort. It is a gift that
must be received by humble repentance and faith in Christ and His finished
work on the cross.
- Jesus Christ, second Person of
the Trinity, was born of the Virgin Mary, lived a sinless human life,
willingly took upon Himself all of our sins, died and rose again bodily,
and is at the right hand of the Father as our advocate and mediator. Some
day, He will return to consummate history and to fulfill the eternal plan
of God.
- The Holy Spirit, third Person
of the Trinity, convicts the world of sin and draws people to Christ. He
also indwells all believers. He is available to empower them to lead
Christ-like lives, and gives them spiritual gifts with which to serve the
church and reach out to a lost and needy world.
- Death seals the eternal destiny
of each person. At the final judgment, unbelievers will be separated from
God into condemnation. Believers will be received into God's loving
presence and rewarded for their faithfulness to Him in this life.
- All believers are members of
the body of Christ, the one true church universal. Spiritual unity is to
be expressed among Christians by acceptance and love of one another across
ethnic, cultural, socio-economic, national, generational, gender, and
denominational lines.
- The local church is a
congregation of believers who gather for worship, prayer, instruction,
encouragement, mutual accountability, and community with each other.
Through it, believers invest time, energy, and resources to fulfill the
Great Commission - reaching lost people and growing them into fully
devoted followers of Christ.