Essential Biblical Doctrines are those teachings, which are crucial to saving faith. And everything contrary to those doctrines is heresy. There are several ways to narrow down what these doctrines are, but one helpful way is by using the word DOCTRINE as an acronym.
D stands for deity of Christ. For salvation, it is necessary to know that Jesus is God.
No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, He has made Him known (John 1:18)
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. By Him all things were created… (Colossians 1:15-16)
O stands for original sin. All have sinned and the wages of sin is death. If we don’t know we’ve sinned against a holy God, we can’t know what Jesus has saved us from.
Sin came into the world through one man [Adam], and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned… (Romans 5:12)
Truly I say to you, unless one is born again, he can’t see the kingdom of God. (John 3:3)
C stands for Canon – just another word for the Bible, God’s inerrant Word. For without it, we can’t know Him or the words for eternal life.
All Scripture is breathed out by God, and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness… (2 Timothy 3:16)
T stands for Trinity. God is one God in three persons: Father, Son and Spirit. Salvation is given by the Father; it is acquired through the Son; it is experienced in the Holy Spirit.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit… (Matthew 28:19)
R stands for resurrection. Not only did Jesus rise from the grave, so do all who believe in Him. If Christ has not been raised, no one gets raised and our faith is hopeless.
If we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His (Romans 6:5)
If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. (1 Corinthians 15:17)
I stands for Incarnation – meaning the Son of God put on flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus was fully man and fully God, born of the Virgin Mary, lived a sinless human life, and died a sinner’s death to atone for sins. He rose again and ascended into heaven where He alone intercedes for us at the right hand of the Father.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)
By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh… (Romans 8:3)
The Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)
For we do not have a high priest unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15)
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus… (1 Timothy 2:5)
N stands for New Creation. We must no longer walk in our old sinful ways, but live anew in Christ.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
E is for Eschatology – the study of end times. While there are many End Times theories, we need to know that Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead, ushering in His peaceful kingdom and we will be with our Lord forever.
The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever! (Revelation 11:15)
Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. (Revelation 22:12)
These doctrines are the foundation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ… when we understand the text.
(Many of the Bible stories and verses we think we know, we don’t! When We Understand the Text is an internet-based video ministry committed to righting some of the wrong understanding of scripture, all while advancing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Check out more at WWUTT.com!)