1. Should Christian fiction try to represent God as
accurately as possible or is it okay to actually
contradict scripture if the intent is to make God seem
more palatable to people? |
Biblical Inerrancy: |
The Bible is the Word of God, and that its original manuscripts are free from errors and contradictions. It is the one and only infallible, authoritative, and trustworthy rule for faith and life. (2 Peter. 1:21, 2 Tim. 3:16). The Catholic apocrypha is not inspired scripture. |
| God: | God is the only Supreme Being with no gods created before or after Him (Isaiah 43:10; 44:6; 44:8). He has always been God (Psalm 90:2). He is Holy (Rev. 4:8), Eternal (Isaiah 57:15), Omnipotent (Jer. 32:17,27), Omnipresent (Psalm 137-12), Omniscient (1 John 3:20); etc. He is Love (1 John 4:8, 16); Light (1 John 1:5); Spirit (John 4:24); Truth (Psalm 117:2); Creator (Isaiah 40:12,22,26), etc. He is to be worshiped (Gen. 24:26; Ex. 4:31; 2 Chron. 29:28; 1 Cor. 14:25; Rev. 7:11). He is to be served (Matt. 4:10; 1 Cor. 6:19; Phil. 3:7; 1 Thess. 1:9; Heb. 9:14). He is to be proclaimed (Matt. 28:19f.; John 14:15f.; Acts 1:8). |
| Trinity: | There is one God in whom there are three eternal, simultaneous persons -- the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit. All three are the one God, coeternal, coequal, etc., yet there is only one God, not three, and not one person who took three modes, or forms. (Isaiah 44:6,8; 45:5; Gen. 1:26-27; 3:22; Matt. 3:17; 28:19; Luke 10:35; 2 Cor. 13:14). |
| Jesus: | Jesus Christ is the Word (God) who became a man. He added human nature to His divine nature. He is presently both human and divine, and, therefore, has two natures. Yet, He is one person, not two. He is not part God and part man. He is presently wholly God and wholly man. (Phil. 2:5-11; Col. 2:9; 1 Tim. 3:16; Heb. 1:5-13; John 1:1-3,14) |
| Virgin Birth: | Jesus Christ was miraculously conceived and born of the virgin Mary. (Luke 1:42) |
| Resurrection: | Jesus Christ rose from the dead in the same body He died in, after being in the grave for three days. He was raised in a glorified, physical body. He ascended bodily into heaven, sits at the right hand of the Father, and rules heaven and earth. (John 2:19; 1 Cor. 15; Luke 24:39). Likewise, we Christians will be raised bodily from the dead and spend eternity with the Lord. |
| Substitutionary Atonement: | God so loved us that He sent His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. Jesus became man and bore our sins in His body on the cross (1 Peter. 2:24) and died in our place suffering the consequences of the breaking the Law that was due us. He became sin on our behalf (2 Cor. 5:21). As a result, God's justice was satisfied and Christian believers are released from eternal punishment. (Isaiah 53:4-12; 1 Pet. 3:18; Matt. 1:21; Rom. 5; 1 John 2:2) |
| Baptism | Baptism is an important action of obedience for a Christian and signifies a person's identification with Christ. It is an outward manifestation of an inward reality. Baptism does not save anyone. We are made right before God by faith, not by faith and baptism (Rom. 3:28-30; 4:3,5; 5:1; Gal. 2:16, 21; Phil. 3:9; see also Acts 10:44-48) |
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Man's Condition |
Man is fallen, corrupt, and wicked. Man believes in God by grace through faith, is unable to come close to God through his own efforts, nor can he win salvation by his attempt at good works, nor once saved does he maintain his salvation by his works, nor can he understand the spiritual things of God on his own. Eternal punishment in hell and separation from the blessed presence of God are the consequences of the unregenerate person's sinfulness. (John 6:44; 15:5; Rom. 8:7; 1 Cor. 2:14; 2 Cor. 3:5; Phil. 2:13) |
| Divine Election | "From all eternity God chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will," (Eph. 1:4-5). |
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Justification by Grace through Faith Alone: |
We are saved from damnation by the undeserved and unearned mercy and kindness of God, not because of our good works but because of the imputed righteousness of Christ to the one who has faith in Christ alone. This justification is received by faith alone and only upon trusting the true and living Lord Jesus. (Eph. 1:1-11; 2:8, Rom. 3:23; Gal. 2:21) |
| Eternal Security | "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand," (John 10:27-28). Christ has done all that is needed for our salvation and he says that those who have eternal life will never perish. Those who appeared to be Christian but fell away never were Christians begin with (1 John 2:19). |
| Sanctification: | Sanctification is the process by which the Holy Spirit makes us more like Christ in all that we do, think, and desire and increases our ability to repent from sin -- by God's grace. (1 Thess. 4:7; Eph. 2:10; 1 Tim. 4:4; 1 Peter. 3:15; 2 Tim. 2:25). This process continues all of the Christian's life and is a the result of salvation, not a cause of it. Furthermore, the effort of sanctification does not maintain salvation. |
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Christian Church: |
God calls Christians to his Church where the Word of God is preached, where baptism and the Lord's Supper (communion) is administered, where believers are discipled and disciplined, and where believers serve to build up one another. (Matt. 16:18) |
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Church Officers |
God calls qualified Christians to be ordained and to serve Jesus Christ in special leadership capacities, i.e. Elders, Deacons, Ministers of the Word, and Evangelists. The office(s) of pastor and elder is limited to qualified men only, called by God, recognized by the body, and meet the biblical standard of eldership. Women are not to be pastors nor elders. (1 Tim. 2:11-15; 3:11-13; Titus 1). |
| Rapture | The event where, upon Jesus' return, those who have died in Christ and those Christians who are then alive will be physically caught up to the clouds and meet the Lord Jesus in the air. We will then forever be with the Lord. (1 Thess. 4:16-5:2) |
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Second Coming |
Jesus Christ will bodily and visibly come from heaven with great glory and majesty. Then all human creatures will appear in person before Him to be judged -- men, women, and children, who have lived from the beginning until the end of the world. The evil ones will receive everlasting torment. The faithful ones will receive everlasting life on a new world. So we look forward to that great day with longing in order to enjoy fully the promises of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord. (Matt. 24; Rev. 19-21) |
| Millennium | Because of the diverse opinions among godly Christians regarding the millennium, CARM considers amillennialism, premillennialism, and post millennialism to be within the scope of Christian orthodoxy. |
| Rapture | Because of the diverse opinions among godly Christians regarding the rapture, CARM considers pre-trib rapture, mid-trib rapture, and post-trib rapture to be within the scope of Christian orthodoxy. |
| Spiritual Realm | There is a spiritual realm of angels and demons. |
| Eternal Judgment | All who are not justified by the blood of Christ will face eternal and conscious judgment. |
| Evangelism | Part of the beliefs and Purpose of CARM is to carry out the work of evangelism which means that we must teach the gospel of Jesus Christ as well as refute false doctrines, false religions, and whatever else might contradict the word of God including such sins as homosexuality, adultery, pornography, pedophilia, bestiality, lying, fornication, false gospels, false gods, etc., inside and outside of the church. |
Why is this Important?
This is important because a
little error can lead to a lot of lies. The Bible says, "A
little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough," (Gal. 5:8).
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Statement of Faith |