Statement Of Faith: The Basics of the Bible

By Larry R. W. Bostic and Cristy D. Bostic

From the beginning, God declared that we need to have a faith-based confidence in him, where we can understand our decision to accept Jesus as our Savior, and devotedly follow the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In order to do this, we must believe in the inerrant Word of God telling us who Jesus is, how we are to live, and understand the need for and way to salvation. Have you ever wondered what salvation is, why it is necessary, how it is attained, and how all the details your pastor wants you to conform to is part of following Jesus Christ? What is baptism? Who is the Holy Spirit? Why should I pray, tithe, or go to church? What does it mean to guard your heart? Is there a hell? And will God send you there?

These and many more questions have been researched, applied using God's principles in a detailed fashion, written in an easy-to-understand manner, and are found inside, backed by the Word of God. Don't go through this existence guessing where you will go after life and what you should be doing before your death. Read your Bible to gain intimacy and knowledge of your Savior. Read this companion book to see the subjects needed to know in your development of a journey through life. Know what the Bible says, and make your own statement of faith.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 28, 2024
• ISBN: 9798889438755

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Statement Of Faith

The Basics of the Bible

Larry R. W. Bostic Jr. and Cristy D. Bostic

ISBN 979-8-88943-874-8 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-89130-754-4 (hardcover)

ISBN 979-8-88943-875-5 (digital)

Copyright © 2023 by Larry R. W. Bostic Jr. and Cristy D. Bostic

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

E-Sword, a public electronic version of the King James Bible by Rick Meyers, www.esword.net, with Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries.

Italicized Scriptures are done from the King James Bible.

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1

Salvation

Chapter 2

Baptism

Chapter 3

Works

Chapter 4

Who He Is and What the Holy Spirit Does

Chapter 5

God's Word, the Bible

Chapter 6

Prayer

Chapter 7

The Will of God and the Plan of God

Chapter 8

Tithing and Giving

Chapter 9

The Local Church

Chapter 10

Sexual Immorality

Chapter 11

Hell

Notes

About the Authors

Introduction

What is life all about? What is the meaning of life? Why are we here? These complex questions led me to find answers for my own personal quests and pass these answers on to those seeking the same. In order for me to understand the meaning of life, I feel I must go deeper. How can you go deeper than the meaning of life? First you must understand the Creator of life and the rules or guiding principles that the one and only Creator, God, set for us. God gave us a rule book, and all the answers he intends for us to know are in it, but you must totally immerse yourself in life's instruction guide (the Bible) if you want to succeed in life.

It is imperative for me to understand and help you understand the rules that God has given us. This book is about clarifying what God has shown us through his Word and years of research.

The primary reason I wanted to write this book was because God commanded us be able to first know the rules, guidelines, or instructions based on 1 Peter 3:15, which states, "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear."

I am ready to give an answer to anyone about the reason I have hope or confidence in life. First is my faith in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and God the Father, three-in-one, yet independent. Another area that gives me hope are the things that God has shown me through my senses to include sight, touch, hearing, smelling, and taste. God shows me by my gift of my senses that he lives. God has provided me his infallible Word, the Bible, to know right from wrong.

Lastly, the issue that gives me hope is the analytical mind and what some would call your heart that God made for me and you that gives me the ability to comprehend the greatness of this universe we live in and lets me know there has to be a greater power than us. If there is a creation, there must be a Creator. If there is a creation that continues to exist, there must be a source of power.

Be ready always to give an answer. Can you do this? Can you explain what you believe and, just as important, why you believe it? Can you explain to an unsaved person why they should be Christian? Can you explain why your life is so much better as a Christian now and in the future, maybe even way into the future?

More importantly, if you are not a Christian, can you explain to a Christian why your life is so much better than theirs and that you don't need Christianity? Please read my book and let me know what you think; I would be enthralled to hear your point of view. Please go in with an open mind, not with your mind already made up.

The second issue is if you find the joy of Jesus Christ in your life, you have to promise that you will share him. My life is full of ups and downs, highs and lows, and just like every other person, a lot of failures and successes. I have that eternal hope that all I do will not be in vain. When I die, there is a greater purpose and, in fact, a better place for me to go.

If you don't understand what I am saying, if you have faith issues or you have beliefs that you can't support, then read this book to learn the aspects of the book (the Bible). Don't take everything I say as the only answer, but use this as a start in your spiritual journey. Who is God? Why are his commandments, not just the big ten, so important. Are we under the law? What is really required of me to go to heaven? And what does God want me to do?

Before we start on this endeavor to understanding what I believe, I would like to explain some of the caveats I place on my research. I never make a doctrine nor base my complete belief of a subject on only one scripture. It is extremely important that you consider what the Bible says as a whole, not just one scripture. You must always understand who is talking, who they are talking to—Jews, Gentiles, believers or unbelievers—and what the context of their conversation is, what they are talking about.

That does not mean the Bible will contradict itself; however, sentences and sometimes whole verses are taken out of context and used improperly. How many times have you seen politicians take a snippet of information from their opponent and use it in a commercial over and over when they know that statement was taken out of context?

I base my beliefs on the Bible as this is the only written instruction guide God gave us. God did give us the world around us and our analytical minds to make assumptions, but he gave us his Word, the Holy King James Bible, to get our answers. We then must use common sense to look at the scriptures in their entirety, understand who is talking and who they're talking to, what the context is, and then formulate an educated principle or belief.

I am a Baptist. Unashamedly, I stand on the belief that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin and lived a sinless life. While alive, he submitted himself to baptism to give us an example of what to do as an outward expression of our faith and replicate the birth, death, and resurrection of what was to come for him. Christ fulfilled the law so that we are no longer under the law but formulated the commandments for us to understand the concept of sin. We further learned what the penalty of sin is and how to avoid the penalty.

Jesus came to this earth, and we took the Son of God, nailed him to an old rugged cross, where he took my sins on his shoulders, covered them with his blood (should we accept him), and died for us. He was buried, where he went to hell, and three days later, he arose. God inspired the infallible, perfect, and wondrous Word of God, through imperfect men. These imperfect men were able to write a perfect letter or document, inspired by God himself, so that we may learn and decipher what God wants for us in our everyday life.

What are my qualifications? I was saved in 1971 at the age of six at the Akron Baptist Temple in Akron, Ohio. I was raised in a Christian home, attended the Akron Baptist Temple until I turned nineteen. I studied to show myself approved, 2 Timothy 2:15, by reading God's Word and attending church. I have a bachelor of science degree from Liberty University, formerly Liberty Baptist College, in Lynchburg, Virginia. My multidisciplinary studies had concentrations in criminal justice and business, and I took classes in theology, philosophy, and the Bible. I have also taken basic and advanced discipleship training through churches I have attended. I read many different sources of information from the Internet and other books to include multiple translations aside from the King James Bible, which I believe are not the actual literal Bible. This Internet explosion allows great authors and lesser known to communicate on a level speaking field.

Based on only what I can say is a small portion of experience, I delved into the Bible and researched theological questions so that I could give an answer to all who asked.

This book is based on information derived from the Bible and supported by those attributes given to me and other men and women who expound biblical principles. I will absolutely tell you when I am making an assumption that is a strong belief but I cannot prove biblically. I rarely make this type of conjecture, simply because I live by facts. As a former law enforcement officer, I fall under the old concept of just the facts.

Occasionally, I make suppositions to areas that are not theologically essential to life but interesting to think about. These are the answers I give.

Chapter 1

Salvation

To understand salvation, redemption, or deliverance from hell, we must first understand what salvation is and why we need it. We must go back to the beginning of time. God made Adam, gave him the Garden of Eden, and realized that Adam needed a mate, so he created Eve, not Steve, but that is another book altogether (Genesis 1:27). God made Adam have a deep sleep, Genesis 2:21, where he took one of Adam's ribs, closing the flesh and making woman (v. 22).

God provided Adam and Eve with everything, including food (Genesis 1:29–30), as well as God's provisions that even a mist would keep the earth and food supply healthy without any rain (Genesis 2:6). Adam and Eve were to only avoid the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, one thing which they failed.

In Genesis 3:1–6, Eve ate of the forbidden fruit and gave it to Adam, who ate, and at that point, they realized they were naked and feared God. There are many beliefs of why Adam ate from the tree, knowing it was wrong. Did he eat because he was inquisitive? Did he eat because his wife tricked him? I believe that Adam ate of the tree because he loved his mate. I believe that Adam knew the difference between right and wrong and saw that his wife had eaten and didn't die. I further believe that he desired to be with his wife in a manner where we sinned, and his love for his mate allowed him to fall into sin. This is not based on facts, just an assumption.

This is where the punishment comes for the willful disobedience. In Genesis 3, it tells us how God cursed the snake, which Satan took the form of to trick Eve, to crawl on its belly. Based on this, it sounds like the snake used to have legs. God further cursed woman that she would have great sorrow in childbirth and that her husband would rule over her; specifically, Adam could rule over Eve as she was his wife. All men can't rule over all women. Lastly, God told Adam that he was to work by the sweat of his brow, toiling the ground all his days and be the primary caregiver.

Remember, God knew this was going to occur from the beginning and so ultimately made a way out called salvation. Adam sinned, and therefore all his descendants, according to Genesis 5:3, were born in sin. I do want to say one thing, however. It tells us in Romans 5:13, "For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. That means we all are born with imputed sin. I will say this several times, but imputed sin is sin that is imparted on you unjustly from birth. This is emphasized in Psalms 51:5, where it states, Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me."

In sin did my mother conceive me means we were in existence prior to conception in the likeness and image of Adam, a sinful, fallen man. We were born with sin built into us because of the eternal damnation that Adam's sin caused. Adam's lineage then needed a blood sacrifice for salvation, which first was the law, and then a onetime sacrifice, our Savior.

I know of an interesting story that aligns with this topic. I recently went to my eye exam, and the optometrist was telling me about the muscles and cells in a person's eye. He then said something shocking. He told me that human nerves are functionally growing at twelve days in the womb. In twelve days, doctors are able to identify the genetic material in a child. God tells us that he knew us before we were conceived. Before we were conceived, Christ knew us, loved us, and knew if we would live or die. My former pastor, Cecil Thayer, of the Massillon Baptist Temple shared some sobering statistics. Twelve to thirteen million soldiers died for their country from World War I to 2012. Abortion takes that many lives each year. If this doesn't tear you apart, I'm not sure what would.

An important point was that God gave man and woman the ability to make their own decisions that could be good or bad, right or wrong. Because man's flesh was born with a built-in sin and an unrestrained will, most men chose sin. It tells us in Genesis 6:5, "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." Man's sinful heart reigned and roused the anger of God. God destroyed the world, except Noah and his family. Early in the years of the Earth's existence, God destroyed the Earth through a flood.

In Romans 5:12, it states, "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. In the same chapter, Romans 5:19, Paul tells us, For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners."

Notice that the lineage and the passing of the sins was from Adam, not Eve. Eve sinned first; however, Adam's sin was what was passed down through the ages to all men. It says in Exodus 20:5 that the iniquity or sins of the father are passed down generations, which is exactly what happened to us according to the Bible because of Adam's sin.

We know that it says in Romans 3:23 that not just because of Adam's fall, we are all sinners. It states, "For all have sinned, and come short of the Glory of God; and further, in Romans 6:23, that for the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

This leads us to Romans 5:13 that goes on to say that, "For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. This is explained that in the period of Adam to Moses, there was no Law." Since there was no Law, sins unknown to man could not be imputed or charged to an individual. However, when Adam and Eve sinned by eating from the tree of life, they knew what sin was. In Genesis 3:7, they realized they were naked, and covered themselves with fig leaves. Sin had entered their life, so they knew the difference between right and wrong. God then saw them and killed an animal, the first sacrifice, clothed them, and kicked them out of Eden as a punishment for their sin.

Therefore, when people sinned and although there was no Law in effect, the people had a conscience through the Holy Spirit, and they knew the basics of sin. Because God is a perfect God, sinless, and could not allow sin to abound, there had to be punishment for their sin. An example that stemmed back to the beginning included Cain killing Abel. In Genesis 4:9–15, God confronted Cain, and remember, the Law was not in effect yet, and God punished Cain. Cain knew what sin was and violated his conscience.

After the law was instituted, and Moses was given the Ten Commandments, then the people knew exactly what sin was and what they were required to do. They performed works for mercy. They were taught according to the Law and received clemency; they were shown the need for a blood sacrifice. The Law was not instituted to punish people; it was established to further demonstrate what sin was and study what God expected from his people.

I believe that sins could be identified threefold. The first original sin was imputed on many from Adam and Eve. It is an imputed sin, and I define this as God designating full blame and responsibility on every person after Adam and Eve for false sins at birth that we haven't committed yet. This imputation was based on Adam's original sin, which was passed on to man. This is sin on man and woman that was put on every person at birth and made responsible at the age of accountability because of Adam and Eve.

The second type of sins are those that I believe are a direct result from the first imputed sin. These are the knowledge of sin that is influenced by the Holy Spirit, prior to a person understanding God's Laws. These sins are what convict us today as well as prior to the Law. I believe these are for those persons that may not see nor hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ but will know the difference between right and wrong. Some would say that it is your conscience.

The third type of sins are those that were written in the Law, which has been fulfilled by Christ and identify what sin is. These do not bind us any longer as God gave us Jesus's commandments. These simply are those sins that were written by God in the Law to protect the people of Israel, such as food standards. Also, there were those that were needed for salvation, which were the annual sacrifices of lambs, but were nullified when Jesus came, died on the cross, and was resurrected.

As a baby, sin has been imputed, unjustly passed on to us by Adam's original sin. I want to emphasize that a child that dies prior to the point of accountability will go to heaven. A child, even though the imputation of sin has been imparted on them from birth, will go to heaven as shown in Matthew 18:3 because God will not hold them responsible. Christ explains that we must become as little children to enter heaven. Further in Matthew 19:13–14, Jesus tells us that little children are in the kingdom of heaven, even though they never received the knowledge of Christ because of an accountability standard.

Once a child reaches the point of accountability, salvation is necessary. This may be different ages for different people, and God has not provided us a cut-off. We as parents, grandparents, relatives, and Christians need to be cognizant in nurturing young children. We need to bring them to a saving knowledge of Christ as soon as they understand accountability and are able to fully understand the sacrifice that Christ made for us. This is an area that most churches should strive for, knowing that the church of tomorrow needs to be developed today.

A sacrifice was the only aspect to salvation. One part was the Law, and the second was a onetime sacrifice, which are still important today. Two different deeds accomplished the same action but are very diverse. The Law required very specific sacrifices to cleanse their sins, works driven. The second sacrifice was Jesus Christ's onetime sacrifice that forever cleansed us of unrighteousness by grace.

In the Old Testament, the Law's sacrifices were necessary to cleanse Moses's generation from sins. There were five types of offerings, including what was necessary for the imputed sin to be forgiven or dealt with. Under the Law, persons in the Old Testament had to provide offerings as follows:

The whole burnt offering, which emphasizes Christ's offering of himself without spot to God in complete obedience to the will of God (Leviticus 1). This offering was explained for the process of a burnt offering and what animals could be used. Notice that they described it must be a young male bull, sheep, or fowl, all without blemish, and the blood shall be sprinkled about the altar, then the animal was to be burnt. This was a blood and burnt sacrifice.

The meal offering, meat in the archaic term: food emphasizes the balance, fragrance, and purity of that life which was offered (Leviticus 2). This offering was given to God of unleavened bread.

The peace offering emphasizes the reconciliation that was, will be, accomplished on the cross (Leviticus 3). This offering was one of fellowship and assembling one another with God. This type of sacrifice was to be one of the herds, without blemish, again sprinkling of the blood about the altar, and after removing the organs; then again, it was to be burned.

(4 and 5) The sin and trespass offerings emphasize the atoning nature of Christ's sacrifice saving men from all sin—past, present, and future (Leviticus 4, 5, and 6). The sin offering was to be one of a young bull, without blemish, taking the blood and dipping his finger in it, sprinkling it before the veil