Mario Espinosa

Christianity, Truth and Theology

MY SPIRITUAL BELIEFS

ESSENTIAL DOCTRINES OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH
The Holy Bible itself reveals what is foundational and essential doctrines of the Christian faith, which are:

Only one God exists.
God is made up of three distinct Persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit.
The Gospel
The full deity and humanity of Jesus Christ
The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ
Salvation is through Jesus Christ alone.
Salvation is by God’s grace and not by our works.
Repentance from dead works
Faith in God
The doctrine of baptism
The laying on of hands
The resurrection of the dead
Eternal judgment

These are the main “essentials” that we should understand and believe if we are believers and followers of Yeshua the Messiah [Jesus the Christ].

GOD

There is only one God who is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. He has revealed Himself as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal, co-eternal, and are one God.

Genesis 1:1,26,27; 3:22; Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19; 1 Peter 1:2; 2 Corinthians 13:14

GOD THE FATHER

God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. …God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

GOD THE SON: YESHUA / JESUS

Yeshua [Jesus] is the Son of God. He is the Messiah [the Christ]. He is co-equal with the Father. He is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ, He was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary and He was still entirely God. He never ceased being God, never gave up His Godhood, never lost His Divinity nor did He give up any Divine attributes. He took on the nature of a human being thus making Him fully God and fully Man. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death on the cross, He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. Jesus lived a sinless human life and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on the cross. He arose from the dead on the third day to demonstrate His power over sin and death. He ascended to Heaven’s glory and will return again someday to earth to reign as King of kings, and Lord of lords.

Matthew 1:22,23; Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1-5; 14:10-30; Hebrews 4:14; 15; 1 Corinthians 15:3,4; Romans 1:3.4; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Timothy 6:14,15; Titus 2:13; 1 John 4:1-21

GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT

The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force, energy, or influence; He is a Person. In fact, He is a divine Person. He is not like God; He is God. Therefore, He possesses all the characteristics of God. As a Person, He has thoughts, feelings, and a will. As a divine Person, He is eternal and omnipresent and He knows everything and He is Almighty. The Holy Spirit is co-equal with the Father and the Son of God. He is present in the world to make men aware of their need for Jesus Christ. He also lives in every Christian from the moment of salvation. He provides the Christian with power for living, understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance in doing what is right. As Christians, we seek to live under His control daily and to be filled with His presence and power.

1 Corinthians 3:16; John 16:7-13; 14:16,17; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 2:12, 3:16; Ephesians 1:13; Galatians 5:25; Ephesians 5:18

THE HOLY BIBLE

The Holy Bible is God’s Word to us. Human authors, under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit, wrote it. It is the supreme source of truth for Christian beliefs and living. Because it is inspired by God, it is the truth without any mixture of error. As a Christian, I embrace the entire Holy Bible, the Old Testament, and the New Testament as the inspired Word of God and authoritative in matters of belief, theology, doctrine, and practice.

2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20,21; 2 Timothy 1:13; Psalm 119:89, 105, 160; Proverbs 30:5

MANKIND

Humans are made in the image of God, to be like Him in character. People are the supreme object of God’s creation. Although every person has tremendous potential for good, all of us are marred by an attitude of disobedience toward God called “sin”. This attitude separates people from God and causes many problems in life.

Genesis 1:27; Psalm 8:3-6; Isaiah 53:6; Romans 3:23; Isaiah 59:1,2

SIN

Sin is any behavior that is against God and His teachings. Sin can only be forgiven through faith in the Person, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 5)

SALVATION

Salvation is God’s free gift to us, but we must accept it. We can never make up for our sin by self-improvement or good works. Only by trusting in Jesus Christ [Yeshua the Messiah] as God’s offer of forgiveness can anyone be saved from sin’s penalty (death). When we turn (repent) from our self-ruled sinful life and turn to Jesus in faith we are saved. Eternal life begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ into his life by faith and makes a commitment to Him as Savior and Lord.

Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8,9; John 14:6, 1:12; Titus 3:5; Galatians 3:26; Romans 5:1

GOD’S PURPOSE OF GRACE

Election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ Jesus, and sanctified by His Spirit will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end.

BAPTISM

Immersion in water, just as John the Baptist practiced in the New Testament is a representation of a believer’s acceptance and confession that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God. (Acts 2:38)

THE NEW COVENANT AND THE SINAI (MOSAIC) COVENANT

The Holy Bible and the New Covenant clearly show that Christians are not under the Sinai Law (the Law of Moses), which was instituted at Mount Sinai (the Sinaitic Covenant) with the nation of Israel. Jews and Gentiles who put their faith in Christ Jesus [Yeshua the Messiah] are under the new agreement (the New Covenant). We as Christians are to keep those universal moral obligations from the Mosaic/Sinai law that are repeated in the New Testament.

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