Non-negotiable Doctrines

by Steve Hale

It's no secret that our brotherhood is having a conversation with itself. In some ways, that's good. We should never be stagnant in our search for truth.
Unfortunately, this has led to polarization, accusations, compromise, liberalism, and legalism. In debate and reaction, it is so easy to lose one's balance. This is why I'm convinced we need to be biblical, and not conservative or liberal.
There are five doctrines that we can never surrender in the midst of this "conversation." These are:

1. The Virgin Birth. The virgin birth of Jesus is essential to the one who is both "the Son of God" and the "Son of Man." Unless Jesus was born of a virgin, He cannot be deity (lsa. 7:14; Matthew 1:21ff.).

Yet, He is called by Thomas "my Lord and my God" ( John 20:28). John tells us He is the Creator ( John 1:13). He is the promised Messiah, the seed of Abraham ( Galatians 3:13-29). If one does not accept the virgin birth of Jesus, he cannot accept Jesus being God.

2. The Vicarious Death. Our Lord's death on the cross was vicarious, that is, "endured, suffered, or performed by one person in place of another" (Webster, p. 2036) .

Through the travail of His death, Jesus saved those who will obey Him ( Isaiah 53:12; Hebrews 5:8, 9). The vicarious nature of His death is not negotiable.

3. The Blood Atonement. The life of the flesh is in the blood (Lev. 17:10, 11). Under the old system, the blood of animals was offered for sins. But now, the blood of Jesus is offered for atonement for our sins ( Revelation 1:5; Ephesians 1:7).
   The blood of Jesus covers our sins when we die with Him through baptism ( 1 Peter 3:21; Romans 6:3-7). His blood keeps on cleansing the faithful Christian ( I John 1:7).


4. The Resurrection. Unless Jesus was raised from the dead, we are yet in our sins ( 1 Corinthians 15:17). Yet, the evidence is so clear: the empty tomb, the
   eyewitnesses, the admission of Gamaliel, the change in the disciples, the changing of the Roman guard, etc. Jesus arose!


5. The Authority of God. When God authorizes something, He eliminates everything else ( Hebrews 7:13, 14). The Bible is His inspired word ( John 16:13, 14; 2 Tim. 3:16, 17). Man is not his own authority (Jer. 10:23).

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