Essential Vs Non Essentials Of The Christian Faith by Pastor Dolapo Lawal: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

Essentials and non-essentials

There are thousands of different ideologies among people who say they are Christians. So we must identify what is essential and what is not for our faith

The essentials are the fundamentals, what we all must believe. The non-essentials are what we can disagree on in doctrine without it meaning much

In essentials we contend and defend. In non-essentials we have liberty. In everything we have love

Non-essentials

Romans 14:1 to Romans 14:6

Paul identifies non-essentials in doctrine and says these differences are not enough to divide us: the type of food you eat, which day we worship

Non-essentials include

• Mode of baptism
• Tongues, and how the gifts of the Spirit work today
• Church government: council, eldership, congregational
• Worship style, end times timelines, frequency and forms of communion
• What you wear to church, Bible translation preferences, women's role in church leadership
• Celebrating special days such as Christmas and Easter, Saturday or Sunday observance

The gifts are biblically important, you see them clearly in Acts. But someone may believe the gifts exist and are not operational today. How they work today is non-essential to salvation

You have to be saved to manifest the gifts of the Spirit. I can be saved and not manifest them. Salvation is the first installation, and the gifts emanate from it

On these we are gentle

The essentials

1. The authority of scripture

   This is the infallibility of scripture. The Bible as the word of God cannot fail, cannot mislead, cannot be broken in anything it teaches

   Whatever scripture declares will stand, and whoever builds on it will never be deceived by it

   It is an essential because every other essential is known because scripture reveals it

   Four pillars of the authority of scripture

   1. The source is God

      2 Timothy 3:16

      That inspiration of God is the word ruach, the breath of God, the Holy Spirit

      We have different writers but one author. There are about 40 writers in the Bible, and the fact that they all align shows the author is one person

      One inspiration, one theme. Jesus Christ is the manifested antitype of all the typologies

      2 Peter 1:21

      The scriptures were given to us by God's Spirit. So nobody can say, I don't agree with this part of the Bible. Every scripture is correct

      Nehemiah 8:8

      Scripture needs an explanation. There is the helping to understand

      When people say the Old Testament is different from the New, you are relegating a major fundamental of God's character Hebrews 13:8

      God did not change. He is not wicked in the Old Testament and then became a good guy when Jesus died and his anger was pacified

      The Father is not the wicked one while Jesus is the nice one who begs for us. That would mean they are not in unison, not perfectly united. That idea is heresy

      All scripture was given by God. I will put balance as we move on

   2. It cannot be broken

      John 10:35, Matthew 5:18

      Jesus said so. The law here is scripture. So it cannot be broken

   3. It is perfect and proven

      Proverbs 30:5, Psalm 19:7

   4. It is eternal

      Isaiah 40:8, Matthew 24:35

      We use the word eternal loosely, like I'm eternally grateful. Eternal means something that has no beginning and no end. If you started being grateful, your gratitude is not eternal

      The word of God is eternal. It is ever true, ever sure, unchanging

      This scripture is literal. Peter also told us about the passing of this heaven and this earth 2 Peter 3

      Then there will be a new heaven and a new earth, and we are coming back to this earth, the New Jerusalem. The word of God is what will stand forever

   What infallibility does not mean

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   1. Every interpretation is infallible

      The word in itself is infallible, our reading of it is not. So we study, we compare scripture with scripture, and we are ready to learn and unlearn

   2. God dictated mechanically to the writers

      Paul writes like Paul. John writes like John. God used real men, real languages, real history and real stories. They were moved, they received inspiration, and then they wrote

   3. Every statement recorded is approved

      In the Bible men spoke and God spoke. Especially in the Old Testament, you have interpretation even in the writing

      The Bible records the lies of Satan Matthew 4 and the errors of Job's friends. It is infallible in reporting them, not in endorsing them

   Example: an evil spirit from God on Saul

   1 Samuel 16:14

   This has caused a lot of confusion. It does not mean God has an evil spirit. Once the Spirit of God is withdrawn from a person, an evil spirit enters automatically

   There is no vacuum in the spirit. Wherever the Spirit of God is not, an evil spirit is there

   Ephesians 2:2

   You think unbelievers are sinning with clear eyes? No. Something is moving them to do what they do. They are yielding, but there is a spirit at work in them

   What this means for evangelism

   2 Corinthians 4:4

   Evangelism is more than preaching to somebody. There is a spiritual warfare dimension to it

   When we pray for souls, we are not asking God to touch the heart of the soul. He already touched it by dying for that soul. He is not wicked

   If you pray, God, please touch my brother's heart so he can give his life to Christ, you are saying the only reason he has not is that God has not played his part

   God has already touched his heart on the cross. Do you want to kill him again?

   The Bible tells you who is responsible for the hardness of your brother's heart. So you are not talking to God here, you are doing spiritual warfare

   Tell the devil to take his hands off the eyes of your brother or your sister. You are addressing Satan, who has blinded his eyes

   Matthew 9:38

   Where do we talk to God in evangelism? In asking him to send laborers. God is saying, pray within the confines of what I can control

   What can he control? Laborers. Laborers are believers. As believers pray in their secret place, God will start telling them, I need you to evangelize

   An encounter is an investment, not a bonanza

   In mercy we can ask for an encounter. But even an encounter is an investment. It is not a bonanza, not a promo

   Nobody God gave an encounter to in the Bible did not have a special assignment

   Acts 9

   Paul was killing Christians and God liked his zeal. The encounter was drastic, not to change who he was but to redirect him.

   He took letters to kill people, now he carries the word of God and gives life. He is still Paul, redirected

   John 4

   Jesus sat by the well because he saw an intercessor waiting for the Messiah, who would go into the city and bring all the men to him.

   If you are not like that, no encounter for you

   Exodus 3

   Moses had a burning bush encounter because he was about to be sent to Pharaoh, who was greater than him. So God showed him what is greater than Pharaoh

   When told to go meet Pharaoh, Moses said, it is too big for me. But he had seen a bush burning and not consumed, so he said, okay, I will go

   Genesis 12, Genesis 22

   After the encounter, Abraham got hard instructions. He was leaving everything he knew at 75 to start a brand new life, going without a map

   At a point he was asked to kill his son, and he could not doubt because he had an encounter

   The encounter is an investment for an assignment. If God has given you an encounter, a tough assignment is coming. An encounter is never a waste

   When scripture seems to contradict

   If you find a contradiction in scripture, there are two possibilities.

   Either you need an explanation so you can understand what it means, or the contradiction is with you, because the Bible says the word of God is perfect

   Illustration: faith and works

   James 2:24, Galatians 2:16

   These look like a contradiction. But Paul explains in Galatians 2 that he is talking about works of the law, not just works.

   If you do not give sense to scripture, you will call it a contradiction

   James 2:18 to James 2:24

   James gives you the premise of the works he is talking about. He uses Abraham, and Abraham was not given a law. When he went to sacrifice his son, how did he know? He heard

   Faith comes by hearing Romans 10:17. When the word of the Lord came to Abraham, he heard it and went to do it.

   The work Abraham did was the works of hearing, the works of faith

   So there are two different works: the works of the law and the works of faith. It is not a contradiction, because the positions they speak from are different

   Paul is saying you cannot use morality, circumcision and all those works of the law to be right with God. James is not saying otherwise

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   James is saying that because you are now right with God, just as Abraham worked out his faith by works, you also work out yours.

   You do not get saved by doing, but you do because you are saved

   Paradoxes

   There are also paradoxes in scripture, and a paradox is not a contradiction

   God is justice and God is righteousness, and the perfect place where they are amalgamated is the cross of Jesus

   Our hope has happened, since Jesus died and rose. Our hope will happen, since because he died and rose we will also die and rise

   We are saved, our spirit is saved. We are being saved, our mind is changing. We will be saved, we will receive a glorified body.

   It is this and this and this, not this or this

   Illustration: who moved David?

   1 Chronicles 21:1, 2 Samuel 24:1

   The same event has two accounts, and the first one is obviously correct. Read only the second and you say God can move people to sin

   But the scripture explains itself. God withdrew from David because he was not pleased with what he was doing

   So when the Bible says an evil spirit from God, it does not mean God brought an evil spirit and put it on Saul. It means God withdrew his Spirit

   Job 1

   That is what the devil told God about Job: remove the hedge of fire around him and see what I can do. Once the Lord withdraws his presence, the devil immediately comes in

   Illustration: I don't know what came over me

   There are some sins that are not committed with clear eyes. I have heard stories upon stories

   One story is from a friend of ours in the UK. A woman who had been working with a baby strangled the baby in front of the camera, then called the police on herself

   When she felt the baby was lifeless, her eyes cleared. Thank God the baby did not die. That has to be demonic

   When you hear people say, I don't know what came over me, some are lying. But some really do not know what they are doing

   Authority of scripture: the recap

   We all must believe that scripture is God's word and God's final authority

   You cannot say there are things in scripture, like slavery, that you cannot reconcile.

   If you study the Bible you see clearly that not every act in it is a manifestation of God's perfect will for man or society

   God permitted divorce in the Old Testament, but in the incarnation Jesus corrected it Matthew 19:8. There are things in the Bible that were permitted but do not reflect God's perfect will.

   It does not mean God endorses them

   Do not read with an evil conscience

   Some say Solomon had 700 wives, so what is wrong with polygamy? 1 Kings 11:3, Romans 14:23

   You are not Jewish. Even the Old Testament you are reading was not written to you, it is explained to you. The New Testament is for you

   Deep down in your conscience you know that what you are saying is wrong. A lot of people are not truthful with themselves. The Spirit of God is telling you it is wrong

   When you read scripture, you read as a believer. You do not read with a legalistic mindset looking for loopholes, asking what you can get away with

   There is no naughty thing you want to do that you will not find scripture for, out of context. If you want to kill your son, you can find scripture.

   If you want to do human sacrifice, you can find scripture

   But we know that is not what he teaches. We read scripture through the lens of the character of Jesus and what he shows us about the Father

   Interpret through the character of Jesus

   The first Bible study a believer has to do is to understand the fatherhood and character of God. God is love. That is the lens through which you interpret everything else

   The Lord told us to teach the word. He did not tell us to argue it

   John 1:18

   The word seen means experienced, to know someone deeply.

   It is not physical, and it is not about a theophany, a manifestation of God in the flesh like you find in places in the Old Testament

   The word declared means to announce him, to make him evident

   Jesus is saying the God I am showing you is not the judge God. It takes a son to reveal a father. You cannot know me as a father until I have a child

   In Christ we have the perfect revelation of God. That is why Jesus corrected many things, saying Moses permitted this but that is not the heart of God

   You cannot pick and choose with scripture

   You cannot say, I don't agree with this portion, this one is my own.

   If some parts resonate with you and others do not, then the Bible is not supreme, it is not Lord, it is not governing you

   You are deciding when to deploy it. Anybody not submitted to the authority of scripture is like a wild animal, because nothing controls him

   Your own mind is no safe guide Jeremiah 17:9

2. The triune God

   We must believe in the Trinity. Some people say the word Trinity is not mentioned in the Bible. Correct. However, scripture clearly infers it. It is impossible to miss

   The Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed, from about 300 to 400 AD, state that there is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. These people were direct disciples of the apostles.

   You cannot wake up today and change it

   Christianity is orthodox. You are not inventive with Christianity. You can be innovative with the presentation of the message, but you cannot be inventive with the message

   It is the way they said it that we say it. We can make it simpler and applicable to our context, but if we change it, it is no longer Christianity.

   It is new age religion

   Matthew 28:19

   This is from the Great Commission. Jesus says there is the Father. Jesus is not the Father

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   Not water, not an egg

   Some say God is one but in different dimensions, like water as ice block, water and vapor.

   Or like an egg: the shell is the Father, the body is the Son, the yolk is the Holy Spirit

   If you overemphasize the threeness you are a heretic. If you overemphasize the oneness you are a heretic. So just leave it that way

   It is one of the majesties of God that if something is your god, it should be unexplainable

   You are using a laptop, and that laptop is a world of programs. Imagine the letters saying there is nothing outside this world. But there is a world outside you that enables your world

   A program in a laptop cannot give a perfect description of the person using it unless it steps out into his world

   God is an office, not a name. To qualify to be God you have to be omniscient, everywhere, all powerful. You want to use our small human brain to define him and make him simple

   We can never come to a full position. Even Paul wanted to know him more Philippians 3:10 and wrote of unsearchable riches Ephesians 3:8. God is wide, God is deep

   I was watching something about Jupiter, I think. You go down and you keep going down for eternity. That is a small thing in his hand. Imagine an ant trying to define us.

   It is not the same with God

   One means a unity

   Deuteronomy 6:4, Genesis 11:6, Genesis 2:24

   The Hebrew word for one is echad. It is used where the people were one with one language, and where husband and wife become one. Two individuals, but one

   So one does not mean singular. The Lord your God is three distinct persons who are together. It is not a contradiction, it needs explanation

   Genesis 1:1

   In the beginning God is Elohim, plural. There is a singular, Eloah, but God chose to use Elohim

   So the first revelation we have of God is that he is a community: Father, Son and Spirit. God is primarily relational, not powerful.

   I am not saying he is not powerful, but he is first relational before powerful

   If creation had come before the revelation of God as a community, God would be primarily a force

   Roles, not rank

   The Father is the one with the will. The Son is the one that manifests the will. The Holy Spirit is the one that enforces the will

   There are no three chairs in heaven with the Father the highest. All three are eternally God. The distinction is in the role

   Some of us think the Holy Spirit is the lowest in rank. But even if you apply the law of first mention to put them in hierarchy, you cannot put him last.

   We are not supposed to put them in hierarchy Genesis 1:1 to Genesis 1:3

   Psalm 16:11

   Jesus seated at the right hand of the Father does not mean God has a throne and a smaller throne at the right for Jesus. The right hand is not a side

   If I say Tommy is my right hand woman, it does not mean she is always at my right side. It means if I want something done, Tommy is the person to get it done

   So Jesus is the administrative headquarters for what God is doing in the earth. It does not mean he is smaller than God

   In your family the husband is the head, and he is to love the wife and the wife is to submit. Is the man greater than the woman? No.

   The man is not greater, the woman is not lesser

   Even though the Bible makes a point about the physical body 1 Peter 3:7, the distinction is in roles. Submission is a role

   The Son in the Godhead submits to the will of the Father. His submitting did not take away his godship. The Son does not feel belittled

   John 5:19

   They are in perfect union. Jesus cannot say A and the Father say no. They are always on the same page, and the same with the Spirit

   Ephesians 1:13 to Ephesians 1:14

   Salvation itself appears to be trinitarian. The Father has a will and sends the Son. The Son redeems us by doing the Father's will.

   The Spirit appropriates what the Son did for those he did it for

   Someone must receive the sacrifice, someone was the sacrifice and someone enacts the sacrifice. The Father receives it, the Son was the sacrifice, the Holy Spirit enacts it. That is the Trinity

   One is not greater, one is not lesser. We do not believe the Father is higher and the Son is lesser. We believe the three are eternally God, in perfect union, and three distinct persons

3. The deity and incarnation of Jesus

   You need this. Some people in Nigeria are going back to the gods of their ancestors, gods that cannot build a road. Let us understand things so we can make a defense for our faith

   Only God can save and only a man can stand in a man's place. This is why Jesus is fully God and fully man, and it is the only way he can bridge the gap

   1. He claimed it

      John 8:24

      What gives you salvation is believing that Jesus is he. That is, he is God

      John 10:33

      He is not a prophet. When Jesus finished talking in John 10, what everybody listening got from it was that he is God. That is why they wanted to stone him

      So when people say Jesus never called himself God, that is not so

      Matthew 26:63 to Matthew 26:65

      They said he was deserving of death. Why? Because he, being a man, was calling himself God

      John 8:57 to John 8:58

      The words I am are the name he gave himself. That is the reason they wanted to stone him

      Deuteronomy 17:3 to Deuteronomy 17:7

      This is the law against going to serve another god. So who did they do this to in the New Testament? Stephen Acts 7

      Why did they stone Stephen? Because he was worshiping Jesus. Stephen's claim was that Jesus was God. It is not an argument

   2. The prophets declared it

      Isaiah 44:6, Revelation 1:17 to Revelation 1:18

      The Lord was speaking through Isaiah about himself. In Revelation, Jesus says the same about himself to John

      So the one speaking in Isaiah is the one speaking in Revelation. The prophets prophesied that Jesus is God. Is it clear enough?

      Isaiah 9:6

      People read this text and still miss it. It is the clearest text in the world. The title it gives him is God, not prophet

      Matthew 1:23

      One of his names popular to all of us is Emmanuel. It means God with us, not prophet with us. So Jesus is God

   3. The apostles called him God

      2 Peter 1:1, John 20:28

      Peter and Thomas both called Jesus God. Jesus did not stop Thomas. He received the title and the worship, because he is God

   Can we worship Jesus? Yes, because he is God. When we worship Jesus, the Father does not say, worship me Philippians 2:9

   God is an office. The Bible talks about the god of this world 2 Corinthians 4:4, and about people whose belly is their god Philippians 3:19.

   We choose who to put in the office of God

   The devil can be your god. Money can be your god. So since God is an office, God has chosen his name: Jesus

   Some people make it very technical. We actually pray to the Father through Jesus by the Spirit. To me that is semantics

   In Jesus' name be healed, it works. In the Father's name be healed, it works. It is not that deep. The Bible did not say the three are fighting for attention

   If you pray to the Father you are praying to God. If you pray to Jesus, the same. When Jesus was on earth and you had a wisdom problem, you could go and meet him.

   He would not say, have you prayed to the Father? He would answer you

   Scripture uses son of God in three different senses, and they must be kept apart

   1. By creation

      Job 1:6, Luke 3:38

      The sons of God in Job are angels. They are called sons of God because they are direct creations of God. If you are not a son of man, what will you be?

      You have to be a son of something

      Adam is also called son of God because nobody gave birth to him. This is not what refers to Jesus.

      He is not called son of God because he is a direct creation, because he is not a creation of God

   Answering the claim that Jesus was created

   Colossians 1:13 to Colossians 1:15

   Some people push this doctrine. I was once standing with a friend when some people came holding Bibles. I said, let me give them 10 minutes

   They said Jesus is a creation of God. My friend said, no, Jesus is God.

   So they brought out Colossians 1 to show that he is the firstborn of all creation, so he is a creation

   The word firstborn is prototokos. It means first in rank and preeminence, not first created, because he was not created

   John 1:1, John 1:3 to John 1:6

   The word Word is logos. It carries the idea of reasoning, the reason behind things.

   It is the root of words like physiology and zoology, the study of the reason behind the physical world and animals

   So when John says in the beginning was the Word, he is saying in the beginning was the reason behind all things, the essence of all things

   He is the maker, he is not made. His creator is not creation

   Is Jesus a man sent from God? Jesus is the Son of God that came to man. I am a man sent from God. Jesus is the God that sends men

   So he is not another man of God. He is God incarnate, God in body

   Colossians 1:16 to Colossians 1:19, Colossians 2:9

   So he is not a creation. When he was moving in the earth, that was God moving. God in body

2 Timothy 2:2