Bible Doctrines to Live By stands without apology as a Fundamental, Bible believing, Mid-Acts Dispensational, Evangelistic ministry.
BDTLB (Bible Doctrines to Live By) was founded upon the principle most clearing set for in 1 Timothy 2:4; “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” In this verse from the Apostle Paul’s first letter to the young preacher Timothy the apostle clearly sets forth the will, or desire of our Heavenly Father to all mankind in this present dispensation, and for all time. First, it is the will of God that all men be saved. This is why Christ came into the word – “that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15b). God the Father so loved the world that He gave His Son the Lord Jesus to take upon Himself the sin of the world and die sin’s death. Through that great sacrifice the Father reconciled the world unto Himself (2 Cor. 5:19; Rom. 5:10). In reconciling the world (in paying sin’s price) the Father made the entire world (all mankind) savable. And He has given to all those who know Him the responsibility to make that message known to others that they too can come to Christ as their Savior. For that reason BDTLB places great emphasis upon evangelism and evangelistic training.
But the will of the Father is two-fold and it is equally His desire that all men come into a thorough understanding of the truth. This is not simply truth, but rather the truth. By this the Apostle is speaking of the Father’s message for this present age in which we live; the message to the Church, the Body of Christ. To the church of Ephesus the apostle would write; “If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward.” “And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God…” (Eph. 3:2; 9a) “Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the Word of God; even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to His saints.” (Col. 1:25-26)
With this in mind BDTLB seeks to carry out all of its teachings in light of this glorious revelation received from the ascended Lord Jesus Christ. Without apology we approach Scripture from a mid-Acts, Pauline dispensational point of view. In an age of relativism and supposed tolerance, we do not run from, or seek to disguise our roots. The Apostle Paul concluded his letter to the church at Ephesus by urging them to stand. “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand. Stand therefore…: (Eph. 6:13-14a)
Doctrinal Statement
1. We believe that the Bible, in its original documents, is the verbally inspired Word of God. It is complete, inerrant, and our final authority (I Cor. 2:13; II Tim. 3:15-17; II Pet. 1:19-21).
2. We believe in the doctrine of the Trinity. There is one God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Deut. 6:4; Acts 5:3-4; Gal. 1:1; Heb. 1:8).
3. We believe God is absolutely sovereign and that in His sovereignty, He has ordained that man’s destiny depends on man’s choice (Ps. 103:19; Rom. 8:28-39; I Cor. 1:21).
4. We believe the Lord Jesus Christ was perfectly sinless and that He died as our substitute, making a complete payment for our sins. He arose and is alive today. He is willing and able to save anyone who will trust Him as their own personal Savior (I Cor. 15:1-4; II Cor. 5:21).
5. We believe that each member of the human race is fallen, sinful and spiritually dead and that, therefore, man is totally incapable of saving himself (Rom. 3:23; Eph. 2:1, 8-9).
6. We believe that men are saved by grace, through faith, without works. After we are saved, we should want to honor the Lord with good works in our lives, but we could never be saved by our works no matter how good or well intended they might be. Salvation can only be received as a free gift from God (Rom. 4:5; 6:23; Eph. 2:8-10).
7. We believe that every believer possesses eternal life and is, therefore, safe and secure for all eternity. When a Christian sins, his enjoyment of his fellowship with the Lord is affected but not his eternal salvation. A Christian can incur the Father’s chastisement, but he cannot lose his salvation ( I Cor. 9:27; 11:32; 2 Cor. 1:22).
8. We believe that every child of God is sealed and indwelled by the Holy Spirit. As believers, it is our privilege and duty to be filled with the Spirit by yielding ourselves to Him so that our lives can be filled with His fruit (Rom. 8:9; Gal. 5:16-23; Eph. 1:13; 5:18).
9. We believe that during the period covered by the Book of Acts, the Holy Spirit gave various sign gifts such as prophecy, miraculous gifts of tongues for speaking in foreign languages without study, and the laying on of hands for miraculous healings. These gifts, being temporary, have ceased (Acts 2:1-11; I Cor. 13:8-13).
10. We believe that God heals today in answer to prayer according to His will but we do not believe He bestows on believers today the power to perform healings as He did in the Book of Acts. We also recognize that there may be times when God has a special purpose for afflictions and that it may not always be His will to heal (II Cor. 12:8-10).
11. We believe that at the point of salvation, each believer is baptized by the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ, and that this one baptism is the only baptism that is necessary under God’s present program of Grace (I Cor. 1:13-17; 12:13; Eph. 4:5).
12. We believe in the observance of the Lord’s Supper as a remembrance of the Lord Jesus Christ and that the elements of the supper are symbols of His crucified body and blood (I Cor. 11:23-25).
13. We believe that Christ will come again. First, He will come before the prophesied day of Tribulation to receive the Church, the Body of Christ, to Himself. Then, after the Tribulation, He will come to establish His Millennial Kingdom on earth (Mt. 25:31-34; Acts 1:11; I Thess. 1:10; 4:13-18; 5:9; Rev. 19:11-16; 20:4,6).
14. We believe that Satan is a real person who was created perfect but became the author of sin. Both he and his angels are destined to eternal judgment (Isa. 14:12-15; Ezek. 28:15; Matt. 25:41).
15. We believe that all men will be bodily resurrected from the dead. The saved will be raised to everlasting glory and the unsaved to everlasting damnation in the Lake of Fire (Jn. 5:28-29; I Cor. 15:22-24; Rev. 20:6-16).
16. We believe it is our privilege and duty to serve as ambassadors for Christ under the special commission that the Lord Jesus Christ gave to the Apostle Paul for all believers in our present day of Grace (II Cor. 5:18-21; Eph. 3:8-9; 6:19-20; I Tim. 1:15-16).
Philosophy and Focus of Ministry
We will not neglect nor be hesitant to teach and preach the whole realm of Bible doctrine; however, our special emphasis will be upon evangelism and the dissemination of dispensational truth always within the framework of fundamentalist philosophy of ministry – “speaking the truth in love” and our speech “seasoned with salt.”
Bible Doctrines to Live By, Inc.
PO BOX 564, Comstock Park, MI 49321-0564
Phone: 616-785-3618
Fax: 616-785-3327