LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
Statement of Faith:
Fall Through Judgement
Submitted to:
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
CHMN679 – B01 LUO
Capstone
by
September
Contents
FALL OF MAN.............................................................................................................................................................1
SALVATION.................................................................................................................................................................2
Church...........................................................................................................................................................................4
Ordinances.....................................................................................................................................................................6
Return of Jesus..............................................................................................................................................................8
Judgement......................................................................................................................................................................9
Bibliography................................................................................................................................................................12
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1
FALL OF MAN
SUMMARY
God created man in His own image. God created man to be in fellowship with Him and to
enjoy the blessings of the Garden of Eden. However, Adam, the first man allowed sin to enter the
world through direct disobedience to God. Though it was Eve who fell for the temptation of the
serpent, Adam willfully chose to violate God’s one command, to not eat from the tree of
knowledge of good and evil. As a result of Adam’s disobedience, humanity was separated from
God. Furthermore, Adam’s sinful nature passed down through his progeny rendering all men into
depravity whereby they do not obey God nor seek Him.
Therefore, all men are born into sin making them spiritually dead in their trespasses and
incapable of returning to a right relationship with God through his own efforts. Because of his
depravity, man is worthy of the wrath of God that results in eternal death. Without the
intervention of the Holy Spirit, man is without hope.
HISTORICAL QUOTE – GEORGE WHITEFIELD
“The fall of man is written in too legible characters not to be understood: Those that deny, by
their denying, prove it.”1
VERSES GIVEN IN FULL
1. “God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very;good” (Genesis 1:31).2
2. “‘but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not;eat, for in the day that
you eat from it;you will surely die’” (Genesis 2:17).
3. “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the
eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make;one;wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and
she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.,Then the eyes of both of them were
1 George Whitefield (1828). “Sermons on important subjects ... With a memoir of the Author by S. Drew;
and a dissertation on his character, preaching, etc., by Joseph [or rather Josiah] Smith”, p.33.
2 Unless otherwise stated all Scripture is from the New American Standard Bible, 1995.
2
opened, and they;knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and
made themselves;loin coverings” (Genesis 3:6-7).
4. “For all of us have become like one who is;unclean, And all our;righteous deeds are like a
filthy garment; And all of us;wither like a leaf, And our;iniquities, like the wind, take us
away” (Isaiah 64:6).
5. “Therefore, just as through;one man sin entered into the world, and;death through sin,
and;so death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12).
6. “For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned;through the one, much more those
who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will;reign in life
through the One, Jesus Christ. So then as through;one transgression;there resulted
condemnation to all men, even so through one;act of righteousness;there
resulted;justification of life to all men. For as through the one man’s disobedience;the
many;were made sinners, even so through;the obedience of the One;the many will be
made righteous” (Romans 5:17-19).
7. “Behold, I was;brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me” (Ps. 51:5).
8. “for all;have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
9. “For it is because of these things that;the wrath of God will come;[a]upon the sons of
disobedience” (Col. 3:6).
10. “For the wages of;sin is death, but the free gift of God is;eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord” (Romans 6:23).
SALVATION
SUMMARY
I believe that before the foundations of the world, God predestined His Son to be the
means by which humanity would be reconciled back into a relationship with Him. Because of
man’s sinful nature, he cannot reconcile himself with God. However, in His grace and mercy,
God’s love for His creation offers the free gift of salvation, that is not based on any works, but
rather faith alone. God offers this gift to all and desires all to be saved. Those who accept this
free gift, by faith in Jesus Christ, are justified and redeemed through His blood having their sins
atoned as a result of Christ’s work on the cross. Through Christ's death and resurrection, the
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believer is made alive with Christ and is adopted as sons/daughters of God the Father. I believe
those who have been justified have been born again of the Holy Spirit and are new creations in
Christ.
HISTORICAL QUOTE – CHARLES SPURGEON
“If any one should ask us what we would choose for our motto, as preachers of the gospel, we
think we should reply, “God only is our salvation.”3
VERSES GIVEN IN FULL
1. “‘And I will put;enmity between you and the woman, And between your seed and her
seed; He shall;bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel’”
(Genesis 3:15).
2. “‘But He was;pierced through for;our transgressions, He was crushed for;our
iniquities; The;chastening for our;well-being;fell;upon Him, And by;His scourging we
are healed’” (Isaiah 53:5).
3. “This is good and acceptable in the sight of;God our Savior,;who desires all men to
be;saved and to;come to the;knowledge of the truth.” (1 Tim. 2:3-4).
4. “Jesus answered and said to him,;‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one;is born;again
he cannot see;the kingdom of God.’” (John 3:3).
5. “For God so;loved the world, that He;gave His;only begotten Son, that
whoever;believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
6. “For;we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works;of the Law”
(Romans 3:28).
7. “Therefore, having been justified by faith,;we have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).
8. “Blessed;be;the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with
every spiritual blessing in;the heavenly;places;in Christ,;just as;He chose us in Him
before;the foundation of the world, that we would be;holy and blameless
before;Him.;In love;He;predestined us to;adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to
Himself,;according to the;kind intention of His will” (Ephesians 1:3-5).
3 C. H. Spurgeon, “God Alone the Salvation of His People,” in The New Park Street Pulpit Sermons, vol. 2
(London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1856), 210.
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9. “And you;were;dead;in your trespasses and sins, in which you;formerly walked
according to the;course of;this world, according to;the prince of the power of the air,
of the spirit that is now working in;the sons of disobedience.;Among them we too
all;formerly lived in;the lusts of our flesh,;indulging the desires of the flesh and of
the;mind, and were;by nature;children of wrath,;even as the rest” (Ephesians 2:1-3).
10. “For;by grace you have been saved;through faith; and;[a]that not of yourselves,;it is;the
gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).
Church
SUMMARY
I believe that the church is the body of Christ for which He is the head. The church is His
established means through which God accomplishes His work in this age. Through Peter, Christ
promised to build His church which came to fruition on the day of Pentecost. The church is
comprised of true believers, having been baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the Holy Spirit, having received every spiritual blessing at conversion and given spiritual gifts
for the purpose of edifying the body. I believe the church exists to glorify God and make known
His copious wisdom and strength. Therefore, all activities of the church should be an act of
worship to Him.
I believe Scripture teaches the creation of local assemblies and believers are instructed to
be fully involved in the life of the local church. The church is to gather regularly for the purpose
of loving one another, serving, teaching, and encouraging one another toward maturity in Christ.
HISTORICAL QUOTE – IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH
“For this end did the Lord suffer the ointment to be poured upon His head, that He might breathe
immortality into His Church.” 4
VERSES GIVEN IN FULL
4 Ignatius of Antioch, “The Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians,” in The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr
and Irenaeus, ed. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, vol. 1, The Ante-Nicene Fathers
(Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company, 1885), 56.
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1. “I also say to you that you are;Peter, and upon this;rock I will build My church; and the
gates of;Hades will not overpower it” (Matthew 16:18).
2. “For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the
body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all
baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all
made to drink of one Spirit” (1 Cor 12:12-13).
3. “‘but you will receive power;when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall
be;My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and;Samaria, and even to;the
remotest part of the earth’” (Act 1:8).
4. “When;the day of Pentecost;had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly
there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled;the whole house
where they were sitting.;And there appeared to them tongues as of fire;distributing
themselves, and;they;rested on each one of them.;And they were all;filled with the Holy
Spirit and began to;speak with other;tongues, as the Spirit was giving them;utterance”
(Acts 2:1-4).
5. “praising God and;having favor with all the people. And the Lord;was adding;[a]to their
number day by day;those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47).
6. “And He;put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as;head over all things
to the church” (Ephesians 1:22).
7. “not forsaking our own;assembling together, as is the habit of some, but;encouraging;one
another; and all the more as you see;the day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:25).
8. “you also, as living stones,;are being built up as a;spiritual house for a holy;priesthood,
to;offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5).
9. “As each one has received a;special;gift, employ it in serving one another as
good;stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks,;is to do so;as one who is
speaking the;utterances of God; whoever serves;is to do so;as one who is serving;by the
strength which God supplies; so that;in all things God may be glorified through Jesus
Christ,;to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 4:10-
11).
10. “Be on guard for yourselves and for all;the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made
you;overseers, to shepherd;the church of God which;He;purchased;with His own blood”
(Acts 20:28).
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Ordinances
SUMMARY
I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ established only two ordinances for the church: water
baptism and the Lord’s Supper or communion. Water baptism, while does not save the person, is
the first sign of obedience after the believer has confessed Jesus as Lord and Savior. Water
baptism is an outward sign of an inward conversion. I believe baptism full immersion water
baptism is the preferred method of baptism as it illustrates the death and burial of the believer
who is then raised up with Christ. I believe that Scripture teaches credobaptism as baptism is a
sign of one’s faith.
I believe that the Lord’s Supper is a unique time of communion with the Lord in
remembrance of His sacrifice and the establishment of the New Covenant through His body and
blood. I believe that the Lord’s table is open to all who repent of their sins and earnestly love
Him. I believe that this ordinance is to be received in communion with other believers and
observed until Christ’s return.
HISTORICAL QUOTE – CHARLES SPURGEON
“The sacred supper was a feast, not a ceremony.”5
VERSES GIVEN IN FULL
1. “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was
opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him”
(Matthew 3:16).
2. “When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was
praying, heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like
a dove. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am
well pleased’” (Luke 3:21-22).
5 C. H. Spurgeon, “The Lord’s Supper: A Remembrance of Jesus,” in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit
Sermons, vol. 34 (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1888), 446.
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3. “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).
4. “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were
called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism;;one God and Father of all, who is over all and
through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:4-6).
5. “But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God
and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women” (Acts 8:12).
6. “Peter;said;to them, “Repent, and each of you be;baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for
the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).
7. “When the hour had come, He reclined;at the table, and;the apostles with Him.;And He
said to them,;“I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;;for I
say to you, I shall never again eat it;until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”;And when
He had taken a cup;and;given thanks, He said,;“Take this and share it among
yourselves;;for;I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the
kingdom of God comes.”;And when He had taken;some;bread;and;given thanks, He
broke it and gave it to them, saying,;“This is My body which is given for you; do this in
remembrance of Me.”;And in the same way;He took;the cup after they had eaten,
saying,;“This cup which is;poured out for you is the;new covenant in My blood” (Luke
22:14-20).
8. “Is not the;cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not
the;bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ?” (1 Cor. 10:13).
9. “For;I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that;the Lord Jesus in the
night in which He was betrayed took bread;;and when He had given thanks, He broke it
and said,;‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’;n the same
way;He took;the cup also after supper, saying,;‘This cup is the;new covenant in My
blood; do this, as often as you drink;it, in remembrance of Me. For as often as you eat this
bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death;until He comes.’” (1 Cor. 11:23-
26).
10. “They were;continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship,
to;the breaking of bread and;to prayer” (Acts 2:42).
Return of Jesus
SUMMARY
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I believe in the pre-tribulation, pre-millennial, personal, and visible return of our Lord
Jesus Christ. I believe that His return is imminent, and He will call the dead first, and then those
who are alive to gather them amongst himself in the clouds. As a result of the resurrection, the
souls of the believers will be given new heavenly bodies and brought into conformity with
Christ. After which, a seven-year period of great conflict and distress, known as the tribulation,
will take place upon the earth as an expression of God’s wrath upon sinful humanity. After the
tribulation period, Christ physically returns in triumph in His Second coming. Christ's second
coming, a time for which only the Father knows, will entail the battle of Armageddon, the
Antichrist, and the false prophet will be cast into the lake of fire and Christ’s kingdom on earth
will be established, initiating the one-thousand-year reign of Christ.
HISTORICAL QUOTE – IRENAEUS OF LYONS
Wherefore He shall, at His second coming, first rouse from their sleep all persons of this
description, and shall raise them up, as well as the rest who shall be judged, and give them a
place in His kingdom.6.”
VERSES GIVEN IN FULL
1. “‘Do not let your heart be troubled;;believe in God, believe also in Me.;In My Father’s
house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for;I go to
prepare a place for you.;If I go and prepare a place for you,;I will come again and receive
you to Myself, that;where I am,;there;you may be also’” (John 14:1-3).
2. “For the;Son of Man;is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and;will
then;repay every man according to his;deeds” (Matthew 16:27).
3. “For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will
the;coming of the;Son of Man be” (Matthew 24:27).
4. “And then;the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the
earth will mourn, and they will see;the;Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky;with
power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30).
6 Irenaeus of Lyons, “Irenæus against Heresies,” in The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus,
ed. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, vol. 1, The Ante-Nicene Fathers (Buffalo, NY:
Christian Literature Company, 1885), 494.
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5. “Behold, I tell you a;mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be;changed,;in a
moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for;the trumpet will sound,
and;the dead will be raised;imperishable, and;we will be changed.” (1 Cor. 15:51-52).
6. “,And as they were gazing intently into;the sky while He was going, behold,;two men in
white clothing stood beside them. They also said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand
looking into;the sky? This Jesus, who;has been taken up from you into heaven, will;come
in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven’” (Acts 1:10-11).
7. “For the Lord;Himself;will descend from heaven with a;shout, with the voice
of;the;archangel and with the;trumpet of God, and;the dead in Christ will rise
first.;17,Then;we who are alive;and remain will be;caught up together with them;in the
clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always;be with the Lord.” (1 Thess.
4:16-17).
8. “so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second
time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.” (Hebrews
9:28).
9. “And the beast was seized, and with him the;false prophet who;performed the signs;in his
presence, by which he;deceived those who had received the;mark of the beast and those
who;worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the;lake of;fire which burns
with;brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which;came from the mouth of
Him who;sat on the horse, and;all the birds were filled with their flesh.” (Revelation
19:20-21).
10. “Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the;second
death has no power, but they will be;priests of God and of Christ and will;reign with Him
for a thousand years.” (Revelation 20:6).
Judgement
SUMMARY
I believe that judgment, as outlined in Scripture, takes place in two parts. The first
judgment follows the period in which church is taken up before the tribulation. Once gathered in
heaven with Christ, every believer will be judged for their works while on earth. For those works
that pass the judgment of Christ will receive rewards; likewise, those that do not will have
rewards taken away.
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I believe the second judgment takes place at the completion of the millennial reign of
Christ. At this time, Satan is released from the abyss and assembles a great number of persons to
make war against Christ. However, Christ is victorious and all who participated in the rebellion,
along with Satan, will be thrown into the lake of fire. It will be at this time all the unredeemed
will be resurrected to come before the Great White Throne of Judgement. Their fate, having been
predestined by their rejection of God’s gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, will eternal
damnation in the lake of fire in which they will experience eternal punishment.
HISTORICAL QUOTE -THOMAS A. KEMPIS
“On the day of judgment, surely, we shall not be asked what we have read but what we have
done; not how well we have spoken but how well we have lived.”7
VERSES GIVEN IN FULL
1. “The;Queen of the South will rise up with the men of this generation at the judgment and
condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of
Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here” (Luke 11:31).
2. “And inasmuch as;it is;appointed for men to die once and after this;comes;judgment”
(Hebrews 9:27).
3. “For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He;gave to the Son also to have life in
Himself;;and He gave Him authority to;execute judgment, because He is;the;Son of
Man.;Do not marvel at this; for;an hour is coming, in which;all who are in the tombs will
hear His voice,,and will come forth;;those who did the good;deeds;to a resurrection of
life, those who committed the evil;deeds;to a resurrection of judgment.” (John 5:26-29).
4. “But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you;regard your brother
with contempt? For;we will all stand before the judgment seat of God” (Romans 14:10).
5. “If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will;receive a reward.;If any
man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet;so as
through fire” 1 Cor. 3:14-15).
6. “For we must all appear before;the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be
recompensed for is deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or
bad” (2 Cor. 5:10).
7 Elliot Ritzema and Rebecca Brant, eds., 300 Quotations for Preachers from the Medieval Church,
Pastorum Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2013).
11
7. “The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed.;This
is the first resurrection” (Revelation 20-5).
8. “When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be;released from his prison,;and will
come out to;deceive the nations which are in the;four corners of the earth,;Gog and
Magog, to;gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the;sand of
the;seashore.;And they;came up on the;broad plain of the earth and surrounded the;camp
of the;saints and the;beloved city, and;fire came down from heaven and devoured them”
(Revelation 20:7-9.
9. “Then I saw a great white;throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose;presence;earth
and heaven fled away, and;no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the;great
and the small, standing before the throne, and;books were opened; and another;book was
opened, which is;the book;of life; and the dead;were judged from the things which were
written in the;books,;according to their deeds” (Revelation 20:11-12).
10. “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already,
because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18).
Bibliography
Lyons, Irenaeus of. “Irenæus against Heresies.” in The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and
Irenaeus. ed. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe. vol. 1. The
Ante-Nicene Fathers (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company, 1885).
Ritzema, Elliot and Rebecca Brant. eds. 300 Quotations for Preachers from the Medieval
Church. Pastorum Series. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2013.
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Spurgeon, C. H. “God Alone the Salvation of His People.” in The New Park Street Pulpit
Sermons. vol. 2. London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1856.
Spurgeon, C. H. “The Lord’s Supper: A Remembrance of Jesus.” in The Metropolitan
Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons. vol. 34. London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1888.
Schoedel, William R. Saint Ignatius Bishop of Antioch, and Helmut Koester. Ignatius of
Antioch: A Commentary on the Letters of Ignatius of Antioch. Hermeneia—a Critical and
Historical Commentary on the Bible. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985.
Whitefield, George (1828). “Sermons on important subjects ... With a memoir of the Author by
S. Drew; and a dissertation on his character, preaching, etc., by Joseph [or rather Josiah]
Smith.”
