Essentials of Doctrine 1 (2010 Handbook of Doctrine)

One of the real benefits of the 2010 Handbook of Doctrine is that it includes a section in which the 'Essentials' of the doctrine are summarized. This is of great benefit to our formation of Salvationism because it represents the most critical starting points of understanding why this particular doctrine is important. 


I think that in any Junior or Senior Soldier's training course, it could be critical to teach, translate, apply and evaluate.


In this post, I've removed the Scripture references and am going to add them in an addendum to this post. This will allow me to expand and add the actual passages.
_______________

1. Revelation through the Bible
God is revealed through creation and human history. The Bible is a record of how God works to bring about salvation through the events of history. We read of God making his claims, keeping his promises, pursuing us, saving us through his grace, to bring about the achievement of his purposes for humanity, including a final redemption when God establishes a new Heaven and a new earth.


2. Relationship in the Bible
The Bible demonstrates God's desire for a relationship with humanity. This is expressed in the Old Testament in the establishment, maintenance and fulfillment of covenants and in the New Testament through the incarnation of Jesus Christ. God is active in the lives of individuals, inviting them into relationship with him. God is ever-present and inescapable, as well as one who speaks clearly at decisive or critical times in our lives, whether directly or through other people.


3. The inspiration of the Bible
The inspiration of the Bible provides a foundation for our understanding of the reliability of the divine revelation in Scripture. It is uniquely inspired in a way that is different from other writings or works of art. However, this does not mean that the Bible is infallible or inerrant, so that it is incapable of misleading and contains no human error. Whereas we believe that the overall message of the Bible is inspired and reliable, each individual passage must be read and interpreted carefully, in context and with careful reference to the whole of biblical truth.


4. The authority of the Bible
Our first doctrine establishes the Bible as definitive for Christian faith and practice. The inspiration of the Scripture requires that is authority supercedes all other sources of revelatin as the primary source of Christian revelation. Its unique authority reveals the thoughts and actions of God.


The authority of the Bible tests all other authorities. It is therefore described as a "sufficient authority". Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria wrote that "the sacred and inspired Scriptures are sufficient to declare the truth" (Athanasius, Against the Heathen).

Belief in the primary authority of Scripture indicates the affinity of The Salvation Army with Protestant Evangelicalism. Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christians appeal to Scripture and Church tradition for their authority. Other Christians, for example the Quakers, place primary value of personal experience.

The authority of the Bible is validated by the experience of believers of amny races and cultures and generations who have proved the truth of its salvation and of its teaching in their lives.

5. Confirmation of the biblical witness
The Holy Spirit inspires and teaches readers of every generation, so that the words of the text become the words of God for their life and situation. In order for this to happen, the believer must be open to the Spirit's interpretation of the biblical word, which will bring vitality and relevance to the text.


There are three ways in which the biblical witness is confirmed:

• Internal verification in which one passage confirms and enlightens the another
• Experiential verification as individuals find the truth about themselves in Scripture, encounter God and are transformed
• Social verification which recognizes the positive and decisive guiding role played by Scripture in the course of human events and in the lives of countless communities.

The Old Testament shows the character of God, the action of God in history and human responses to Him. However, it is an incomplete revelation: a preparation. Jesus, the gift of God, completes God's saving work which is prefigured in the Old Testament. This means that we understand Old Testament passages, for example Isaiah 53, as pointing to Christ, who gives them full meaning. Jesus explained his own mission in the light of the Old Testament.

The Salvation Army. 'Word of the Living God: Essentials of the Doctrine." Handbook of Doctrine. London: Salvation Books, 2010.