Becoming a christian - is it a matter of accepting certain doctrines?

No.

Becoming a Christian is all about responding personally to Him with adoration, love, submission from a repentant heart.

I get eternal salvation from these verses.

Eph. 1:12-14 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

I get salvation by works alone from these verses.

Eph. 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

However salvation should be based on ALL scripture taken in proper context. I think the best way to appreciate that context is personal regular study of the scriptures.

dms1972 said:

is becoming a christian a matter of accepting / agreeing with certain doctrines as being true?. If so what are those doctrines?

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That is an essential part of it:

Romans 10:9: "... if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."

Yes try reading prayerfully nothing but scripture for about 5 years and get to know the heart of God - then you will be better equiped to measure the ideas of men.

Carl Emerson said:

No.

Becoming a Christian is all about responding personally to Him with adoration, love, submission from a repentant heart.

Click to expand...

Carl Emerson said:

Yes try reading prayerfully nothing but scripture for about 5 years and get to know the heart of God - then you will be better equiped to measure the ideas of men.

Click to expand...

Matthew 5:37: But let your ‘yes’ mean ‘yes,’ and your ‘no’ mean ‘no.’

dms1972 said:

HI,

As per the title of the post, is becoming a christian a matter of accepting / agreeing with certain doctrines as being true?. If so what are those doctrines?

Click to expand...

Becoming a Christian is simple... become a follower of Christ.
Join a Christian Church. However, that is just a nominal Christian.


To become a True Believer (a real Christian) you must be
"born again".


How does one become "born again"?


They must be GIVEN "faith" as a GIFT OF GOD...
this is NOT something that man can do of themselves because
we are all born spiritually DEAD (because of Adam) and we are
part of the "Kingdom of Satan" until God translates us from
death into life.


Eph 2:8-9
For by grace are ye saved through faith;
and that [faith is] not of yourselves: it is THE GIFT OF GOD:
Not of works, lest any man should boast.


Joh 1:13
Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh,
nor of the will of man, but of God.


Rom 9:15-16
For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him
that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.


BIG PICTURE:

Because of Adam's sin, all men are born spiritually DEAD and
destined to Hell. Therefore, by His own Good Purpose and to
show His Mercy and Grace, God "chose" or "elected" those
who He would save from Hell and provided a Savior for them.
Without regard to any good or evil they would do.


At sometime during their lifetimes, God would "draw" them
to Christ and they would become saved. NO MAN can come
to Christ unless the Father FIRST "draw" them and ALL MEN
the Father draws "shall come" to Jesus... and He will lose
NONE of "His sheep".


Joh 6:44
NO MAN can come to me, except the Father which hath sent
me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.


Joh 6:37
ALL [MEN] that the Father giveth me shall come to me;
and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.


Joh 6:39
And this is the Father's will which hath sent me,
that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing,
but should raise it up again at the last day.


Jim

Carl Emerson said:

No.

Becoming a Christian is all about responding personally to Him with adoration, love, submission from a repentant heart.

Click to expand...

I agree but most Christians are quite doctrinaire.

Micah 6:6 With what shall I come before the Lord, And bow myself before the High God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, With calves a year old? 7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, Ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 8 He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God.

In my opinion being Christian means following Christ. That's what we ask prospective members.

However historically Christians have placed a high priority on believing the right thing. This goes back very early in Church history, the second century, and probably the late first century. It doesn't seem to have been a priority for Jesus. For Paul essential beliefs were fairly broad, mainly believing that Christ's death was for our salvation.

The later tradition of mandating detailed beliefs continues in many churches, but not all. Members of Christian Forums vary a lot in this. Some are committed to the whole range of traditional beliefs (and they have lists that contradict each other). Others say as long as you accept Christ as savior you're a Christian.

I tend towards the latter approach, as does my Church.

dms1972 said:

HI,

As per the title of the post, is becoming a christian a matter of accepting / agreeing with certain doctrines as being true?. If so what are those doctrines?

Click to expand...

No, it's accepting Jesus as saviour and Lord.

Doctrine is something you learn about after becoming a Christian.

dms1972 said:

HI,

As per the title of the post, is becoming a christian a matter of accepting / agreeing with certain doctrines as being true?. If so what are those doctrines?

Click to expand...

Believing doctrine is not enough. We need to receive Christ as Saviour and Lord. We do need to know the facts of His death and resurrection, but that is not doctrine, it is history.

coffee4u said:

No, it's accepting Jesus as saviour and Lord.

Doctrine is something you learn about after becoming a Christian.

Click to expand...

To say "Jesus is Lord" is, in part, doctrinal, because the Greek "Kyrios" implies "Jesus is God."

To say "Jesus is Saviour" is also, in part, doctrinal. It commits us to the basic facts about how Jesus saves us.

Aussie Pete said:

Believing doctrine is not enough. We need to receive Christ as Saviour and Lord. We do need to know the facts of His death and resurrection, but that is not doctrine, it is history.

Click to expand...

you forgot about LOVE without it you are not a christian

Mark 12:30
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

Jesus said this as example of doctrine and love

John 14:15
If ye love me, keep my commandments.

dms1972 said:

HI,

As per the title of the post, is becoming a christian a matter of accepting / agreeing with certain doctrines as being true?. If so what are those doctrines?

Click to expand...

The gospel is slimmer than most Christians present.

The Philippian jailer was ready to accept Christ after listening to a few Psalms, and he got enough theology within an hour to be baptized....by a man known even then for being long-winded.

5thKingdom said:

Becoming a Christian is simple... become a follower of Christ.
Join a Christian Church. However, that is just a nominal Christian.


To become a True Believer (a real Christian) you must be
"born again".


How does one become "born again"?


They must be GIVEN "faith" as a GIFT OF GOD...
this is NOT something that man can do of themselves because
we are all born spiritually DEAD (because of Adam) and we are
part of the "Kingdom of Satan" until God translates us from
death into life.


Eph 2:8-9
For by grace are ye saved through faith;
and that [faith is] not of yourselves: it is THE GIFT OF GOD:
Not of works, lest any man should boast.


Joh 1:13
Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh,
nor of the will of man, but of God.


Rom 9:15-16
For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him
that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.


BIG PICTURE:

Because of Adam's sin, all men are born spiritually DEAD and
destined to Hell. Therefore, by His own Good Purpose and to
show His Mercy and Grace, God "chose" or "elected" those
who He would save from Hell and provided a Savior for them.
Without regard to any good or evil they would do.


At sometime during their lifetimes, God would "draw" them
to Christ and they would become saved. NO MAN can come
to Christ unless the Father FIRST "draw" them and ALL MEN
the Father draws "shall come" to Jesus... and He will lose
NONE of "His sheep".


Joh 6:44
NO MAN can come to me, except the Father which hath sent
me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.


Joh 6:37
ALL [MEN] that the Father giveth me shall come to me;
and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.


Joh 6:39
And this is the Father's will which hath sent me,
that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing,
but should raise it up again at the last day.


Jim

Click to expand...

Is it really necessary to seek to instill Calvinistic theology in a thread like this? Most of your post was filled with it. The question was,

".... is becoming a christian a matter of accepting / agreeing with certain doctrines as being true?. If so what are those doctrines?"

You make it seem like accepting Calvinistic thinking are the doctrines one needs to accept that is to become a Christian which is way out of line. Of course MOST even Calvinists would say they don't believe it is essential but then some of their writings almost seek to insinuate it is. Being born again is essential for Jesus said it was....John 3:3. Sorry but Calvinist's full understanding of soteriology is not.

Carl Emerson said:

No.

Becoming a Christian is all about responding personally to Him with adoration, love, submission from a repentant heart.

Click to expand...

I think so also. Doctrines will get us into divisions and they ultimately deal with mystery. We can contemplate them but the important thing is a relationship.

Akita Suggagaki said:

I think so also. Doctrines will get us into divisions and they ultimately deal with mystery. We can contemplate them but the important thing is a relationship.

Click to expand...

You cannot have a relationship with Jesus if you deny the fundamental facts about who He is and what He has done.

The very first step we take is with the little trust (faith) we do have to just humbly accept God’s charity in the form of accepting God’s forgiveness, the rest comes later, but the first has to come first. God then showers you with unbelievable wonderful gifts which will cause you out of a gratitude type of Love to Love Him.

Radagast said:

You cannot have a relationship with Jesus if you deny the fundamental facts about who He is and what He has done.

Click to expand...

Can you really have a clue about "fundamental facts" without a relationship with him?

dms1972 said:

HI,

As per the title of the post, is becoming a christian a matter of accepting / agreeing with certain doctrines as being true?. If so what are those doctrines?

Click to expand...

Paul did a pretty good job in ACTS 17 explaining the "Good News".
Be blessed