經文

As Christians, there are 4 terms we often hear about but we may not be too clear what they actually mean:

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The first is “𝗦𝗖𝗥𝗜𝗣𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘”, which means “that which is written”. For us Christians, the Scripture is synonymous to the Holy Bible – the Word of God (e.g., Lk 24:27, 32, 45).

The second is “𝗚𝗢𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗟”, which means “good news”. When it is spelled with a capital “G”, it means the 4 Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. When spelled with a small “g”, it refers to the New Testament in its entirety (e.g., Rom 1:1, 9, 16; 2 Tim 1:8).

The third is “𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗚𝗬”, which means the “study of God”. Theologians are those whose occupation is to study God.

The fourth is “𝗗𝗢𝗖𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗘”, which is the 𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗳𝘀 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 (cf. 2 Tim 3:16). This is the reason why there are different churches and denominations because our best understanding of the Bible may vary from each other. While we all agree in the absolute essentials of Scripture, we have different spiritual convictions, and different focus and emphasis on spiritual realities. 𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗰𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲, 𝗼𝘂𝗿 "𝗗𝗡𝗔". Every church’s doctrine is the foundation of its vision and mission – it determines the way we (a) think about God, (b) worship Him, and (c) do church (cf. Acts 2:42; 1 Tim 4:6, 13, 16).

After 31 years as a church, we are in the season of clarifying our doctrine – so that CHC is not driven by personality (which may come and go) and religious trends (which may also come and go) but by the eternal truths we believe the Holy Spirit has illuminated to us from the Holy Scripture, and our best understanding of them – and this should be unchanging (Mt 24:35).