The Holy Scriptures
We believe the Bible — both Old and New Testaments — is the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God. Scripture is the supreme and final authority in all matters of faith and conduct. It is sufficient for salvation, sufficient for doctrine, and sufficient to equip the believer for every good work.
"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
2 Timothy 3:16–17 · BSB
The Triune God
We believe in one God, eternally existing in three distinct Persons — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each Person is fully God, co-equal and co-eternal. God is holy, sovereign, omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. He is the Creator of all things and the sustainer of all life.
"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one." — Deuteronomy 6:4 | "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
Deuteronomy 6:4 · Matthew 28:19 · BSB
Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man — the eternal Son of God who took on human flesh through the virgin birth. He lived a sinless life, died on the cross as the atoning sacrifice for sin, rose bodily from the dead on the third day, ascended to the right hand of the Father, and will return in glory to judge the living and the dead.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us."
John 1:1, 14 · BSB
The Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity, fully God. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. He regenerates, indwells, and seals every believer at the moment of salvation. He illuminates Scripture, empowers obedience, and produces the fruit of a transformed life.
"But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth."
John 16:13 · BSB
Humanity & Sin
We believe all human beings are created in the image of God and therefore possess inherent dignity and worth. We also believe that through Adam's fall, all humanity is born in a state of sin — separated from God, inclined toward rebellion, and unable to save themselves. Sin is not merely behavioral; it is a condition of the heart that affects every part of our being.
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
Romans 3:23 · BSB
Salvation by Grace Through Faith
We believe salvation is the free gift of God — received by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ alone. It cannot be earned, purchased, or deserved. Salvation includes justification (declared righteous before God), sanctification (being made holy over time), and glorification (final perfection in the presence of God). Every true believer is eternally secure in Christ.
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast."
Ephesians 2:8–9 · BSB
The Church
We believe the Church is the Body of Christ — all who have been genuinely born again by the Spirit of God. The local church is God's primary instrument for worship, discipleship, accountability, and mission in the world. Formation Bible Study is a tool to serve believers, but it is not a church and is not a substitute for the gathered, local body. We encourage every Formation Bible Study user to be meaningfully planted in a local church.
"And let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another."
Hebrews 10:24–25 · BSB
The Great Commission
We believe Jesus Christ commissioned His followers to go into all the world, make disciples of all nations, baptize them, and teach them to obey everything He commanded. This is the mandate that drives Formation Bible Study. Discipleship requires teaching — and teaching requires serious engagement with Scripture. Formation Bible Study exists to resource that process.
"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 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, and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
Matthew 28:18–20 · BSB
The Berean Standard
We believe every Christian has both the right and the responsibility to read, study, and test all teaching against the Word of God — including anything produced by Formation Bible Study. The Bereans of Acts 17 are our model: they received the message with eagerness and examined the Scriptures daily to verify it. Eagerness without examination is gullibility. Examination without eagerness is cynicism. Formation Bible Study calls believers to both.
"Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true. As a result, many of them believed."
Acts 17:11–12 · BSB
The Return of Christ & Eternal Life
We believe in the personal, bodily, and glorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ. At that time all the dead will be raised — the redeemed to eternal life in the presence of God, and the unrighteous to eternal judgment. This certain hope is not an abstraction. It is the end of the story that gives every act of discipleship its weight and meaning. We study, because what we believe matters forever.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."
John 3:16 · BSB