God and Our World

7 Doctrines of the Christian Faith

7 Day Reading Plan

This 1 week reading plan features 7 doctrines of the Chris8an

faith that represent some of the more thought-provoking and
o<en perplexing ques8ons about God and our world.
Ar8cles are excerpted from the "Doctrine 101" feature in the
NIV Understand the Faith Study Bible.

Table of Contents:
Day 1 Doctrine: Twisted Human Mo8ves and Gods Grace
Day 2 Doctrine: Atonement; Gods Forgiveness
Day 3 Doctrine: Spiritual Health
Day 4 Doctrine: The Resurrec8on of the Dead
Day 5 Doctrine: Jesus, the Image of God
Day 6 Doctrine: Christs Return
Day 7 Doctrine: The Ten Commandments: You Shall Not Steal

Day 1 Doctrine: Twisted Human Mo8ves and Gods Grace

The problem with the people of Babel was not that they wanted to be near to God
dont we all? No, the problem was that they wanted to make a name for themselves.
They were hungry for power and glory, and they were willing to go to great lengths to
acquire it. A Chinese proverb says, Those who think they are building a mound may
only in reality be digging a pit. We often secretly hope that our deeds and
aspirations for promotions and acts of service will attract recognition or even earn
Gods approval. But we soon discover they may only drive us further from God and
wreak havoc in our lives and the lives of others. When God saw the tower that the
people of Babel were building, he said, Nothing they plan to do will be impossible
for them (Geneses 11:6), so he confused their language and disrupted their work.
Its as if God had said, If I let their sin go unchecked, there is no telling how much
worse it will get. So there is grace even in this judgment: God graciously restrains us
from digging our own graves, so to speak.

Day 1 Scripture: Twisted Human Mo8ves and Gods Grace

Genesis 11:1-9 (NIV)
The Tower of Babel
11 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2
As people moved eastward,[a] they found a plain in Shinar[b] and
settled there.
3 They said to each other, Come, lets make bricks and bake them
thoroughly. They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then
they said, Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches
to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise
we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.
5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people
were building. 6 The Lord said, If as one people speaking the same
language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will
be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their
language so they will not understand each other.
8 So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they
stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel[c]
because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world.
From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)

8 For it is by grace you
have been saved, through
faith and this is not from
yourselves, it is the gift of
God
9 not by works, so that no
one can boast.

Day 2 Doctrine: Atonement; Gods Forgiveness

On August 7, 2007, baseball slugger Barry Bonds hit career home run number 756, the
home run that broke Hank Aarons record. However, many questioned whether or not the
new record should count because Bonds was alleged to have used steroids. Sports buffs
said if his name is listed in the record book, it should be accompanied by an asterisk to
indicate that the record is a sort-of record, a tainted record. In 2008 Mark Ecko, the man who
bought the ball Bonds hit to set the record, branded the baseball with an asterisk and
donated it to the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Its not unusual for Christians to
imagine we have an asterisk by our name. We may be destined for that Hall of Fame called
heaven, but aware that our lives our tainted, were left with a sour taste in our souls. Were
grateful to enjoy eternal life with God, but we wish there wasnt that sense of being tainted.
The gospel is hard to believe at just this point, but it is nonetheless the great truth. There is
no longer a need for sin offerings. The forgiveness we are offered through Christs sacrifice
doesnt just make our sin null and void, it also erases the asterisk. God doesnt see a fixed
sinner, but someone righteous and pristine. We are in Christ, and Christ is in us. We are a
new creation. The old has passed away so much so that there is no need for an asterisk
and all things have become new.

Day 2 Scripture: Atonement; Gods Forgiveness

Leviticus 6:6-7 (NIV)

Leviticus 4:26 (NIV)
6 And as a penalty they must bring to the
priest, that is, to the Lord, their guilt offering, a
ram from the flock, one without defect and of
the proper value.
7 In this way the priest will make atonement
for them before the Lord, and they will be
forgiven for any of the things they did that
made them guilty.

26 He shall burn all the fat

on the altar as he burned
the fat of the fellowship
offering. In this way the
priest will make
atonement for the leaders
sin, and he will be
forgiven.

Day 3 Doctrine: Spiritual Health

Sometimes we look for external reasons for our problems when the real explanation lies deep
inside of us: A 61-year-old Texas man kept getting drunk, even though he claimed he hadnt
been drinking alcohol. The escalating problem compelled doctors to isolate him without
booze for 24 hours. He still got drunk. It prompted his physicians to look internally for the
problem, and they found it. In the absence of healthy gut flora, brewers yeast had taken up
residence in the mans stomach and was turning any starch he ate into alcohol and
enough to inebriate him. The problem is by no means common, but it does happen from time
to time. It usually occurs after a round of antibiotics inadvertently wipes out the good
bacteria our bodies need to stay healthy and in balance. When the Pharisees questioned
Jesus about the fact that the disciples didnt wash their hands before they ate, thereby
defiling their food, Jesus responded by explaining that we are defiled when impure things
evil thoughts come from the heart. Its easier to blame anyone or anything except
ourselves, but looking within is often the only way to find spiritual sobriety.

Day 3 Scripture: Spiritual Health

Matthew 15:17-20 (NIV)
17 Dont you see that whatever enters the
mouth goes into the stomach and then out of
the body?
18 But the things that come out of a persons
mouth come from the heart, and these defile
them.
19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts
murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft,
false testimony, slander.
20 These are what defile a person; but eating
with unwashed hands does not defile them.

1 Corinthians 6:13-14 (NIV)

13 You say, Food for the
stomach and the stomach
for food, and God will
destroy them both. The
body, however, is not meant
for sexual immorality but for
the Lord, and the Lord for
the body. 14 By his power
God raised the Lord from
the dead, and he will raise
us also.

Day 4 Doctrine: The Resurrec8on of the Dead

Author Tony Campolo tells the story of a funeral he attended for his friend Clarence when he
was 16 years old. For the last 20 minutes of the sermon, the pastor preached to the open
casket. He yelled at the corpse: Clarence! Clarence! He said it with such authority.
Campolo said he wouldnt have been surprised had there been an answer. Clarence, the
pastor continued, there were a lot of things we should have said to you that we never said
to you. You got away too fast. He listed a litany of beautiful things that Clarence had done
for people. When he finished, he said, Thats it, Clarence. Theres nothing more to say. When
theres nothing more to say, theres only one thing to say. Good night. Good night, Clarence!
He grabbed the lid of the casket and slammed it shut. Shock waves went over the
congregation. As the preacher lifted his head, you could see the smile on his face. He said,
Good night, Clarence, because I know God is going to give you a good morning! Then the
choir stood and starting singing, On that great morning, we shall rise, we shall rise.

Day 4 Scripture: The Resurrec8on of the Dead

Job 19:25-27 (NIV)

1 Corinthians 15:20-23 (NIV)

25 I know that my redeemer[a] lives,

and that in the end he will stand on the
earth.[b]
26 And after my skin has been destroyed,
yet[c] in[d] my flesh I will see God;
27 I myself will see him
with my own eyesI, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me!

20 But Christ has indeed

been raised from the dead,
the firstfruits of those who
have fallen asleep. 21 For
since death came through a
man, the resurrection of the
dead comes also through a
man. 22 For as in Adam all
die, so in Christ all will be
made alive. 23 But each in
turn: Christ, the firstfruits;
then, when he comes, those
who belong to him.

Footnotes:
[a] Job 19:25 Or vindicator
[b] Job 19:25 Or on my grave
[c] Job 19:26 Or And after I awake, / though this body has been destroyed, / then
[d] Job 19:26 Or destroyed, / apart from

Day 5 Doctrine: Jesus, the Image of God

When pastor Clark Cothern was a child, his mother was the dean of women at Grand
Canyon College in Phoenix, Arizona. What he saw of college presidents, he saw from floor
level, while he played beside his mothers desk in the administration building. I would watch
as students walked down the hall toward the presidents office and stop. They would rub
their sweaty palms on their pants or skirts, take a deep breath, straighten their shoulders,
and knock. The door would creak open. Thats when I would catch a glimpse of the
presidents shiny, black wingtip shoes. The student would then disappear inside the
mysterious chamber known as The Presidents Office. It was terrifying. One day Clark was
playing with his toy car in the hall outside the presidents office when the door opened. Then
he saw them those shiny, black wingtip shoes. Unexpectedly, President Robert
Sutherland, dressed in his pinstriped, three-piece suit, knelt down and asked, May I have a
turn? They played cars together, and President Sutherland asked young Clark to call him
Dr. Bob. The result? Thats the day my opinion about the college president changed.1 In
a similar way, God came to us in Christ to share his life with us and to reveal that he is not a
distant and terrifying being but a loving Father full of grace and truth.

Day 5 Scripture: Jesus, the Image of God

Hebrews 2:14-15 (NIV)

14 Since the children have flesh and blood,
he too shared in their humanity so that by his
death he might break the power of him who
holds the power of death - that is, the devil
15 and free those who all their lives were held
in slavery by their fear of death.

Galatians 4:6 (NIV)

6 Because you are his sons,
God sent the Spirit of his
Son into our hearts, the
Spirit who calls out, Abba,
[a] Father.
Footnotes:
[a] Galatians 4:6 Aramaic for Father

Day 6 Doctrine: Christs Return

Hachi: A Dogs Tale is a film based on a real story from Japan and a delightful parable about
patiently waiting for the Lords return. When Parker Wilson, a college music professor in
Rhode Island, steps off his commuter train at the end of the day, he finds a stray Akita puppy
with the name Hachi etched on his collar. Parker discovers the puppy escaped a damaged
crate after being shipped from Japan. Parker takes the dog home, determined to find the
owner. While waiting for responses to the posters he has placed around town, Parker and the
dog become friends. One day, Hachi follows Parker on his way to work, which begins with a
walk to the train station. Despite Parkers bidding, Hachi refuses to return home until his
master walks him back to the house. At the end of the day, however, when Hachi hears the
train whistle, he runs to the train platform, curls up and waits for his master to return. When
Parker sees him, he is stunned by this demonstration of loyalty. The next day the dog is there
to greet him again, and on it goes, day by day. One day Parker suffers a fatal heart attack in
the classroom. Hachi waits for hours at the station for his master to step off the train, but he
doesnt return. This happens day after day for ten years, with the loyal dog waiting at the
train platform each evening. And then one day, as Hachi drifts off to sleep, he sees his
master beckoning him, and the dog runs toward him.

Day 6 Scripture: Christs Return

James 5:7-8 (NIV)

Patience in Suffering
7 Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until
the Lords coming. See how the farmer waits
for the land to yield its valuable crop,
patiently waiting for the autumn and spring
rains.
8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because
the Lords coming is near.

John 14:3 (NIV)

3 And if I go and prepare a
place for you, I will come
back and take you to be
with me that you also may
be where I am.

Day 7 The Ten Commandments: You Shall Not Steal

Businessman Mike Herman tells of his lifelong attempt to catch a souvenir baseball at
professional baseball games. A foul ball, a home-run ball or even a batting-practice ball
anything would do. One day, at a batting practice for the St. Louis Cardinals, he got to know
James, a 5-year-old boy who was also trying to get a ball. James tried hard to pronounce the
players names as he politely asked them for a ball. Herman describes the scene: Before I
knew it, my mission became getting a ball for James. For about 20 minutes, I told him the
names of the players who had a ball near the fence we stood behind, and the players turned
and smiled as James tried to say their names. Still, no ball. Finally I told James he could
have my ball if I caught one (I had been unsuccessful in catching a ball for almost 28 years,
so that felt like a safe promise). I wouldnt be telling this story if you didnt know what
happened five minutes later. I caught a ball, and yes, I gave it to James. I wonder how often
God waits to give us something until we are willing to give it away?

Day 7 Scripture: The Ten Commandments You Shall Not Steal

Malachi 3:8-10 (NIV)
8 Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob
me. But you ask, How are we robbing you?
In tithes and offerings.
9 You are under a curseyour whole nation
because you are robbing me.
10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse,
that there may be food in my house. Test me
in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I
will not throw open the floodgates of heaven
and pour out so much blessing that there will
not be room enough to store it.

Proverbs 3:9 (NIV)

9 Honor the Lord with your
wealth,
with the firstfruits of all
your crops;

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