To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them (Isaiah 8:20).

The only basis for doctrine, the only source of divine truth is the Word of God. When we talk about doctrine, the teaching of Holy Scripture, we have no right to even entertain our own thoughts and opinions, much less express them. In these matters, we dare not speak either more or less than that which is expressly written in the Word of God (Isaiah 8:20; 2 Timothy 3:16-17).

All true doctrine is the doctrine of the Apostles and Prophets as revealed by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Faithful men teach exactly what they taught. Ours is the doctrine of the Bible, the Old and the New Testaments. We do not simply hold to the doctrine of the New Testament. Our doctrine is the doctrine of the Bible. We recognize that the Bible is one Book, with one Message, and total uniformity of doctrine. The Old Testament teaches exactly the same thing as the New Testament, only with less clarity and fullness. The Old Testament is the shadow. The New Testament is the substance. The Old Testament is the type. The New Testament is the anti-type. The Old Testament is the promise and prophecy. The New Testament is the fulfillment. Someone once said, “The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed. The New Testament is the Old Testament revealed.”

The Book of Acts is an inspired history of the ministry of the New Testament church for the first thirty years after our Lord’s ascension and exaltation. In that inspired history we are given a running narrative of apostolic doctrine and preaching. Every time we read about the preaching of the Apostles in the Book of Acts (in all 37 references), the subject preached was Jesus Christ and the resurrection and the promised Holy Spirit on Christ’s behalf, sent to seal and empower the believer and the message. Every summary of gospel doctrine given in the Book of Acts, indeed, in the entire New Testament, reveal an inspired system of doctrine centering around the accomplishment of redemption by the death of Christ and the verification of its accomplishment by his resurrection from the dead. “The apostles’ doctrine,” that which they preached everywhere, had five basic, essential points.

1. The Total Sovereignty of God Over All Things (Acts 2:23; 4:26-28; 13:26-30)
2. The Fact that Jesus of Nazareth is The Christ (Acts 3:13-18)
3. The Accomplishment of Redemption for God’s Elect By The Death of Christ, Verified by His Resurrection from the Dead (Acts 1:22; 2:24, 32)
4. Salvation by Grace Alone, Through Faith Alone, Without Works (Acts 2:38; 3:16; 4:12; 5:11; 16:31)
5. The Believer’s Freedom from the Law in Christ (Acts 15:10-11). See also Hebrews 8:1-2 and Romans 10:4.

Adapted and modified from Don Fortner, Basic Bible Doctrine
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.