Since The Trinity is "the biggie", I spent more time on that. For this, and the next 5 doctrines, I will only lay out some brief descriptions of major themes within each broader doctrine.
Creation – The God of our Salvation is also the God of Creation. All of creation is ex nihilo, that is – out of nothing, by a God who chose to create, who sustains creation, and who created everything “good”.
Miracles – The “natural order” is in reality the Will of God. A miracle is when His Will supercedes what we understand about the natural order in order to fulfill His Will. A miracle is evidence of God at work.
Evil and Suffering – If God is unlimited in power and goodness, how is there evil and suffering in the world? Part of God’s Goodness is to allow us the freedom of choice. And if we are to be free to choose, there must be choices to choose from. And if God is ultimate goodness, He must allow for evil in order to provide a choice.
Humanity – People are the “crowning achievement” of creation. We are created in the image of God. This image is our spiritual nature. The Fall marred that image. That God gave to us free will, and a sense of right and wrong, is a reflection of the image in which we were created. Although we were created from the ground, as were the animals, our spiritual nature, God’s image in us, is what separates us. Through that image we reach out to God and are able to respond to Him.
Sin – Sin is rebellion against God. That rebellion could be by our actions against a specific command of God. It could be violating the character of God, since we are created in His image. It is also unbelief toward God. All people are under the dominion of sin. If left to our own devises, by nature we will sin. But there is a choice, and the choice is ours. And if we make the choice to sin, the result is separation from God both in this life and throughout eternity.
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