Standards for Biblical Academics

Biblical Chronology

  • C1.0 Creation
    • C1.01 7 Days of Creation
    • C 1.02 Adamic Covenant (Covenant of Works)
  • C2.0 Corruption
    • The Fall (See Christian Doctrine)
  • C3.0 Catastrophe
    • Noahic Covenant
  • C4.0 Confusion
    • Babel 
  • H1.0 Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
    • H.1.1 Abrahamic Covenant (Christ as Perfect Prophet)
  • H2.0 The Law
    • H2.1 Mosaic Covenant (Christ as Perfect Priest)
    • H2.2 The Exodus and Wanderings
    • H2.3 Israel in Canaan
  • H3.0 The Judges
    • H 3.1 Every man did what was right in his own eyes
  • H4.0 The Kings
    • H 4.1 Davidic Covenant (Christ as Perfect King)
    • H 4.2 Divided Kingdom
  • H5.0 The Writings
  • H6.0 The Prophets
  • C5.0 Christ 
    • New Covenant
    • Birth
  • H7.0 The Gospels
  • C6.0 Cross
    • Salvation (See Christian Doctrine)
    • Death and Resurrection (See Christian Doctrine)
  • H7.0 Early Church
  • H8.0 The Letters
  • C7.0 Consummation


Biblical Literary Context 

  • Craft and Structure
    • S1.0 Biblical Structure
      • S1.1 66 Books (Chapters and Verses)
      • S1.2 Two Testaments
      • S1.3 Nine Divisions: Law, History, Poetry, Minor Prophets, Major Prophets, Gospels, NT History, Letters, Prophesy
      • S2.0 Bible History
        • S2.1 Canonization 
        • S2.2 Original Languages
        • S2.3 Translations History
  • Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
  • Key Ideas and Details:












​
  • Level of Complexity

​

Biblical Genres (Interpretive rules of each genre)

Narrative: History and Law
​Law:
H1.01 Genesis
H2.01 Exodus
Leviticus 
Numbers
Deuteronomy
History
Joshua
H3.01 Judges
Ruth
H4.01 1 Samuel
2 Samuel
1 Kings
2 Kings
 1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
Ezra
Nehamiah
​Esther

​Acts
Poetry
Psalms
Song of Solomon
Wisdom Literature
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes 
​Job
H6.01 Prophecy
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Ezekiel
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obediah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zachariah
Malicah 

Revelation
C5.01 Gospel
Mathew
Mark
Luke
John
H8.01 Letter
Romans
1 Corinthians
2 Corinthians
Galatians
Ephesians
Philippians
Colossians
1Thessalonians
2Thessalonians
1 Timothy
2 Timothy
Titus
Philemon
Hebrews 
James
1 Peter
2 Peter
1 John
2 John
3 John
​Jude
  • Logic (Renewed Thinking)

Christian Doctrine derived from The 1840 Children's Catechism by Joseph P. Engels

  • ​The Living and True God (Engels Questions 1-15)
    • C1.6a The Bible is the only resource for learning to obey and love God.  The Bible was written by men inspired by the Holy Spirit
    • C1.5a God knows all things and can do all things according to his holy will.
    • C1.4a God is spirit and has no body.  He is everywhere, but I cannot see him though he sees me.
    • C1.3a There is one God who exists in three equal persons, The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit
    • C1.2a We glorify God through loving obedience because he is our creator, preserver, and savior.
    • C1.1a God created you and everything that exists for his own glory.
  • The Covenant of Works/Life (Engels Questions 22-27)
    • C1.1c A covenant is a deal made between two or more people.
    • C1.2c God made the covenant of works with Adam, and in that covenant, Adam assumed the obligation of perfect obedience.
    • C1.3c God promised to reward Adam with life if he continued in obedience, but if he failed to obey the punishment would be death.
    • C1.4c Adam did not keep the covenant of works because he sinned against God.
    • C1.5c Adam represented all humanity in the covenant of works.
  • A New Heart (Engels Questions 38-40) 
    • C2.1b No one can enter heaven with a sinful nature for there is a need for a change of heart to prepare us to enter heaven.
    • C2.2b The change of the heart from it's sinful nature is called regeneration.
    • C2.3b Only the Holy Spirit through the Scriptures can change the heart of sinners
  • Salvation  (Engels Questions 55-63)​ 
    • C6.1b Those who are saved from sin and death are those who have faith in Jesus Christ, have repented and are living in obedience to his revealed will.
    • C6.2b To repent is to feel sin, to abhor it and abandon it because it is detestable in the sight of God.
    • C6.3b To believe and have faith in Jesus is to trust Christ alone for salvation.
    • C6.4b We cannot repent and believe in Christ by my own efforts for I can do nothing good without the help of God's holy spirit.
    • C6.5b God has taught us that we are to ask Him to send us the Holy Spirt for help. 
    • C6.6b Christ died more than 1900 years ago
    • C2.1d The righteous who lived before the coming of Christ showed their faith in the savior to come through the offering of sacrifices on the alter of God.
    • C2.2d The sacrifices of the righteous before the coming of Christ symbolized Christ the Lamb of God, who was to come to die for sinners.
  • Us (Engels Questions 16-21)  
    • C1.1b Adam formed from dust and Eve from his rib were our first parents., 
    • C1.2b God gave Adam and Eve a soul that cannot die, and I also have an eternal soul.
    • C1.3b My soul gives me the ability to think about God and the world to come.
    • C1.4b Adam and Eve were created holy, righteous, and happy.
  • The Fall (Engels Questions 28-37)
    • C2.1a Sin is the failure to live or act in conformity to God's will or law or the transgression of that law.
    • C2.2a Transgression is doing what God has forbidden. Our first parents sinned by eating the forbidden fruit.
    • C2.3a The devil tempted Eve and she gave of the fruit to Adam.
    • C2.4a After our first parents sinned they became guilty and miserable.
    • C2.5a Because of Adam's sin all mankind is born in the state of sin and misery.
    • C2.6a The sinful nature we inherited from Adam is called Original Sin.
    • C2.7a Every sin deserves God's wrath and curse.
  • The Covenant of Grace (Engels Questions 41-54)​ 
    • C2.1c No one can be saved by the covenant of works for all have broken it and are condemned by it.
    • C5.1a God the father made the covenant of grace with Christ, His eternal son. 
    • C5.2a Christ represented his chosen people in the covenant of grace.
    • C5.3a Christ assumed the obligation of keeping for His people, the whole law. and that of suffering Himself the punishment the deserved by reason of sin.
    • C5.4a Jesus committed no sin.  He was holy, innocent and undefiled.
    • C6.1a Christ, the Son of God, became man, so that by sharing our nature he could obey and suffer.
    • C6.2a Atonement is the satisfaction that Christ made in the place of sinners, of divine justice through his sufferings and death
    • C6.3a In the covenant of grace God the father promised the justification and sanctification of those for whose sake Christ would die.
    • C6.4a Justification is the work by which God forgives sinners and then treats them as if they had not sinned.
    • C6.5a Sanctification is a work of God by which he makes holy in conduct and heart those who were sinners before.
    • C6.6a Christ obeyed and suffered for those whom the father had given him.
    • C6.7a Christ lead a life of poverty and suffering and died a painful and ignominious death on the cross.
  • The Offices of Christ (Engels Questions 64-71)​ 
    • C5.1b Christ has three offices both in his state of humiliation and in exaltation.  These offices are Prophet, Priest and King.
    • C5.2b Christ executes the office of prophet in teaching us the will of God.
    • C6.1c Christ executes the office of priest having died for us, and He continually pleads with the Father for us.
    • C7.1a Christ executes the office of king by governing and defending us.
    • C5.3b I need Christ as Prophet because I am ignorant.
    • C6.2c I need Christ as Priest because I am guilty.
    • C7.2a I need Christ as King because I am weak and helpless.​
The Ten Commandments (Engels Questions 72-104)​ 
  • H2.1a Ten commandments were given on Mount Sinai and are sometimes called the Decalogue. 
  • H2.2a The first four commandments teach our duties to God.
  • H2.3a The last six commandments teach our duties to other men.
  • C5.1c The summary of the ten commandments is to love God with all my heart and my neighbor (every human being) as myself.
  • H2.4a Those who love and obey God please him. God said, I love those who love me. God is angry with those who do not love Him and disobey Him.  He is angry everyday against the wicked.
  • H2.5a The first commandment, "I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.  You shall have no other gods before me." teaches us to worship God alone and to recognize him as the only true God.
  • H2.6a The second commandment, "You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.  You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments." teaches us to give pure worship to God according to the established way and to flee from idolatry.
  • H2.7a The third commandment is, "You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name." teaches us to use with reverence the name, word and works of God.
  • H2.8a The fourth commandment, "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.  Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God.  On it you shall not do any work, neither you, not your son or daughter not your male or female servant, not your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns.  For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day.  Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy." teaches us to sanctify the day of rest.
  • C6.1d The Christian sabbath is the first day of the week which is called Sunday, i.e. "the Lord's day." For on this day Christ rose from the dead.
  • C6.2d On the Lord's Day we should occupy ourselves in prayer, in giving thanks to God, in hearing and reading his Word in doing good to our neighbors.
  • H2.9a The fifth commandment, "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you." teaches us to love and obey our parents and instructors.
  • H2.10a The sixth commandment, "You shall not murder." teaches us that we must overcome the passion of anger.
  • H2.11a The seventh commandment, "You shall not commit adultery." teaches us to be pure in heart, and to preserve our chastity in word and behavior.
  • H2.12a The eighth commandment, "You shall not steal." teaches us to be honest and hardworking.
  • H2.13a The ninth command, "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor." teaches us to speak the truth.
  • H2.14a The tenth command, "You shall not covet your neighbor's house.  You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor." teaches us to be content with what the Lord gives us and to be grateful.
  • C2.1e No man, since the fall of Adam, has been able, nor can he keep these ten commandments perfectly.
  • C6.3d The importance of the ten commandments is to slow us down, teach us our duties, and the need we have for a Savior.
  • Prayer (Engels Questions 105-121)​ 
    • C5.1d Prayer is the act of the righteous in which with the heart and lips we present our petitions before God in the name of Christ only, we praise Him and give Him thanks.
    • C5.2d Christ gave us a model for prayer often called the Lord's Prayer or the Model Prayer.
    • C​5.3d The Model Prayer has six petitions and reads: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is heaven.  Give us today our daily bread.  And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.  And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one."
    • C5.4d The first petition, "Hallowed be your name." asks that we and all men honor the name of God.
    • C5.5d The second petition, "Your kingdom come." requests the gospel be preached in all the world and may we and all men believe and obey it.
    • C5.6d The third petition, "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." asks that men in this world serve God, as well as angels in heaven.
    • C5.7d The fourth petition, "Give us our daily bread." requests that God give us everything we need, both for the body and for the soul.
    • C5.8d The fifth petition, "And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors." asks that God for Christ's sake, forgive us our sins and make us willing to forgive those who have offended us.
    • C5.9d The sixth petition, "And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one." asks that God keep us free from all sin.

​
  • The Sacraments (Engels Questions 122-136)​ 
  • C5.1e The Lord Jesus Christ instituted two sacraments, baptism and the Lord's Supper.
  • C5.2e Christ instituted these sacraments to distinguish his disciples from the world and to comfort and encourage them.
  • C5.3e We use pure water as a seal in baptism to symbolize that by the blood of Christ we are purified from sin.
  • C5.4e Baptism means immersion into water and is the inseparable outward sign of a believer's union with Jesus Christ.
  • C5.5e Every expression in the New Testament concerning baptism assumes the convert receives Christ, renounces former life, embraces Him as Lord, and makes that confession publicly.  In every case of New Testament baptism, true saving faith, personal salvation, is presupposed.
  • The Lord's Supper is eating bread and drinking wine in memory of Christ's sufferings.
  • The bread represents the body of Christ broken for our sins.
  • The wine represents the blood of Christ shed for our salvation.
  • Only those who have repented of their sins, trusted in Christ for salvation, and love their fellow man should participate in the Lord's Supper.

​
  • Death and Resurrection (Engels Questions 137-145)​ 
    • ​C6.1e Christ was resurrected on the third day after his death.
    • C6.2e Christ is in heaven interceding for sinners and will return to the world to judge the world.
    • C2.1f When men die their body turns to dust and the soul passes into the spiritual world.
    • C7.1b The bodies of those who have died will be resurrected when the final trumpet is blown.
    • C7.2b On the day of judgement the wicked will be raised to dishonor, they will be sentenced body and soul to hell, together with the Devil and his angels for all eternity.
    • C2.2f Hell is terrible place of eternal torment where there is no God.
    • C7.3b On the day of judgement the righteous will be received in heaven.
    • C7.4b Heaven is a place full of glory and bliss where the righteous will enjoy the presence of the Lord forever.

​

See Some Examples