To help those in and out of church to know where I stand on the various doctrines of God's Word:
1. I believe in the one true, living and personal God who is the Creator of all that there is. God is all-powerful, all-knowing and wise, and everywhere present at the same time but not in everything. He is sovereign in all the affairs of mankind including the salvation of souls, and has ordained actively or passively all things to come to pass. He is One God yet three Persons known as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is a God of love, grace, mercy, holiness, goodness, truth, righteousness, justice, wrath, faithfulness, patience, Whose character does not change, and Who cannot lie.
2. I believe Jesus the Christ is fully God and fully man. He was born of the virgin Mary as conceived by the Holy Spirit. He could not and did not sin, and lived a perfect righteous life. It is His perfect sinless life, sufficient substitutionary satisfactory sacrifice and bodily resurrection that secured the salvation of those that the Father gave to Him. His resurrection and ascension back to the Father and Heaven was seen by many witnesses, and He sits on the 'right hand' of the Father making intercession for His people, and has prepared a place for them.
3. I believe in the Holy Spirit, Who is God, and indwells every born again believer in the Person and Finished Work of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is Personal and is not an 'active force.' The Holy Spirit Teaches and Guides the Christian, and can be grieved and quenched by the believer for 'a' time. He is the 'Spirit of Truth' Who will never contradict and uses the written word of God to teach the Christian. Baptism of the Holy Spirit begins at regeneration and happens at the conversion of the repentant sinner thereby sealing and keeping them to the day of redemption.
4. I believe in the total depravity of man. Total depravity does not equal utter depravity. It means that due to the sinful fall of man that has been imputed to and passed down to every man and woman every born since, they cannot stop sinning, and are not able to come to saving knowledge in the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, the only way such a person [who is dead in trespasses and sin] can trust in the Person and Finished Work of the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved is if their nature is changed first. This is known as having their heart of stone changed to a heart of flesh, being born again, born from above, regenerated, quickened, made alive, drawn, and called, and therefore have the God-given ability to repent and place their faith in the sufficient sacrifice of Christ and His bodily resurrection for their salvation.
5. I believe that repentent faith in the Person and death, burial and resurrection of Christ Jesus is the only way a person can be saved and go to Heaven. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, no one can come to the Father but through Him. And there is no other Name given among men whereby we must be saved. The sacrifice/atonement of Jesus Christ was not an offer and didn't just make salvation possible. His sacrifice and resurrection was sufficient and secured the salvation of the church, sheep,elect,His people, those that the Father gave Him. When a regenerated sinner places their trust in Christ for salvation, they are imputed with the blood and righteousness of Christ and are therefore justified and sanctified. Of all that the Father gave to His Son Jesus Christ, NONE will be lost, neither shall any of them perish. They will not sin habitually as a way of life, and will have repentent faith until they die or the Lord comes back for the church.
6. I believe that God, before the creation of the world, elected/chose a remnant of undeserving, unworthy sinners to give to Christ for Him to pay the penalty of their sins and appease the wrath of the Father on their behalf. Such choosing was not based on forseen faith and works of those He chose, but based simply on the good pleasure of His will. 'Foreknew' in God's word does not mean He foreknew who would believe and who would not. It means that He foreknew personally/intimately a people and predestinated them to be conformed to the image of His Son which includes calling them, justifying them, and glorifying them. If 'foreknew' meant foreseen faith, then no one would be saved because there are none righteous no not one, and none that understands and seeks after God. I believe that Rom.8:29-30 among other verses clearly shows the unbroken chain of events from our sovereign God that secures the salvation of His people. No room for easy-believism, easy-livism, or believing a God wrought, blood bought sinner can lose their salvation. Such a belief system shows belief in a different God, different Christ, a different gospel.
7. I believe in a literal hell and Lake of Fire. Hell, aka Hades, is the destination of those who do not have saving faith in Christ, between their death and final judgement. They will be judged at the Great White Throne Judgment and shown that their names are not written in the book of life and did not trust in the Person and Work of Christ with a repentent faith, and then cast in the Lake of Fire forever.
8. I believe that the bible, from Genesis 1 through Revelation 22, 66 books (39 O.T. and 27 N.T.), is the literal, inerrant, infallible word of God. God's word will not return void but will accomplish that which God sets it forth to do....the salvation of those He chose and calls, and for judgment to those who reject the gospel. It is the only sufficient means to save those God draws, and for them to grow in the Faith and be conformed to the image of Christ, and deal with the various trials that come their way. I am not KJV only. I use the NASB, ESV, NKJV and KJV. I do not use and recommend paraphrases and 'thought for thought' translations.
9. I believe in a literal future second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. I lean towards a literal future thousand year reign of Christ, but do not have a problem with the amillenial position. While I do discuss the different eschatological positions, I do not take a 'dogmatic' stance on it. Call me a PanMil-PanTrib :-).
10. I am a cessationist when it comes to the sign gifts of the Spirit. I do not believe that Christians and Ministers have the gift of healing, miracles, word of wisdom, and word of knowledge today, but that those gifts ended with the completetion of the word of God in the first century. I reject gibberish tongues as unbiblical and pagan. While I do lean toward the 'biblical' gift of tongues also ending with the first century church, I do not have a problem with the possibility that God gifting His people at certain times and places with the ability to speak a language they have not learned, but would be understood by the person/people from that nation or land. I also believe the the 'office' of Apostle and Prophet have ceased and that God has not given any new revelation since the completion of the written word of God.
More to come later. Let me know if you want the Scriptural support or have any questions. Thank you.
1. I believe in the one true, living and personal God who is the Creator of all that there is. God is all-powerful, all-knowing and wise, and everywhere present at the same time but not in everything. He is sovereign in all the affairs of mankind including the salvation of souls, and has ordained actively or passively all things to come to pass. He is One God yet three Persons known as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is a God of love, grace, mercy, holiness, goodness, truth, righteousness, justice, wrath, faithfulness, patience, Whose character does not change, and Who cannot lie.
2. I believe Jesus the Christ is fully God and fully man. He was born of the virgin Mary as conceived by the Holy Spirit. He could not and did not sin, and lived a perfect righteous life. It is His perfect sinless life, sufficient substitutionary satisfactory sacrifice and bodily resurrection that secured the salvation of those that the Father gave to Him. His resurrection and ascension back to the Father and Heaven was seen by many witnesses, and He sits on the 'right hand' of the Father making intercession for His people, and has prepared a place for them.
3. I believe in the Holy Spirit, Who is God, and indwells every born again believer in the Person and Finished Work of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is Personal and is not an 'active force.' The Holy Spirit Teaches and Guides the Christian, and can be grieved and quenched by the believer for 'a' time. He is the 'Spirit of Truth' Who will never contradict and uses the written word of God to teach the Christian. Baptism of the Holy Spirit begins at regeneration and happens at the conversion of the repentant sinner thereby sealing and keeping them to the day of redemption.
4. I believe in the total depravity of man. Total depravity does not equal utter depravity. It means that due to the sinful fall of man that has been imputed to and passed down to every man and woman every born since, they cannot stop sinning, and are not able to come to saving knowledge in the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, the only way such a person [who is dead in trespasses and sin] can trust in the Person and Finished Work of the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved is if their nature is changed first. This is known as having their heart of stone changed to a heart of flesh, being born again, born from above, regenerated, quickened, made alive, drawn, and called, and therefore have the God-given ability to repent and place their faith in the sufficient sacrifice of Christ and His bodily resurrection for their salvation.
5. I believe that repentent faith in the Person and death, burial and resurrection of Christ Jesus is the only way a person can be saved and go to Heaven. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, no one can come to the Father but through Him. And there is no other Name given among men whereby we must be saved. The sacrifice/atonement of Jesus Christ was not an offer and didn't just make salvation possible. His sacrifice and resurrection was sufficient and secured the salvation of the church, sheep,elect,His people, those that the Father gave Him. When a regenerated sinner places their trust in Christ for salvation, they are imputed with the blood and righteousness of Christ and are therefore justified and sanctified. Of all that the Father gave to His Son Jesus Christ, NONE will be lost, neither shall any of them perish. They will not sin habitually as a way of life, and will have repentent faith until they die or the Lord comes back for the church.
6. I believe that God, before the creation of the world, elected/chose a remnant of undeserving, unworthy sinners to give to Christ for Him to pay the penalty of their sins and appease the wrath of the Father on their behalf. Such choosing was not based on forseen faith and works of those He chose, but based simply on the good pleasure of His will. 'Foreknew' in God's word does not mean He foreknew who would believe and who would not. It means that He foreknew personally/intimately a people and predestinated them to be conformed to the image of His Son which includes calling them, justifying them, and glorifying them. If 'foreknew' meant foreseen faith, then no one would be saved because there are none righteous no not one, and none that understands and seeks after God. I believe that Rom.8:29-30 among other verses clearly shows the unbroken chain of events from our sovereign God that secures the salvation of His people. No room for easy-believism, easy-livism, or believing a God wrought, blood bought sinner can lose their salvation. Such a belief system shows belief in a different God, different Christ, a different gospel.
7. I believe in a literal hell and Lake of Fire. Hell, aka Hades, is the destination of those who do not have saving faith in Christ, between their death and final judgement. They will be judged at the Great White Throne Judgment and shown that their names are not written in the book of life and did not trust in the Person and Work of Christ with a repentent faith, and then cast in the Lake of Fire forever.
8. I believe that the bible, from Genesis 1 through Revelation 22, 66 books (39 O.T. and 27 N.T.), is the literal, inerrant, infallible word of God. God's word will not return void but will accomplish that which God sets it forth to do....the salvation of those He chose and calls, and for judgment to those who reject the gospel. It is the only sufficient means to save those God draws, and for them to grow in the Faith and be conformed to the image of Christ, and deal with the various trials that come their way. I am not KJV only. I use the NASB, ESV, NKJV and KJV. I do not use and recommend paraphrases and 'thought for thought' translations.
9. I believe in a literal future second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. I lean towards a literal future thousand year reign of Christ, but do not have a problem with the amillenial position. While I do discuss the different eschatological positions, I do not take a 'dogmatic' stance on it. Call me a PanMil-PanTrib :-).
10. I am a cessationist when it comes to the sign gifts of the Spirit. I do not believe that Christians and Ministers have the gift of healing, miracles, word of wisdom, and word of knowledge today, but that those gifts ended with the completetion of the word of God in the first century. I reject gibberish tongues as unbiblical and pagan. While I do lean toward the 'biblical' gift of tongues also ending with the first century church, I do not have a problem with the possibility that God gifting His people at certain times and places with the ability to speak a language they have not learned, but would be understood by the person/people from that nation or land. I also believe the the 'office' of Apostle and Prophet have ceased and that God has not given any new revelation since the completion of the written word of God.
More to come later. Let me know if you want the Scriptural support or have any questions. Thank you.
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