This, I believe:
-
I believe in finding your beach – In fact, I believe God intends you to find your beach! I believe that God gave us all things for our enjoyment and His Son’s sacrifice on our behalf grants us the privilege of an abundant life. (Psalm 37:4; 84:11b; John 10:10; Romans 8:34; 1 Timothy 6:17)
-
I believe that, “In the beginning God created…” – I believe in one God, Creator of all things, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. (Genesis 1:1-3, 26; Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 3:16; 5:16, 45; 6:1, 4, 8, 9; 28:19; James 1:17; John 1:1, 14:9; John 4:2, 14:16-20; 1 Peter 1:2; 2 Peter 1:21)
-
I believe the Bible is true – I believe the original writings of the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, to be the inspired Word of God, unerring in all they teach and affirm. They are the complete revelation of God’s will for the salvation of men and the final authority for all Christian faith and life. (Psalm 119:105; Mark 12:36; John 14:26, 16:12-15; Acts 1:16; 1 Corinthians 2:12-13; II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:21)
-
I believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God – Jesus Christ is true God and true man, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He died on the cross, a sacrifice for our sins according to the Scriptures. He rose bodily from the dead, ascended to the right hand of God, and is now our High Priest. (Romans 1:3-4; Matthew 1:23; John 1:1-4, 14; Colossians 2:9)
-
I believe all persons were created in the image of God – I believe man was created in the image of God; that he sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death which is separation from God; that all human beings are born with a sinful nature, and in the case of those who reach moral responsibility, become sinners in thought, word and deed. (Genesis 1:27; Romans 5:12-19)
-
I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins and has become our representative and substitutionary sacrifice; that He was bodily raised from the dead for our justification; that He is ascended into heaven as our High Priest and Advocate; that we are redeemed and born again (justified) as sons and daughters of God on grounds of our faith in the atonement and propitiation provided by His shed blood; that the inward evidence of salvation is the direct witness of the Spirit and the outward evidence is a life of righteousness and true holiness before God and mankind. (Luke 24:46-47; Romans 3:21-26; 10:9; Romans 8:16; Titus 2:11-14)
-
I believe that eternal life begins at the moment of salvation and the new birth – I believe eternal life necessarily includes joy, peace, happiness, and the fulfillment of our potential in this life and not just in the life to come. The abundant life Jesus promised is about living life now, as full as possible, in the knowledge of God…i.e. finding your beach! (John 10:29; 2 Timothy 1:12; Hebrews 7:25; 1 Peter 1:3-5)
-
I believe in the guidance of the Holy Spirit for the accomplishment and fulfillment of our potential and that He intends all things to work for our good as we love Him and fulfill our purpose in His purpose (Romans 8:26a, 28-29)
-
I believe the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ, convict men of sin, regenerate those who believe, and indwell, guide, instruct, and empower the Christian for Godly living and service. I believe sanctification is an act of separation to God and is the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in our lives; that it produces the fruit of the Spirit in our lives; that it brings us under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 6:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; II Timothy 2:19-21).
-
I believe that life after the new birth mandates the pursuit of Christ-like living, extending even to personal sexual purity, and that marriage is a covenant relationship between one man and one woman and God’s only provision for sexual fulfillment. (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:5; Mark 10:6-8; John 3:5-8; Romans 1:27; I Cor. 6: 9, 10; I Cor. 6:18-20; 7:2; II Corinthians 5:15-21; Colossians 3:5)
-
I believe the Church to be composed of all who are regenerated by the Holy Spirit and have placed their faith in Jesus Christ as Savior. (Ephesians 1:22,23; Romans 12:5)
-
I believe that every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ is called to minister; that we are to build up the Body of Christ and to evangelize the world. (Romans 12:1, 4-8; Mark 16:15)
-
I believe He’s coming back! – I believe in the rapture of the Church and the personal and imminent return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ; that there will be a bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust; that there will be an everlasting blessedness of those who have received Christ as Savior, and everlasting punishment of those who are separated from God and remain in their sins; that there will be a new heaven and earth. (II Thessalonians 1:7-9; I Thessalonians 4:16,17; Titus 2:13; I Corinthians 15:51,52; II Peter 3:13; Revelation 20:11-15; 21:1-4,8).
-
The above statements are not all inclusive of my theological perspectives and beliefs relative to sin, justification, sanctification, and glorification. Neither do the above statements include or reference all the relevant Scriptures on these subjects. Trust me, I’m a lot deeper and “thicker” in my theology than what I’ve listed here :^)