Statement of Faith
WHAT I BELIEVE
I believe the Bible is the Spirit-Breathed, infallible Word of God. Heaven and Earth will pass away, but His Word will remain! We are saved by the promises of His Word! We are healed because He sent His Word! God Himself is revealed in His Word, and He has exalted His Word above His Name! God can be encountered through His Word, and anointed teachers will use His Word to declare His glory to hungry hearts! I am forever grateful for the unshakeable rock of God's Word, the sure foundation upon which we stand.
I believe in the blessed Trinity of the Godhead; Father, Son and Holy Spirit - one eternal God in three distinct persons. I am in awe of His nature, that He has no beginning, and He has no end. He is the uncreated creator of all things! As I consider His omnipotence, His omniscience, and His omnipresence, I can only cry out with the apostle Paul "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! . . . For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen!"
I believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ; that He came into this world by virgin birth, fulfilling prophesy, and that He is fully God and fully man. I believe in the miracles that God wrought through Him, which He performed as a man, filled with the Holy Spirit and power. His sinless life allowed Him to give Himself as a sacrifice for our sins, the just for the unjust so that we could be redeemed. He died for our sins upon the cross, and rose bodily from the dead on the third day. He then ascended to the right
hand of God where He reigns with all authority in Heaven and Earth. One day He will return. He is our High Priest, He is our King, and He is our friend. He is the exact image of the invisible God, and in His face we see God's glory. To see Jesus, is to see the Father. And to truly see Jesus, is to be changed forever.
I believe in the deity of the Holy Spirit; that He convicts the world of sin, and that He indwells and regenerates all believers. I believe that the Spirit baptizes believers into the body of Christ, but that Jesus baptizes believers with the Holy Spirit, which is the promise of the Father. I believe that the Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to the church, and that all of the gifts are vital for the church today. While we do not want to grieve the Spirit by our actions, neither do we ever want to quench the Spirit, by our refusal to act. My passionate desire is that He would have free reign to operate in our midst; to heal, to deliver, to empower and to transform. He is the most breath-taking artist to ever live, and we are His handiwork!
I believe that we were created to worship God! Worship is both a choice and a response. We choose to approach God by faith, based upon what we know of Him. As we draw near to Him, He draws near to us, revealing His glory and causing us to respond with awe and wonder. We express these feelings of rapture with songs of worship, outbursts of praise, clapping, praying, dancing, or waiting before Him with arms outstretched in love. Some may be overcome by the power of his presence, in which they swoon or faint, or tremble. Others may weep for joy, or for conviction. We are told in scripture to worship Him through the sharing of communion, i.e. the Lord's Supper, where we remember his sacrifice for us with bread and the cup. We are told to testify to His saving grace in us through baptism, where we demonstrate through immersion that our old man is buried with Christ and that we have been raised to walk in newness of life. We also express our worship by living lives of holiness, with sexual integrity befitting our calling, and finding our joy in the fullness His Spirit rather than the destructive intoxicants of the world.
I believe that we are saved by God's grace through our faith in Jesus Christ. The word "saved" in the Bible (Greek "sozo") can mean salvation from sin and death, salvation from sickness and disease (healing), and salvation from demonic oppression (deliverance). God's desire is that we receive the fulness of His salvation. We don't have to earn God's love; He has known us and loved us from before time began. He offers salvation freely to all who will repent from sin and place their faith in Jesus Christ. When we do this we are born again as a new creation in Christ; our old man is reckoned dead and our new man is raised to walk in newness of life. That means freedom! Freedom to experience the abundant life in Christ, empowered by the Spirit of Life!
For the saved, our salvation means we are no longer under the dominion of Satan or his demons; that we have authority to command them out of our life and others' lives. It means that we are now citizens of God's kingdom; that we are no longer destined for an eternity of darkness and separation from God in hell, but are destined for an eternity in Paradise with Him, where there is fullness of joy and pleasures at His right hand forevermore. It means that we are seated in the heavenly places in Christ, with authority upon earth as His representatives, to advance His kingdom. It means that we are no longer orphans, but members of the household of God, and heirs of every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ!
For the unsaved, the Bible teaches that they will stand in judgment for the sins they have committed in this life. Not just the obvious ones, but the secret ones; the words and actions behind closed doors. That which was whispered in the ear will be “shouted from the housetops” and that which is done in the dark will be brought into the light, on the Day when God judges the secrets of men by Jesus Christ. The sentence for rebellion against the love of God will be separation from the love of God, in the place where only the wrath of God can be encountered, which is Hell. (From the Greek word Gehenna, which is the Lake of Fire, the second death.)
(And if you are not saved and are reading this, I encourage you to surrender to Christ today! Simply receive Him by faith, calling on Jesus to save you, believing that He died for YOU, and rose from the dead. Why perish, when the Lord offers you life?)
I believe in love as the motivating power and priority in our life. Because of our security in Christ we no longer have to strive or manipulate or treat others badly to get our way. We are free to love them as we trust our heavenly Father to provide for all of our needs. God seeks unity among His people. This does not mean uniformity where everyone is a clone of everyone else and doctrinal minutia is enforced with an iron fist. But unity in diversity, where we agree upon the fundamentals that define Christianity, but love each other graciously where we disagree upon non-essentials. This love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. We therefore also love sinners, the unsaved, the unlovely, the broken, the mean, and the wounded. We treat them with respect in our words and in our actions; we take the time to listen to them, to understand their hearts and perspectives; to "see" them and acknowledge them, and to value them as men and women made in the image of God.
I believe that we should therefore employ this attitude while working for social action. I believe that marriage is an institution ordained by God for the exclusive relationship of a man and a woman, and that the Lord forbids the practice of homosexuality as contrary to His design and purpose. Nevertheless we should speak the truth in earnest love, in hope that the weight of God's truth coupled with the power of His love can change even the hardest heart. Likewise, while I believe in the sanctity of human life from the moment of conception, I also realize the painful, tragic regret of those who have undergone abortions. And I would encourage ministry with mercy and compassion; not hurling accusations, but reaching out with the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ.
Finally, I believe that if you will open your heart to Jesus, and allow Him to have His way in your life; you can encounter God in the most powerful, transforming way imaginable. In fact, it may be beyond anything you've even dared to imagine!
I believe the Bible is the Spirit-Breathed, infallible Word of God. Heaven and Earth will pass away, but His Word will remain! We are saved by the promises of His Word! We are healed because He sent His Word! God Himself is revealed in His Word, and He has exalted His Word above His Name! God can be encountered through His Word, and anointed teachers will use His Word to declare His glory to hungry hearts! I am forever grateful for the unshakeable rock of God's Word, the sure foundation upon which we stand.
I believe in the blessed Trinity of the Godhead; Father, Son and Holy Spirit - one eternal God in three distinct persons. I am in awe of His nature, that He has no beginning, and He has no end. He is the uncreated creator of all things! As I consider His omnipotence, His omniscience, and His omnipresence, I can only cry out with the apostle Paul "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! . . . For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen!"
I believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ; that He came into this world by virgin birth, fulfilling prophesy, and that He is fully God and fully man. I believe in the miracles that God wrought through Him, which He performed as a man, filled with the Holy Spirit and power. His sinless life allowed Him to give Himself as a sacrifice for our sins, the just for the unjust so that we could be redeemed. He died for our sins upon the cross, and rose bodily from the dead on the third day. He then ascended to the right
hand of God where He reigns with all authority in Heaven and Earth. One day He will return. He is our High Priest, He is our King, and He is our friend. He is the exact image of the invisible God, and in His face we see God's glory. To see Jesus, is to see the Father. And to truly see Jesus, is to be changed forever.
I believe in the deity of the Holy Spirit; that He convicts the world of sin, and that He indwells and regenerates all believers. I believe that the Spirit baptizes believers into the body of Christ, but that Jesus baptizes believers with the Holy Spirit, which is the promise of the Father. I believe that the Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to the church, and that all of the gifts are vital for the church today. While we do not want to grieve the Spirit by our actions, neither do we ever want to quench the Spirit, by our refusal to act. My passionate desire is that He would have free reign to operate in our midst; to heal, to deliver, to empower and to transform. He is the most breath-taking artist to ever live, and we are His handiwork!
I believe that we were created to worship God! Worship is both a choice and a response. We choose to approach God by faith, based upon what we know of Him. As we draw near to Him, He draws near to us, revealing His glory and causing us to respond with awe and wonder. We express these feelings of rapture with songs of worship, outbursts of praise, clapping, praying, dancing, or waiting before Him with arms outstretched in love. Some may be overcome by the power of his presence, in which they swoon or faint, or tremble. Others may weep for joy, or for conviction. We are told in scripture to worship Him through the sharing of communion, i.e. the Lord's Supper, where we remember his sacrifice for us with bread and the cup. We are told to testify to His saving grace in us through baptism, where we demonstrate through immersion that our old man is buried with Christ and that we have been raised to walk in newness of life. We also express our worship by living lives of holiness, with sexual integrity befitting our calling, and finding our joy in the fullness His Spirit rather than the destructive intoxicants of the world.
I believe that we are saved by God's grace through our faith in Jesus Christ. The word "saved" in the Bible (Greek "sozo") can mean salvation from sin and death, salvation from sickness and disease (healing), and salvation from demonic oppression (deliverance). God's desire is that we receive the fulness of His salvation. We don't have to earn God's love; He has known us and loved us from before time began. He offers salvation freely to all who will repent from sin and place their faith in Jesus Christ. When we do this we are born again as a new creation in Christ; our old man is reckoned dead and our new man is raised to walk in newness of life. That means freedom! Freedom to experience the abundant life in Christ, empowered by the Spirit of Life!
For the saved, our salvation means we are no longer under the dominion of Satan or his demons; that we have authority to command them out of our life and others' lives. It means that we are now citizens of God's kingdom; that we are no longer destined for an eternity of darkness and separation from God in hell, but are destined for an eternity in Paradise with Him, where there is fullness of joy and pleasures at His right hand forevermore. It means that we are seated in the heavenly places in Christ, with authority upon earth as His representatives, to advance His kingdom. It means that we are no longer orphans, but members of the household of God, and heirs of every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ!
For the unsaved, the Bible teaches that they will stand in judgment for the sins they have committed in this life. Not just the obvious ones, but the secret ones; the words and actions behind closed doors. That which was whispered in the ear will be “shouted from the housetops” and that which is done in the dark will be brought into the light, on the Day when God judges the secrets of men by Jesus Christ. The sentence for rebellion against the love of God will be separation from the love of God, in the place where only the wrath of God can be encountered, which is Hell. (From the Greek word Gehenna, which is the Lake of Fire, the second death.)
(And if you are not saved and are reading this, I encourage you to surrender to Christ today! Simply receive Him by faith, calling on Jesus to save you, believing that He died for YOU, and rose from the dead. Why perish, when the Lord offers you life?)
I believe in love as the motivating power and priority in our life. Because of our security in Christ we no longer have to strive or manipulate or treat others badly to get our way. We are free to love them as we trust our heavenly Father to provide for all of our needs. God seeks unity among His people. This does not mean uniformity where everyone is a clone of everyone else and doctrinal minutia is enforced with an iron fist. But unity in diversity, where we agree upon the fundamentals that define Christianity, but love each other graciously where we disagree upon non-essentials. This love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. We therefore also love sinners, the unsaved, the unlovely, the broken, the mean, and the wounded. We treat them with respect in our words and in our actions; we take the time to listen to them, to understand their hearts and perspectives; to "see" them and acknowledge them, and to value them as men and women made in the image of God.
I believe that we should therefore employ this attitude while working for social action. I believe that marriage is an institution ordained by God for the exclusive relationship of a man and a woman, and that the Lord forbids the practice of homosexuality as contrary to His design and purpose. Nevertheless we should speak the truth in earnest love, in hope that the weight of God's truth coupled with the power of His love can change even the hardest heart. Likewise, while I believe in the sanctity of human life from the moment of conception, I also realize the painful, tragic regret of those who have undergone abortions. And I would encourage ministry with mercy and compassion; not hurling accusations, but reaching out with the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ.
Finally, I believe that if you will open your heart to Jesus, and allow Him to have His way in your life; you can encounter God in the most powerful, transforming way imaginable. In fact, it may be beyond anything you've even dared to imagine!