What I Believe

There are statements of faith to be found all over the web.  Many years ago I wrote mine down, but there always seemed to be another thought, another question, another explanation required, so I wrote a blog.  Now, let me give you what I consider the foundation of my beliefs -- and some of the "Why" behind them:

I believe the Bible is Holy, the divinely inspired and preserved Word of God, the final authority for all faith and life. I place this belief first, not because it is the most important, but because it explains and provides answers for so much of the following. Without the Bible, there is not a foundation for believing ...

… there is one God, eternally extant in three biblical definitions:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is One, the 'echad', of Deuteronomy 6:4, the Father of Matthew 6:9, the promised sacrifice of Genesis 22:8, the Word of John 1:1, the Beginning and the End of Revelation 1:8.

… in the deity of our Lord, Jesus, the Christ (Messiah), His virgin birth, His sinless life, His miracles, His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood on the cross, His bodily resurrection, His ascension, and His imminent bodily return in power and glory, all of which is detailed in the writings of those who witnessed His work.

… that man was created in the image of God, but fell into sin, is therefore lost, and only those who put their faith in Jesus Christ the Son of God, are saved. Beginning in Genesis, completed in Revelation, the Bible relates God's relationship with mankind.

… salvation is a free gift of God brought to the sinner by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose substitutionary death on the cross paid the penalty for mans' sin, succinctly summed in both John 3:16 and Ephesians 2:8.

… the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to convict, indwell, guide, instruct, and empower the believer for godly living and service as well as providing comfort, as promised in John 14:26.

… in the spiritual unity of believers through our common faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and that individual doctrinal differences which may exist, should not hinder the unity of Christian believers, as 2 Corinthians 10:7 ends.

I believe a good answer for those who ask John's question "Is Jesus the promised Messiah, or should we look for another?" are best answered in His recorded words:

Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached. (Luke 7:22 KJV)

I am always pleased to answer questions about my faith, to tell what things we have seen and heard.  Please, feel free to write and ask. I agree with John, and will continue to write about these beliefs:

And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen. (John 21:25 KJV)