I have begun applying for jobs and I am looking into becoming an ordained minister of the Gospel. This process has forced me to begin to write my personal statement of faith. Below you will find what I believe on major theological issues. As iron sharpens iron so one man sharpens another, therefore, I welcome questions, comments, and encouragement.
Bibliology: (The Doctrine of the Bible)
I believe that the Bible is the Word of God, fully inspired and inerrant in the original manuscripts, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and given to us as a manuscript for life. Inspiration was that work whereby God by His Spirit, through human writers, utilizing their distinct personalities and literary styles gave us His Word.
I believe the literal, grammatical-historical interpretation of Scripture which affirms the belief that the opening chapters of Genesis present creation in six literal days. I believe that the Bible constitutes the only infallible rule of faith and practice.
I believe that, whereas there may be several applications of any given passage of Scripture, there is but one true interpretation. The meaning of Scripture is to be found as one diligently applies the literal grammatical-historical method of interpretation under the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit It is the responsibility of believers to ascertain carefully the true intent and meaning of Scripture, recognizing that proper application is binding on all generations. Yet the truth of Scripture stands in judgment of men; never do men stand in judgment of it.
(Hebrews 1:1; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Jeremiah 1:9; Matthew 4:4; Matt. 5:17-18; Romans 3: 1-2; Isaiah 40:8; 42: 8-9; Hebrews 4:12; John 6:63; 1 Peter 1:23; Genesis 1:31; Exodus 31:17).
Theology Proper: (The Study of God)
I believe God the Father, is an infinite, personal spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power, and love. I believe that He foreknows all that shall come to pass, that He concerns Himself in the affairs of men, He hears, and answers prayers, and He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ. God is immutable meaning He does not change and is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. God is omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, and eternal; meaning He has no beginning and no end. God is full of mercy, love, and grace-and at the same time righteous, holy, and just. God grants mercy and sends judgment. God punishes and forgives sin. God will grant believers into Heaven and send unbelievers into Hell.
As Creator He is Father to all men, but He is spiritual Father only to believers. He has decreed for His own glory all things that come to pass. He continually upholds, directs, and governs all creatures and events. In His sovereignty He is neither the author nor approver of sin, nor does He abridge the accountability of moral, intelligent creatures. He has graciously chosen from eternity past those whom He would have as His own; He saves from sin all who come to Him through Jesus Christ; He adopts as His own all those who come to Him; and He becomes, upon adoption, Father to His own.
(Romans 11:33; Luke 10:21-22; Matthew 23:9; John 3:16, 6:27; Romans 1:7; 1 Timothy 1:1-2; 1 Peter 1:3; Revelation 1:6; Ephesians 4:6; Romans 8:14; 2 Corinthians 6:18; Ephesians 1:11; John 8:38-47; Ephesians 1:4-6; John 1:12; Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:5; Hebrews 12:5-9).
Christology: (The Study of Jesus Christ)
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin. He lived a sinless life, performing miracles, and teaching the multitudes. I believe in Christ’s substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into Heaven, and His intercession on behalf of all believers. Jesus Christ is our Good Shepherd; leading, protecting, and caring for us as His own; Christ is the light of the World; illuminating our pathway, He is the prince of peace and our rock.
I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is the One through whom God will judge all mankind:
- Believers
- Living inhabitants of the earth at His glorious return
- Unbelieving dead at the Great White Throne
As the Mediator between God and man, the Head of His Body the church, and the coming universal King, who will reign on the throne of David , He is the final Judge of all who fail to place their trust in Him as Lord and Savior.
(John 10:11,14, 8:12, 1:1, 20:28, 20:30-31; Isaiah 9:6; 1 Cor. 10:4; Matt. 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38; Romans 5:6-8, 6:9-10, 8:26, 9:5; 2 Cor. 15, 5:21; 1 Peter 2:21-23; Eph. 1:4; Acts 1:11; Heb. 7:25, 9:28, 1 Timothy 3:16; John 5:22-23 1 Corinthians 3:10-15; Matthew 25:31-46; Revelation 20:11-15; 1 Timothy 2:5; Matthew 25:14-46; Acts 17:30-31).
Pneumatology: (The Study of the Holy Spirit)
I believe in the Holy Spirit who comes from the Father and the Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. The Holy Spirit regenerates, sanctifies, and empowers all who believe in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Christ, and He is a helper, teacher, and guide.
I believe that the Holy Spirit administers spiritual gifts to the church. The Holy Spirit glorifies neither Himself nor His gifts by ostentatious displays, but He does glorify Christ by implementing His work of redeeming the lost and building up believers in the most holy faith.
I believe, in this respect, that God the Holy Spirit is sovereign in the bestowing of all His gifts for the perfecting of the saints today, and that speaking in tongues and the working of sign miracles in the beginning days of the church were for the purpose of pointing to and authenticating the apostles as revealers of divine truth, and were never intended to be characteristic of the lives of believers for all time.
(1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 13:8-10; 2 Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 4:7-12; Hebrews 2:1-4; John 14:16-17, 26; 15:26-27, 16:9-14; Romans 8:9, 1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19; Galatians 5:22-26).
Harmartiology: (The Study of Sin)
I believe that to sin means to “miss the mark.” Individuals are sinful sin by inheritance and imputation, and sin by personal choice. Man was created in the image of God; the first man Adam sinned; incurring not only physical death, but also spiritual death which is separation from God; the sin nature then is imputed to all of humanity. Man is totally depraved and on his own utterly unable to save himself.
(Genesis 1:26, 2:16-17; Romans 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3, 12)
Soteriology: (The Study of Salvation)
I believe in the Biblical Doctrine of TULIP. (List is in the way the events occur)
T: Man is totally depraved. Everything man does including the seemingly good-acts is sin. Man is unable to submit to God or reform himself and is therefore worthy of eternal punishment. (Ephesians 2:1; Ezekiel 36:26; 2 Cor. 4:4-6; Romans 8:7-8, 15:18, 3:9-10, 3:18; 1 Cor. 10:31).
I: Irrestible grace is the sovereign work of God to overcome the rebellion of our heart and bring us to faith in Christ so that we can be saved. When God undertakes to fulfill His sovereign purpose, no one can successfully resist Him. (Daniel 4:35; Psalm 115:5; John 6:44; 64-65; 2 Timothy 2:24-25; 2 Cor. 4:4-6).
L: In the cross God had in view the actual redemption of His children. Christ died for the elect; Christ did not just make the way possible for salvation, but actually saved the elect. Christ did not die for all men in the same sense; the death of Christ actually saves from ALL evil those for whom Christ died. Once again, Christ died for all the sins of some men, making it possible for the irresistible grace of God to flow to the elect, thereby saving them from the wrath of God. (John 10:15, 17:6, 9, 19; 11: 51-52).
U: Election refers to God’s choosing whom to save. God’s choice is unconditional because there is no condition man must meet before God chooses to save him. (Acts 13:48; John 10:29; Romans 9; Ephesians 1:3-6).
P: The people of God WILL persevere to the end and will not be lost. God will so work that those whom He has chosen for eternal salvation will be enabled by Him, to persevere in faith to the end and fulfill, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the requirements for obedience. (John 10:26-30; 1 John 2:19; 1 Thess. 5:23-24; 1 Cor. 1:8-9).
Ecclesiology: (The Study of the Church)
I believe in the universal church, a living spiritual body of which Christ is the head and all believers are members. I believe in the local church, consisting of believers, baptized after a profession of faith in Christ. God has entrusted the task of evangelism to the local church, and it is the primary responsibility of the church to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world.
I believe that the one supreme authority for the church is Christ and that church leadership, gifts, order, discipline, and worship are all appointed through His sovereignty as found in the Scriptures. The biblically designated officers serving under Christ and over the assembly are elders (also called bishops, pastors, and pastor teachers; and deacons, both of whom must meet biblical qualifications.
I believe in the autonomy of the local church, free from any external authority or control, with the right of self-government and freedom from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations. I believe that it is scriptural for true churches to cooperate with each other for the presentation and propagation of the faith. Each local church, however, through its elders and their interpretation and application of Scripture, should be the sole judge of the measure and method of its cooperation. The elders should determine all other matters of membership, policy, discipline, benevolence, and government as well (Acts 15:19-31; 20:28; 1 Corinthians 5:4-7, 13; 1 Peter 5:1-4).
(Ephesians 2:19-22; 5:19-21; Acts 1:8; 2:42; Hebrews 10:23-25; 1 Corinthians 11:3; Ephesians 1:22; Colossians 1:18; Acts 20:28; Ephesians 4:11; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Peter 5:1-5; Acts 15:19-31; 20:28; 1 Corinthians 5:4-7,13; 1 Peter 5:1-4).
Church Ordinances:
I believe that two ordinances have been committed to the local church: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Christian baptism by immersion is the solemn and beautiful testimony of a believer showing forth his faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior, and his union with Him in death to sin and resurrection to a new life. It is also a sign of fellowship and identification with the visible Body of Christ.
I believe that the Lord’s Supper is the commemoration and proclamation of His death until He comes, and should be always preceded by solemn self-examination. I believe that, whereas the elements of Communion are only representative of the flesh and blood of Christ, participation in the Lord’s Supper is nevertheless an actual communion with the risen Christ, who indwells every believer, and so is present, fellowshipping with His people.
(Matthew 28:18-20; Romans 6:3-5; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; Acts 2:38-42; Acts 8:36-39; Romans 6:1-11; Acts 2:41-42; 1 Corinthians 11:28-32; 1 Corinthians 10:16).
Eschatology: (The Study of End Times)
I believe in the personal, bodily return of our Lord Jesus Christ before the seven-year tribulation to translate His church from this earth and, between this event and His glorious return with His saints, to reward believers according to their works.
I believe that immediately following the removal of the church from the earth the righteous judgments of God will be poured out upon an unbelieving world and that these judgments will be climaxed by the return of Christ in glory to the earth. At that time the Old Testament and tribulation saints will be raised and the living will be judged. This period includes the seventieth week of Daniel’s prophecy.
I believe that, after the tribulation period, Christ will come to earth to occupy the throne of David and establish His messianic kingdom for 1,000 years on the earth. During this time the resurrected saints will reign with Him over Israel and all the nations of the earth. This reign will be preceded by the overthrow of the Antichrist and the False Prophet, and by the removal of Satan from the world.
I believe that the kingdom itself will be the fulfillment of God’s promise to Israel to restore them to the land that they forfeited through their disobedience. The result of their disobedience was that Israel was temporarily set aside, but will again be awakened through repentance to enter into the land of blessing.
I believe that this time of our Lord’s reign will be characterized by harmony, justice, peace, righteousness, and long life, and will be brought to an end with the release of Satan.
I believe that following the release of Satan after the 1,000-year reign of Christ, Satan will deceive the nations of the earth and gather them to battle against the saints and the beloved city, at which time Satan and his army will be devoured by fire from heaven. Following this, Satan will be thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, whereupon Christ, who is the Judge of all men), will resurrect and judge the great and small at the Great White Throne Judgment.
I believe that this resurrection of the unsaved dead to judgment will be a physical resurrection, whereupon receiving their judgment, they will be committed to an eternal conscious punishment in the lake of fire.
I believe that after the closing of the millennium, the temporary release of Satan, and the judgment of unbelievers, the saved will enter the eternal state of glory with God, after which the elements of this earth are to be dissolved and replaced with a new earth, wherein only righteousness dwells. Following this, the heavenly city will come down out of heaven and will be the dwelling place of the saints, where they will enjoy forever fellowship with God and one another. Our Lord Jesus Christ, having fulfilled His redemptive mission, will then deliver up the kingdom to God the Father, that in all spheres the triune God may reign forever and ever.
(1 Thess. 5:1-3; 8-11; Revelation 20:4-6; 11-15; Daniel 9:27' 12:1; 2 Thessalonians 2:7-12; Revelation 16; Daniel 12; Ezekiel 37:21-28; Daniel 7:17-22; Revelation 19:11-16; Revelation 20:9; Matthew 25:41; John 5:22; Revelation 20:11-15; Ezekiel 36:33-38; Romans 11; 2 Peter 3:10; Ephesians 5:5; 1 Corinthians 15:24-28).
Cooperation:
Christ's people should, as occasion requires, organize such associations and conventions as may best secure cooperation for the great objects of the Kingdom of God. Such organizations have no authority over one another or over the churches. They are voluntary and advisory bodies designed to elicit, combine, and direct the energies of our people in the most effective manner. Members of New Testament churches should cooperate with one another in carrying forward the missionary, educational, and benevolent ministries for the extension of Christ's Kingdom. Christian unity in the New Testament sense is spiritual harmony and voluntary cooperation for common ends by various groups of Christ's people. Cooperation is desirable between the various Christian denominations, when the end to be attained is itself justified, and when such cooperation involves no violation of conscience or compromise of loyalty to Christ and His Word as revealed in the New Testament.
Exodus 17:12; 18:17ff.; Judges 7:21; Ezra 1:3-4; 2:68-69; 5:14-15; Nehemiah 4; 8:1-5; Matthew 10:5-15; 20:1-16; 22:1-10; 28:19-20; Mark 2:3; Luke 10:1ff.; Acts 1:13-14; 2:1ff.; 4:31-37; 13:2-3; 15:1-35; 1 Corinthians 1:10-17; 3:5-15; 12; 2 Corinthians 8-9; Galatians 1:6-10; Ephesians 4:1-16; Philippians 1:15-18.
Family:
God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption.
Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God's unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race.
The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God's image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. She, being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation.
Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God's pattern for marriage. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their parents.
Genesis 1:26-28; 2:15-25; 3:1-20; Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Joshua 24:15; 1 Samuel 1:26-28; Psalms 51:5; 78:1-8; 127; 128; 139:13-16; Proverbs 1:8; 5:15-20; 6:20-22; 12:4; 13:24; 14:1; 17:6; 18:22; 22:6,15; 23:13-14; 24:3; 29:15,17; 31:10-31; Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; 9:9; Malachi 2:14-16; Matthew 5:31-32; 18:2-5; 19:3-9; Mark 10:6-12; Romans 1:18-32; 1 Corinthians 7:1-16; Ephesians 5:21-33; 6:1-4; Colossians 3:18-21; 1 Timothy 5:8,14; 2 Timothy 1:3-5; Titus 2:3-5; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Peter 3:1-7.
Help from several churches including:
Grace Community Church
Bethlehem Baptist Church
Kings Way Church
Thomas Road Baptist Church
Baptist Faith and Message 2000
