MY BELIEFS
SHORT VERSION:
My personal beliefs mainly align with The Apostle's Creed, also with the Calvary Chapel and Life Church belief statements.
LONGER VERSION:
Below, borrowing from the above statements, is a summary-blend of what I believe, including relevant scripture references:
God is the Creator, Sustainer, and Ruler of the universe.
God has eternally existed as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The three are coequal and are one God.
God the Father sent Jesus Christ to save us from sin and death, offering us eternal life through faith in Him.
God the Father, Almighty is an infinite, eternal, personal Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power and love; He mercifully concerns Himself in the affairs of humankind; His good plans for souls who seek, fear (love and respect), and trust Him will prevail — expressed plans for us that entail life forever more in a glorious, heavenly Kingdom full of light and truth, joy and wonder, peace and love; He hears and answers prayer.
Jesus Christ is God, the Son and only perfect representative of
God the Father.
Jesus Christ (Christ means Anointed One) is God’s only begotten Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary. Jesus (His name means Savior) lived a sinless human life and offered Himself as the final, perfect, eternal sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on a cross. He arose from the dead after three days, demonstrating His power over sin and death. Through His victory over physical death, all humankind will be resurrected in bodily form, some to eternal life and some to eternal condemnation (spiritual death, hell).
He ascended to Heaven and and is with the Father, interceding for all who believe God and repent (turn from Sin to God).
From there He will come again to judge the living and the dead and to reign as King in God's Kingdom on earth. He is meant to be, and will be forever, the Lord of all who believe, so love, serve, and obey God (obey God with His Help and by His power). To Him, with the Father, belongs all glory and praise now and forever.
The Holy Spirit is God and lives in each Christian through faith in
Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit (God's Presence) comes from God the Father, through the substitutionary sacrifice of the Son, and dwells with and in us, through the only worthy name of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is present in the world to make people aware of their need for Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit indwells everyone who believes God, gives understanding of spiritual truth from God, offers guidance in doing what is right in God's eyes, and provides Christians with strength for obeying God. As Christians we seek to live under the Holy Spirit's control daily. The Holy Spirit gives every believer spiritual-gifts for serving God (by serving others) on the earth. The supreme evidence of the Holy Spirit-filled life is the fruit of the God's Spirit, which is love for God, above all else, and God's love and compassion for His creation, especially human beings.
The Bible (Scripture) is a significant part of God's Revelation of Himself and contains His Word
and promises to us.
The Old and New Testaments (the Bible) were written by human authors, under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. Because this written compilation of revelations from God was inspired by God, to be rightly understood, it must also be prayerfully read and studied through the same Holy Spirit (God’s Spirit of love), viewed as a whole (the parts able to help explain or expand each other), and taken in context (historical and literary). The Word (Christ or the Revelation of God) and the promises given through the Bible are true and reliable, a perfect foundation for building godly beliefs and practices. This is also the foundation upon which the church is meant to operate and to be governed. The Word of God in the Scriptures supersedes any other rule or law.
People are the supreme object of God's creation.
People are made in the spiritual image of God, to be like Him in character and love to others. Although God has given every person tremendous potential for good, all of us are marred by having chosen an attitude of disobedience toward God called "sin." All people are sinners by nature and choice, falling short of God’s perfection by breaking His command-ments – and are therefore under God’s righteous (just) judgment.
Sin separates us from God (separation from God is spiritual death). Sin causes many problems and brings us and others misery, pain, and suffering. The ultimate consequence of sin is death (spiritual and physical).
It is God’s will to save us from sin and death, and to renew life (spiritual and physical) in us. He will restore life to all who believe Him (that He is good/loving and that He sent Jesus for us), acknowledge sin as sin, turn to Him (leave off or repent of sin), and believe in the Person of Jesus Christ and that His works (acts) were done expressly for us.
Eternal Life is God's gift, through Jesus Christ, to all who believe;
it cannot be earned through our own human efforts.
All sin (injustice) is unacceptable in God’s eyes. No sin goes unnoticed. We can never make up for our sin by self-improvement or good works. Sent by God, Jesus Christ, is the only one who ever lived a perfect, sinless life worthy of God.
In the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross, Jesus willingly suffered and died. He gave His innocent blood to pay (atone) for our sins, taking our place, being our substitute, mediating in our behalf, absorbing the consequences of sin that should have come upon us.
Jesus Christ's resurrection demonstrated God's acceptance of His death in our stead as the final, sufficient, eternal payment for our sins. It also showed God's desire to give us new, everlasting life through Jesus.
There is no other way we can receive forgiveness for our sins from God except by believing Him and trusting in the final, only worthy and eternal sacrifice of Jesus. Eternal life or salvation from sin and death begins the moment one believes God, so turns from a self-ruled life of sin, confessing and renouncing sin, and receives Jesus Christ as one’s Savior and Lord. The invitation to believe God and turn from sin is open to all. Whoever desires may come to God through the name and works of Jesus Christ. Through Jesus, God can and will bestow the gift (grace) of His Holy Spirit (so one is no longer separated from God and can enter into life, forever).
God has set a day for a final judgement, when His Kingdom will come, and afterwards people will exist eternally with or without Him.
God is faithful and keeps His promises. His Kingdom/Heaven will come. There will be a day of final judgement. Jesus spoke on this topic more than any other, and more often than anyone else. (For example see the book of Matthew 4:17; 5:2-12, 17-20, 21-22, 27-30, 43-48; 6:14-15; 7:13, 15-20, 21-23; 13:24-31, 36-43, 47-50; 18:1-14, 23-35; 19:13-15, 16-30; 20:1-16; 21:28-32, 43; 22:1-14; 25:1-13, 14-30, 31-46).
People were created to exist forever. We will either exist eternally separated from God by sin or eternally with God through forgiveness and salvation from sin through Jesus. To be eternally separated from God is hell. To be eternally in union with Him in His Kingdom is eternal life and/or heaven. Heaven and hell are real places of existence. One of these will eventually be each person's eternal dwelling place.
Baptism is symbolic of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ;
and the Lord’s Supper helps us remember what our Lord
has done for us.
After a believer has accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, baptism is a way to publicly declare one's new life in Christ. It is also a step of obedience based on God’s commands and allows one to follow the example of Jesus, who submitted himself to baptism to "fulfill all righteousness."
Before the Lord, Jesus Christ died, He instituted the Lord’s Supper, saying, "…do this in remembrance of me.” This is why, often when believers gather, they commemorate with bread and wine (or grape juice) His body broken and His blood given for us.
The Church is commissioned
to be the living Body of Christ
on the earth.
The Church is universal, consisting of the living spiritual family or Body of Christ, of which Christ is the head, and all who are born again into new life, through being indwelt by His Spirit, are parts of the Body, and belong to it.
Those who belong to the Body of Christ meet whenever they can with other Holy-Spirit-baptized believers, who are unified through faith in Christ. Fellowship with other believers is meant to help Christians learn more fully about and remain committed to the person and teachings of Christ in order that they might grow in obedience to His command to love God and one another. Each member is given spiritual gifts through which they can serve others in or as the Body of Christ. Local churches are or should be led by men who are established, faithful followers of the Lord, who are good examples and who care as Christ does for His “sheep.”
The Church is meant to work together in love and unity, by looking to God through Christ by the Holy Spirit in a spirit of obedience and in accord with what is already give in the Scriptures. The Bible or the Word of God is the foundation upon which the church is meant to build its faith and practice. All things are to be done for the ultimate glory of God and Jesus Christ whom He sent.
The Church has been commissioned by Jesus Christ to bring the Gospel (good news) of salvation and eternal life, and the coming Kingdom, from God through Him to the world.
Christians should hold to essential beliefs, but allow one another liberty in non-essential beliefs.
Beliefs that are essential to life and salvation should be upheld, but those which are not, but pertain only to temporal and peripheral matters should not divide the Body of Christ.
Accept the one whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters… Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master servants stand or fall… So then each of us will give an account of ourselves to God… So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God.
"I have the right to do anything," you say--but not everything is beneficial. "I have the right to do anything"--but not everything is constructive. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.
1 Corinthians 10:23-4