What I Believe

Over the course of my work, you may see characters make some controversial statements. Understand that I write characters as they would be, and this has no bearing on my personal beliefs. But if you’re curious, the following is a concise detailing of my understanding and belief in light of Christendom. In brief, I align with the “Apostle’s Creed”. But here goes:

God
• I believe there is one true God
• I believe in God the Father, and His only Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.
• I believe in the concept of the Trinity- that The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all one and the same God: three distinct personalities in one being in complete harmony.
• I believe that all three were participants in the act of Creation as depicted in Genesis.
• I believe that God is still actively working in and guiding His creation and has been throughout history. It is by His will alone that we continue to exist.
• I believe in the aseity of God; that is, God’s existence that has no beginning or end and has complete self-sufficiency. His existence depends on nothing apart from Himself.
• I believe in His holiness; that is his pre-eminent uniqueness and loftiness above all else; that He is in a class all his own and none can come close to His being. It is because of this holiness that our sin is so treasonous, and justice must be served.

The Bible
• I believe the Bible is the inspired, inerrant word of God.
• I believe there is one correct way to interpret it, as with any literary work, and that there is a theme and harmony amongst the different books despite the different authors.
• I believe that the Bible is a reliable source of not only spiritual information and verified prophecy, but is validated by the different sciences of archaeology, anthropology, biology, astronomy as well as secular historians.

Jesus Christ
• I believe Jesus Christ was the Messiah, the prophesized prophet, priest, king, heavenly being and suffering servant foretold throughout the Old Testament.
• I believe Jesus was born of a virgin, conceived solely by the will of God.
• I believe Jesus Christ was completely God and completely human, yet without sin.
• I believe Jesus’ mission on earth was to live a perfect, sinless life on earth, to succeed where Adam failed, and then to die in our place, only to be resurrected and glorified thereafter.
• I believe he was completely sinless and died on a cross as a willing, innocent, unblemished sacrifice as was pictured by the Old Testament sacrifice of a perfect lamb. This was his mission from the start.
• I believe he rose from the dead after 3 days as he said he would. I believe he ascended into Heaven 40 days later and promised to return.
• I believe Jesus Christ was the image of and perfected the Old Testament Mosaic Law in his life and brought a new covenant into this world upon its completion. He succeeded where Adam failed, thus his title of “The Second Adam”.
• I believe Jesus Christ acts as a mediator between believers and the Father, acting on the behalf of those whom his blood has paid for and imparting his righteousness toward their account.
• I believe Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father and has been given the authority to judge all the earth in the final days. He will judge every person according to everything they have ever thought, said or done.

Good
• I believe good is defined as anything in thought or deed that reflects the character of God- God is the standard of good.
• I believe only God can declare another being righteous as he is the author of it.
• I believe one cannot be declared ultimately good/righteous without faith in God and His promises as he has stated.

Sin
• I believe in Sin, which is any act, thought or deed in rebellion of, or contrast to the laws of God that stem from His holy character. Sin is thus a crime against God’s authority and nature. It is cosmic high treason.
• I believe the Bible and the Law within it identifies and condemns all sin in action and in thought. The Eternal Moral Law of God governs every human being regardless of belief and is the basis for human ethics.
• I believe all of humanity, every last individual, is guilty of sin and that no one can atone for his or her sin, just as no good work erases a crime.
• I believe that sin separates us from God, and that the just penalty for any sin is judgment and eternal separation, or damnation, from God.
• I believe that final dwelling place of sinners is a place called Hell, which is a literal place of eternal torment originally made to punish Satan and his rebellious angels.
• I believe that God does not look lightly upon sin, but that He is filled with intense fury over it and is justified in doing so.

Salvation
• I believe that Salvation from our sin, and its penalty, has been provided for by God alone.
• I believe Salvation is not something we can earn by good works or by any merit of ourselves, but is given entirely of God’s grace and mercy.
• I believe Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross - a perfect, sinless scapegoat- is the only payment God accepts in place of a person’s just condemnation.
• I believe the Bible teaches Repentance, which is to turn away from one’s path [of sin].
• I believe the Bible teaches Faith, which is putting one’s absolute trust in a person’s character and word.
• I believe the Bible teaches that Salvation comes only by repentance of sin and faith in Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross to save us from the wrath of God and give us eternal life. Church attendance and any other religious acts have no bearing on salvation.
• I believe salvation is a free gift offered to any who will listen and believe.
• I believe rejection of Christ’s free gift of salvation means there is no alternative payment to enter into God’s favor, and thus Heaven. That person takes it upon his or herself to accept God’s just, absolute judgment and punishment of their sin which is Hell.
• I believe it is impossible for one to lose their salvation, as it is by God’s hand they are saved, and by God’s hand they are secured, and that no sin is greater than Christ’s sacrifice.

Saints
• I believe that all believers are made Saints, which means they have been set apart as sacred.
• I believe that when a person is genuinely saved, they are indwelled by the Holy Spirit, who begins working on transforming their heart and revealing truth to them via Scripture.
• I believe a believer’s heart desires will change toward the things of God after salvation and they will begin showing what is known as “Fruits of the Spirit”.
• I believe a saint is still capable of sin, but will be in a process of perpetual improvement and cleansing throughout his or her earthly life called “sanctification” as the Holy Spirit re-molds them further to resemble the character of Jesus Christ.
• I believe that a truly saved person will not be able to participate in what the Bible explicitly lists as sinful acts without guilt. I believe that God will eventually break that person’s will until they repent from that sin and turn back to Him.
• I believe a consistent lack of change and conformity to the nature of God and His laws shows a lack of fruit and a false conversion.
• I believe in the priesthood of all believers, which means that all who believe can freely pray (communicate) with God, make requests and ask for forgiveness of sins at any time.
• I believe that all who believe are adopted as sons and daughters into God’s household and are made joint-heirs with Jesus Christ.

The Church
• I believe the Church is the assembly of believers together for ministry and outreach. It is not a building.
• I believe the Church is meant to be the means by which Christ reaches out to the world’s physical and spiritual needs today.
• I believe it is the primary responsibility of the Church to uncompromisingly preach the Gospel in Spirit and in Truth.
• I believe it is the responsibility of the Church to train, teach, encourage, and when necessary, correct believers.
• I believe each member in the Church should actively pursue a means of serving others instead of merely attending. This can be giving lovingly, sacrificially and generously of one’s time, money and possessions to help others.
• I believe it is necessary for a believer to attend church when and where possible to better their training and growth, by learning and serving, explicitly or implicitly, and to be held accountable for their actions.