My Beliefs

Bible: I believe that God revealed himself to mankind generally through creation and nature. He specifically revealed himself to us through the Bible. I believe in verbal and plenary inspiration of Scripture. Verbal meaning that the very words are inspired (not just the ideas), and plenary meaning that the entire Bible (Old and New Testament) are equally inspired. I do not only believe in the inspiration of Scripture, but I also believe that the Bible is inerrant and infallible. The Bible is inerrant (without error) and infallible (incapable of error). I believe that God inspired the original manuscripts (autographs), and the Holy Spirit moved the different penmen to record His Word without error while still retaining their individual personalities and writing styles. The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament are the finished canon of Scripture. There is not any new revelation from the Lord. The Word of God is the final revelation to mankind. I believe that God preserved His Word for all people in all generations. He preserved his Word from corruption and destruction. I believe the Masoretic (Old Testament) and the Textus Receptus (New Testament) are the preserved Word of God. I believe the King James Version is the best English translation. I do not believe that any one translation is reinspired over the original manuscripts. I believe that the Word of God is our sole authority for faith and practice. Our opinions and feelings should not govern our lives, but the commands and principles of Scripture.

Gen. 18:1, 28:12, 32:24-30 37:9, 46:2; Ex. 20:1-17; Josh. 5:13-15; Judg. 6:11-14; II Sam. 12:7-11; II Kings 7:1; Psalm 12:6-7, 19:1-3, 119:104, 128; Is. 6:8, 7:7, 40:8; Dan. 2:3, 7-8; Matt. 1:20, 5:18; Mark 12:26; Luke 1:26-28, 16:17, 21:33; John 12:47-48; Acts 7:38; Romans 1:18-20; I Cor. 13:8-12; Gal. 3:14-16, II Tim. 3:16-17; I Peter 1:23-25; II Peter 1:21, and 2:21.

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God: I believe that there is one God who is revealed in three persons: God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God has no beginning or ending (eternally existent). The Bible does not try to prove the existence of God but assumes without question his existence. There are no other gods besides God. God is triune (three unique persons but still one God). God: The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. Each person of the trinity is equal in power, intellect, emotion, and holiness. God is the creator of all things and without him there would be nothing. Each member of the trinity took part in the creation. God has specific characteristics, some incommunicable (divine) while others are communicable (we can have these too). Here are a few of God’s incommunicable attributes: Eternal & Self-Existent, Immutable (unchanging), Omnipotent (All powerful), Omnipresent, and Omniscient. Here are a few of God’s communicable attributes: Faithful, Good, Gracious, Holy, Just, Loving, Merciful, Patient, Righteous, and True. God will never contradict or act outside of his character. I believe that God created all things in six literal twenty-four hour days and rested on the seventh. God created man in His own image, and He did not use evolution in any part of creation.  I reject the teachings of Theistic Evolution, Gap Theory, and Day-Age Theory.

Gen. 1:1-2, 27, 31 5:1, 18:25; Ex. 3:7, 14, 15:13, 20:11; Lev. 11:44-45; Num. 14:18; Deut. 6:4, 30:3; I Samuel. 2:3; Ezra 9:15; Neh. 9:17; Job 23:10, 33:4; Psalm 25:7, 44:21, 78:40, 104:31, 145: 8, 13; Pro. 15:3; Is. 42:1-2, 5, 45:12, 18, 62:5; Jer. 31:3; Lam. 3:23; Zep. 3:5; Zec. 14:9; Mal. 3:6; Matt. 24:36, 28:18, 29:26; Luke 16:15; John 1:1-3, 3:16, 5:26, 10:30, 8; Acts 5:3-4,15:18; Rom. 11:22; I Cor. 10:13; Eph. 1:3, 4:30, 5:17; Phil. 2:27; Col. 1:16; Titus 1:2; Heb. 4:13, 6:18; I Peter 2:3; II Peter 3:9; I John 2:1, 5:17-18; Rev. 4:8, 15:3, and 16:5.

 

Jesus Christ: I believe that Jesus Christ existed in eternity past with the Father before the Creation of the world. I believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God. I believe that Jesus was born of a virgin, and that he was one hundred percent man and one hundred percent God. During his life on the earth, he lived a perfect, sinless life. Jesus performed many miracles during his earthly ministry: Healings, raised the dead, displayed power over demons, and displayed power over nature. All the miracles were to prove and certify that Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus willingly laid down his life, and he died on the cross for the sins of the world (past, present, and future). He was buried and on the third day he rose again. Jesus literally and physically rose from the grave. I do not believe in the “Swoon” Theory, the Spiritual resurrection theory, or any other theory that opposes the literal bodily resurrection.  After spending forty days with his disciples, he ascended back to heaven, and he is at the right hand of the Father making intercession for the saints. I believe that Jesus is coming again to Rapture the believers. After the seven year tribulation, Jesus will return to earth to establish his millennial kingdom.

Is. 7:4, 53:9; Matt. 1:23, 3:17, 4:2, 5:2, 7:29, 8:26, 9:5-6, 13:24, 54, 14:33, 15:30-39, 24:29-31, 28:9; Mark 1:21, 27, 2:5, 3:14, 5:6, 13:28; Luke 1:27, 3:23-28, 4:2, 36, 6:13, 18, 22:60-61; John 1:1, 3, 48, 4:6, 9:38, 10:30, 11:1-13, 35, 16:7, 17:11, 19:28, 30; Acts 1:9-11; Gal. 1:4; Col. 1:16-17; Heb. 1:2, 4:15; James 1:13-14; Rev. 20:1-6.

 

The Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit is God and the third person of the trinity. He is an equal member of the Godhead (God: The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit). I believe that the Holy Spirit took an equal part in Creation and worked through the Old Testament in the recording of Scripture, and He worked in the lives of people. In the New Testament the Holy Spirit worked in the recording of the Scriptures, in the life of Christ, and the early Church. The Holy Spirit works in the lives of unbelievers by convicting them of their sin, righteousness, and judgment. He works in the life of believers at the moment of salvation in these areas: He regenerates them, He seals the believers, He indwells them, and He gives spiritual gifts. The Holy Spirit works in believer’s daily life in these areas: He gives assurance of salvation, He strengthens the inner man, He teaches us the truth, He leads in our lives, He empowers us to live the Christian life, He empowers us while we share the gospel, He enables us to truly worship the Lord, He helps us to pray, and he prays for us, He calls us to service, He fills us day by day (The filling of the Spirit is a matter of control, or how we allow the Spirit to control our lives), and He bears fruit in our lives.

Gen. 1:2; Judg. 3:10, 6:34, 11:29, 14:6, 9; I Sam. 11:6; II Sam. 23:2; II Chron. 15:1, Job 26:13, 33:4; Ps. 104:30; Is. 59:21; Jer. 1:9; Micah 3:8; Matt. 1:18-20, 4:1; Luke 4:1; John 4:23, 7:37-38, 14:26, 16:7-15; Acts 5:3, 13:2-4; Rom. 8:9, 14-17, 27; I Cor. 3:16, 12:4-11, 15:30; Gal. 4:6, 5:22-23; Eph. 1:13, 3:16-21, 4:30, 6:18; I Thess. 1:5-6; Titus 3:5; I Pet. 1:1, 3:18, 4:10; I John 5:7
 

Man: God made man on the sixth day of creation. Man was not created in the same manner as the other creatures. He was molded from the dust of the ground and the breath of life was breathed into Him. Man is created in the image of God. He is a trichotomy composed of a physical body (senses and world conscious), soul (mind, emotions, and will. self-conscious), and spirit (God conscious). Man was made to glorify God and fellowship with Him. God created man in an innocent and sinless environment. Eve was deceived by the serpent, but Adam willfully sinned. Adam and Eve’s nature changed after they sinned. Mankind faced many consequences of their sins: Man now knows good and evil, women will experience sorrow in childbirth, work will become hard and laborious, all mankind will experience physical death, all mankind is spiritually dead, and sin passed down to all mankind. God gives a promised provision for the salvation of mankind.  Mankind is now a sinner and in need of a Savior. Man will either spend an eternity in Heaven or Hell. Man’s eternal destination is determined by their acceptance or rejection of Jesus Christ.

Gen. 1:26-28, 2:7, 3:6-8, 15-22; Psalm 16:10, 49:14-15; Rom. 1:20-21; 5:12, 15:16; I Cor. 6:20; II Cor. 5:21; Ph. 3:21; I Thess. 5:23; I Tim. 2:14; Heb. 4:12

 

Sin: I believe in the reality of sin. Sin is any transgression or deviation from God’s Holy Law and Righteousness. I believe that sin was introduced into existence by Lucifer. Through Adam sin passed to all mankind, but mankind is not only sinners by heritage but by choice. I believe that sin has temporary pleasure, but its results will always bring bondage and death. I believe that victory over sin is promised in Scripture to all believers, and forgiveness of sins is only found in Jesus Christ.

Gen. 2:17, 3:6, 5:5; Ps. 51:5; Is. 14:12-15, 53:6; Luke 15:10; John 3:18, 5:24; Rom. 3:9-12, 19, 23, 5:12; Heb. 7:27, 9:22; James 2:10.

 

Salvation: I believe that salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Salvation is a free gift from God to all mankind. Salvation cannot be earned or secured by any work of man. When an individual accepts Christ as Savior, they immediately possess eternal life. God provided the means of salvation (Jesus Christ). Jesus’ death was substitutionary (He took the place and punishment for all man’s sins: past, present, and future. Jesus’ death redeemed (to pay a ransom & brings full release) mankind. The method of salvation is through the shed blood of Christ. Salvation is by grace through Faith in Jesus Christ alone. A few blessings of salvation are: Forgiveness of sins, justification (declared righteous), imputed righteousness of Christ, reconciliation, regeneration, and adoption. He desires that all believers bear the fruit of salvation: sanctification (set apart unto holiness), assurance of salvation, eternal security, the fruit of the spirit. God desires that all mankind comes to Christ for salvation.

Gen. 22:7-13; Deut. 30:19; Psalm 103:10-12; Is. 64:6; Matt. 9:12, 18:11; Luke 1:68; John 1:29, 3:3-7, 4:20-24, 6:37, 10:11, 15:1-8,  27-29, 12:32, 47, 16:7-11, 17:17; Acts 4:12, 16:31; Rom. 3:10-19, 24, 4:8, 5:1-11, 8:15-23, 33, 15:16; I Cor. 1:2; II Cor. 5:17-19, 21; Gal. 3:13, 4:4-6, 5:22-23; Eph. 2:8-10, 16; Col. 1:20-21; I Thess. 4:3-4;  II Tim. 1:9; Titus 2:11, 3:5; Heb. 5:9, 9:2, 12, 10:4; I Peter 1:3-5; II Peter 3:9; I John 1:8-9, 5:13; Rev. 22:17

 

Church: A biblical church is a called out assembly of believers who are saved, baptized, and gather in a certain geographical area. The mission of the local church is to evangelize, to teach, to edify, to glorify the Lord, to baptize, to disciple, and to purify or grow in the Lord through self-discipline, church discipline, and sovereign discipline. God established the church to bring glory to Himself, and He works through the local church to carry-out his plans. I believe that the church does not replace Israel. It was a mystery to the believers in the Old Testament, and revealed in the New Testament. A local church has two offices: Pastor and Deacons. The Bible gives us two ordinances: Baptism (Immersion) and the Lord’s Table or Communion. These ordinances are symbolic acts given by Christ that are to be followed by all believers and are restricted to only believers. They are not sacraments which means to confer grace to the participants. I believe that the church government in Scripture is congregational. I hold to the traditional baptist distinctives: B: Bible is the sole authority for faith and practice, A: Autonomy of the local church, P: Priesthood of the believer, T: Two church offices: Pastor and Deacon, I: Individual Soul Liberty, S: Saved church membership, T: Two ordinances: Baptism and the Lord’s Table, and S: Separation of church and state, Personal Separation, & Ecclesiastical Separation.

Matt. 3:16, 18:15-20, 22:21, 28:19-20; Acts 1:8, 2:47, 5:5-10, 6:1-7, 9:1-18, 10:43-48, 15:1-41, 16:14-15, 31-33, 28:19-20; Rom. 6:4, 10:9-10, 12:1-2, 13:1-7, 16:7-8; I Cor. 5:1-3, 11:17-34, 14:26; II Cor. 7:1; Eph. 1:5-14, 4:11-16, 5:11, 23; Phil. 4; Col. 1:18, 2:12; I Thess. 4:4; II Thess. 3:6, 14; I Tim. 2:5; II Tim. 3:16; Titus 1; II Pet. 2:1; I John 2:15-17, 27.

 

Angels: I believe that angels were created by God. They were created to praise the LORD, to worship, to serve the LORD, and to minister to believers. There are three positions of angels mentioned in Scripture (cherubims, seraphims, and the archangel). I believe that angels are spirit beings who can take on the form of a human. They possess superhuman strength, intelligence, and are holy. Lucifer was the “Anointed Cherub”, but he became prideful and rebelled against God. He took one third of the angels with him. These fallen angels are called demons. Satan works in the world today through: He seeks to destroy Christians, he tempts us to evil, he deceives us, he is the prince of this world, he is the father of lies, and he is the accuser of the brethren. Demons tempt to evil, and they can possess unbelievers. A believer cannot be possessed by a demon because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Satan and his demons will be judged and cast into the lake of fire for all eternity.

Gen. 3:24; Ex. 25:18-20; Job 38:1-7; Psalm 18:10, 148:1-2; Is. 6:1-3, 14:12-15; Ez. 1:4-28, 10:22,  28:4, 11-14; Dan. 8:16, 9:21; Matt. 4, 8:29; Mark 1:13; Luke 1:19, 8:2, 27, 17 John 8:44, 12:31; Acts 16:16; II Cor. 11:14; Col. 1:16-17; I Thess. 4:16; I Tim. 4:1; Heb. 1:6, 14; James 4:7; I Peter 5:8; Jude 1:6, 9; Rev. 12:4-10, 20:2-3.

 

End Times: I believe in the literal, physical, and visible return of the Lord Jesus to take His bride, the church, out of the world and into Heaven. I believe that this event is what we call the Rapture. I believe the rapture will first start with a trumpet of the Lord, the voice of the archangel, the Lord will come in the clouds, the dead in Christ will rise first, and the living believers will follow to be with the LORD forevermore. These events will happen in a fraction of time (twinkling of an eye), and we will be given glorified bodies. I believe that Scripture supports pre-tribulation rapture because the church is not mentioned after Revelation 3. Following the rapture, there will be a time where all the believers will appear before the Judgment Seat of the Lord. This does not deal with salvation or damnation, but it is according to our works on the earth. We will be judged to see if we were carnal or spiritual. Some will be rewarded for a life well lived, while others will suffer loss. Following the Judgment Seat of Christ will be the marriage supper of the Lamb. Following the rapture, there will be a literal seven year tribulation period where God’s wrath will be poured out on mankind. During the Tribulation, the Antichrist will make a league with Israel and then break the covenant and gather all the nations of the world to fight Israel. This is called the battle of Armageddon. Jesus will return and defeat the antichrist, false prophet, and his army. The Antichrist and false prophet will be thrown into the lake of fire. Satan will be cast into the bottomless pit for a thousand years. This begins Christ’s Millennial Reign which fulfills God’s promises to Israel: Abrahamic covenant, Palestinian covenant, Davidic covenant, and the New Covenant. At the end of the 1,000 years, Satan will be released from the pit for a season. He gathers the armies of the world and attacks Jerusalem. God rains down fire from heaven, and Satan is cast into the Lake of Fire. After Satan’s defeat, the Great White Throne judgment will take place. Every unbeliever will stand before God at the Great White Throne. The dead unbelievers will be resurrected and the living unbelievers will appear. The lost will be judged by their works. If their name is not found in the book of life, they will be cast into the Lake of fire. This is the second death. God will destroy the Earth with fire and create a new heaven and a new earth. God will dwell in the midst of the believers, and former things will be no more: no more death, no more sorrow, no more crying, no more pain, and no more sin. We will live with the Lord for all eternity. Those who were cast into Hell will experience unimaginable pain and torment for all eternity.

Gen. 12; Deut. 30:1-9; II Sam. 7:16; Is. 13:6-11; Jer. 31:31-40; Dan. 9:24-27; Matt. 8:12, 22:2, 25:41; Luke 5:32-35, 14:16-23, 16:27-28; John 5:24; Rom. 2:5, 14:10-12;  I Cor. 3:11-15; II Cor. 3:11-15, 5:10, 11:2; Eph. 5:22-32; I Thess. 4:16-17; II Peter 3:10-13; Rev. 6:1-7, 8:1, 9, 11:15, 14:10-1, 16:1-16, 19:7, 20, 20:1-3, 7-9, 12-15, 21:1-22:6.