WHAT I BELIEVE

1. God
I believe in the One True God of the Bible, the Creator of all things (Col. 1:16), who is three in one: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 13:14; John 10:30). He is eternal (Ps. 90:2; 1 Tim. 1:17), omniscient (139:1-9), omnipresent (Psalm 139:7-13), and omnipotent (Rev. 19:6). He is eternally sovereign over all things, including salvation (Ps. 115:3; Job 42:2; Rom. 8:29), and He is a holy (Is. 6:3) and righteous Judge (Deut. 32:4; Ps. 145:17). He is loving 1 John 4:8), merciful (Luke 6:36), and good (Ps. 34:8).

Jesus is God incarnate, God's Son, fully God and fully man (Col. 1:15; John 1:1, 14). He was born of the virgin Mary (Matt. 1:23) and lived a perfect, sinless life (1 John 3:5), leading up to His atoning death on the cross (Is. 53:5-6) to pay the debt for the sins of those who would believe in Him (1 John 2:2). Three days after death, Jesus rose again from the dead (Matt. 28:6) and is now seated at the right hand of God, interceding on our behalf (Rom. 8:34).

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, who regenerates sinners (Titus 3:5) and indwells believers upon salvation (Rom. 8:9). The Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our inheritance in Christ (Eph. 1:13-14), He is our teacher who convicts us of our sin and illuminates believers' hearts and minds as they study God's Word (1 Cor. 2:9-12).
I believe that the Holy Spirit is sovereign in the distribution of spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 12:11), and the miraculous gifts no longer function today as they did in the early days of the church (1 Cor. 12:4-11; 2 Cor. 12:12).

2. The Bible
I believe in the inspired, infallible, and all-sufficient Word of God, comprised of the canonized sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament (2 Timothy 3:16-17). The Bible is the final and ultimate authority in all things (2 Timothy 3:16-17), and it is complete, lacking nothing. While written by men, the Holy Spirit inspired and guided them to write exactly what He wanted them to, without any error or omission (2 Pet. 1:21).

3. Man
I believe that man, created in the image of God (Gen. 1:27), is totally depraved by nature after man's rebellion against God in the Garden of Eden. All have chosen to sin (Rom. 3:23), and without God, everyone is a slave to sin and are of the devil (John 8:34; 1 John 3:8). Unless a man is born again, they are dead in their trespasses, and will not inherit eternal life (Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:1).

4. Salvation
I believe salvation is the free gift of God, solely by grace through faith in Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:8-9). Jesus died in our place, bearing the wrath of God we deserve (Rom. 5:9). Christ's sacrifice is all-sufficient, and our good works can do nothing to earn us salvation, though good works will be a result of our faith (Eph. 2:8-9; James 2:14-15). Those who God draws to Himself to be saved must repent and put their trust in Jesus Christ (Acts 3:19; 1 John 1:9; Eph. 2:8-9). Genuine believers are eternally secured in their salvation by God's power and cannot lose their salvation (John 6:37-40; Rom. 8:38-39; 1 Peter 1:5; Jude 24).

5. Eternity
I believe that after death, those who are saved will go to be with the Lord in heaven, and those who have not repented and put their trust in Jesus will suffer in torment for all eternity (Matt. 25:46; Rev. 20:15). Once day, Jesus will return and rapture His saints (1 Thess. 4:13-18) and will establish His kingdom forever (Rev. 21:1-7; 2 Pet. 3:13).