The Word of God
I believe that the Bible, comprised of the 66 books of the Old and New Testament, is the Word of God, fully inspired and without error in the original manuscripts, written under the inspiration of the holy Spirit, and has supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct. (1 John 17:17; Romans 15:4; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:19-21)
I believe the main two versions are in the Spirit of the original text > King James
Version, and New International Version> because I trust in the committee of
scholars that voted and agree on these two main translations as I am not a scholar
(1Timothy 3:1-16; 1 Timothy 5:1-17).
a>The NIV Bible is translated by a world-class coalition of evangelical biblical
scholars who are all-out committed to the authority of Scripture and to
getting the words right. Learn more about the Committee on Bible
Translation. www.ibs.org
b> James gave the translators instructions intended to guarantee that the new version would reflect the episcopal structure of the Church of England and its belief in an ordained clergy.[8] The translation was done by 47 scholars, all of whom were
members of the Church of England. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_James_Version
c> I believe the Holy Spirit will provide the understanding in any version that
will speak to my heart the way God wills it. (John 10:27; Matthew 12:6-8) I
believe the Holy Spirit is still at work speaking God’s Word today in many
ways, and will until the return. (Acts 8:18-19; Romans 3:20; Hebrews 11-the
whole chapter) Abraham, Moses, Issac, Jacob, ect they did not have the Word
of God, but they knew His voice, and by faith they were saved.
The Trinity
I believe that there is one living and true God, eternally existing in three persons;
that these are equal in every divine perfection, and that they execute distinct but
harmonious offices in the work of creation, providence, and redemption. (Matthew
28:19; John 1:1-4; 1 John 5:7)
God the Father
I believe in God the Father, an infinite personal Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom,
power and love. I believe that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men,
that He hears and answers prayer, that He saves from sin and death all who come
to Him through Jesus Christ. (John 3:16-17; John 4:24; John 17:5)
Jesus Christ
I believe in Jesus Christ as God, the only begotten Son of the Father, conceived by
the Holy Spirit. I believe in His virgin birth as a human being, sinless life, miracles
and teachings. I believe in His substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection,
ascension into heaven, perpetual intercession for His people, and personal visible
return to earth. (Isaiah 7:14; John 1:14; Philippians 2:5-11; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17;
Hebrews 1:2-3; 1 John 1:7)
The Holy Spirit
I believe in the Holy Spirit who came forth from the Father and Son to convict the
world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and to regenerate, sanctify, and
empower all who believe in Jesus Christ. I believe that the Holy Spirit indwells every
believer in Christ and that He is abiding Helper, Teacher, and Guide. (John 16:7-15; Romans 8:14-17; Ephesians 1:13-14; 1 John 14:26) a> I believe in praying in the Spirit as Hannah did in the temple, and as the disciples did in the room at Pentecost. (1 Samuel 1:13-17; Acts 2:4-21; 1 Cor 14:1-25)
Regeneration
I believe that all men are sinners by nature and choice. Therefore, they are under judgment. I believe that those who repent of their sins and trust Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord are transformed by the Holy Spirit. (John 1:12-13; John 3:16-18; Acts 20:21; Titus 3:5)
a>I don’t believe it is my place to judge or condemn anyone. (Luke 6:27-31; Luke 6:37; Matthew 7:1-6; Titus 1:8-9; 1 Peter 3:8-12; 1 John 2:16 4:11; John 13:34-35; Roman 2:1-16)
The Church
I believe in the universal church, a living spiritual body of which Christ is the head and all regenerated persons are members. I believe in the local church consisting of a company of believers in Jesus Christ, baptized on a credible profession of faith, and associated for worship, work and fellowship. I believe that God has laid upon the members of the local church the primary task of giving the gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost world. (Matthew 16:16-18; Acts 2:38-41; Ephesians 2:19-22, 5:25-27)
Christian Conduct
I believe that a Christian should live for the glory of God and well being of his fellowmen; that his conduct should be blameless before the world; that he should be a faithful steward of his possessions; and that he should seek to realize for himself and others the full stature of maturity in Christ. (2 Corinthians 9:6-8; Ephesians 4:11-16; Philippians 2:14-16; Colossians 3:17-23; 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18)
The End Times-another title for this belief is Futurism or that Revelations is a literal translation not symbolism.
I believe in the personal and visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth and the establishment of His kingdom. I believe in the resurrection of the body, the final judgment, the eternal joy of the righteous, and the endless suffering of the wicked. (Matthew 25:31-46; John 5:18, 29; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Revelation 20:1-5)
Why am I doing this? It is important to know why I do what I do. It is important for me to be able to explain what I believe, and why to whomever. I believe in the great commission, which is to go out and tell others.
That all being said, I HATE that people die on the sole basis of what they believe. That is the main reason people came from England and other continents to form America to have the freedoms that are not available everywhere. I truly respect All Nations and forms of religion as I believe they are under God and it is your choice not to agree with me. I love that we can not agree! It makes me think!!
I came up with a chart awhile ago:
I fall within the wide arrow section. On the left side is light and the right side is dark.
This leads me to my research this weekend on Dispensationalism. You can Google it and read it for yourself, but be prepared, there is a lot of reading to do in order to fully understand it. My definition is a little loose: a Theological system to define who is closest to God in different times and era's.
There are different perspectives of Dispensationalism:
1-Classical
2-Progressive
3-Covenant which encompasses Jewish descendants by flesh vs by spirit.
4-Supersessionism which states the church replaced Israel as defined by the Old Testament.
Some argue that the era of defining Dispensation is what lead to the multitudes of church separations throughout history. However, before the Dispensations was the Fundamentals which separate what Protestants believe verses the Catholic Church. Which is even defined further into the 5 Solae and encompasses Transubstantiation.
Transubstantiation=is the change whereby, according to the teaching of the Catholic Church, the bread and the wine used in the sacrament of the Eucharist become, not merely as by a sign or a figure, but also in actual reality the body and blood of Christ.
In an effort to simplify all that into what I believe leads me to align to the 3 minimalist understanding of dispensation. I would like to pick out parts of the 5 Solae and agree with some of what Roger Williams talks about with the Universal Priesthood. I think that more than any other document or writing the separation between the Protestants and Catholics was Transubstantiation.
I personally love the respect and awe that each and every Catholic Mass presents when bringing a body of believers before Christ. The Saints of Catholicism are the examples of the disciples God was looking to form with the body of believers, as I believe we are all called to Sainthood. What catches me up is the 'Pharisee' attitude that comes with those in the Priesthood and in the governing body. I don't believe I am closer or further away from God because I am not the Pope or a priest or a nun. I believe God looks at all of our hearts and that is it. I am not a better person because I am a Jew or a Gentile or a Nazarene or a Mormon or someone who follows Wicka.
I love the song: We Believe.>>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjZ01FcK0yk
At the very simplest form of all the different denominations on the right (refer to picture above) can be summed up or encapsulated to all stand and say:
We believe in God the Father. We believe in Jesus Christ. We believe in the Holy Spirit. We believe.
There is no magic formula for learning Truth.
1 Corinthians 1:21, 'Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe.'
If you do a concordance search there are hundreds of verses on truth. I beg to argue that each man has to search for the truth that speaks the closest to what they know in their hearts. To measure it to what they know of the character of God. To look at it like the picture above in a light bulb. Just as a scientist tries to prove or disprove to formulate the particles that shook in the exact ways to form life. Or to identify dark matter and continue to theorize. We as a human race throughout culture, time, continents, man, or woman, the truth that God exists is real, is present, and is loving, is all the truth I need to continue to search for what I believe.
I know my perspectives will change, my attitudes will change, the tangents of fundamentals vs dispensations vs Solae vs denominations; my truth emerges as this:
God exists. God is real, is present, and is loving. He sent His only begotten Son that whoever believes will have life. The Holy Spirit came to help guide us to Truth as God in us-our conscience.
What do you believe??
No comments:
Post a Comment