What I believe

[the Bookworm]
[the Joker]
[the Music Fan]
[the Wirehead]
[the Writer]
[Not the Greg you're looking for]

What I believe

These things I believe and teach:

I. God: I believe in the eternal, omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, personal, triune God; Who created the Universe out of nothing; Who is holy, righteous, and just, but also loving, good, and merciful; and that His holiness and His love are not in tension, but in concert as the essence of His nature; that both love and holiness are fundamental to His nature.

II. The Father: I believe that God, while one in essence, nature, will, and authority, manifests Himself to man in three ways: as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; that the closest we can come to having a right relationship with the Father is expressed in the love and trust a child has towards a human father; and that the ideals of human fatherhood are symbols of the initiating, guiding, protecting, and providing love of God the Father.

(Note: In this society, many human fathers are so abusive to their own children that the power of fatherhood as a metaphor for God's love to us is lost for many people. Nevertheless, there are still fathers who love their children, and do act as a fitting "type" of God's love. God is not like every father, but the best of fathers are a little like God.)

III. Man: I believe that man was created to serve God, to have fellowship with Him, and to be a steward of creation; that man was created in the image of God and bears His likeness; that man's value derives from God, rather than from human nature, and therefore every human life is sacred, not to be violated by oneself or any other, except at the express command of God; and that love for God is expressed in part by serving man.

IV. Sin: I believe that man fell into a sinful state through disobedience; that sin is whatever harms or destroys objects, people, or relationships as God intended them to be; that sin separates us from God and, if not remedied, will result in eternal separation from His lifegiving presence; that man is now totally depraved, in the sense that every aspect of human nature is tainted with sin, and nothing in man can bring him back to God unaided; and that man does not deserve God's love and fellowship, is unable to satisfy the righteous demands of God's law, and is no longer even worthy to serve God, so that it is a privilege for us even to be called to God's service.

V. Christ: I believe that God the Father sent God the Son, Who, being eternally preexistent, became a human being and was born of a virgin; that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, God the Son and the Son of God, fully man and fully God; that he revealed God to us, and died to absorb and overcome the effects of our sinfulness, in order to provide a way of forgiveness so that man's relationship with God can be restored through Christ's death on the cross; that He rose bodily from the grave on the third day as a sign of God's approval of His obedience even to death; that He ascended bodily into heaven; and that He now lives and will return to judge all mankind.

VI. Salvation: I believe that salvation is the result of Christ's work of forgiveness, so that we no longer have to suffer the punishment for our sins, although we may have to suffer their temporal consequences; that salvation is being reconciled to God, and being allowed to live eternally in His presence and service; that our salvation is by grace through faith, and not by works, so that the value which God has placed upon us stems from His nature, not our own; that nothing we do can possibly make us worthy of salvation, nor put us beyond the reach of God's love; that faith without works is dead, so that if we claim to love God, but do nothing to demonstrate that love, we make ourselves out to be liars and hypocrites; that, while freed from the tyranny of sin and death, we are not yet perfected and need continual repentance and forgiveness until that day when we will be perfected; and that, out of gratitude to God for all His gifts, we owe Him service in whatever way He asks it, because our lives belong to Him.

VII. The Holy Spirit: I believe in God the Holy Spirit; that He works in the world to convict men of sin; that He has authority to endow us with spiritual gifts as He wills, for the building up of the Church, the Body of Christ; that we are baptised in the Holy Spirit at the time of repentance, conversion, and regeneration; that this is being "Born Again"; and that the Holy Spirit lives in Christians to lead us in our knowledge and service of God through seeking to understand and obey the Bible.

VIII. The Bible: I believe that the Holy Bible, Old and New Testaments, is the Word of God, wholly true and suitable for instruction and reproof, verbally inspired from God, without overriding the humanity and personality of the writers; and that the Bible is the record of God's ultimate self-revelation to man in Jesus Christ, so that, although God does give guidance today, no purported revelation of God's will which contradicts biblical principles can be of God.

IX. The Church: I believe that God has called together those whom He has saved and that these form the Church, the Body of Christ; that the Church is called to preach the gospel to all peoples, to worship God together, and to celebrate the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord's Supper as means of making real in our hearts Christ's sacrifice in giving His life for us so that our lives may be hid with Him; that where the Church loses its vision for spreading the message of the kingdom of God, to that extent it ceases to be the Church, for God will not have His gifts hoarded; that local manifestations of the Church should be accountable to God alone, and not to any human organisation, but that congregations of common doctrine and polity should pool their resources in order to be better stewards of their resources in spreading the gospel to the world.

X. The Ordinances: I believe that the Church is called to celebrate the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord's Supper; that they are outward and visible signs of an inward and spiritual reality; that Baptism is the sign of our regeneration in Christ, and the Lord's Supper the sign of our communion with Him and with each other, and our hope of His triumphant return; that the form of the elements, and the timing of the Lord's Supper are less important than that it be carried out in a joyful and meaningful way; that Believer's Baptism is the only truly valid form, and that Baptism by immersion is the Biblical mode; that neither ordinance is necessary, of itself, to salvation, but that both are public professions of faith and obedience and aids to spiritual growth.

XI. The Ministry: I believe that local congregations should set aside gifted and trained people to serve the Church by enabling the members to carry out their mission more effectively within the community; that each member of the Church is a servant of God, and therefore a minister, for if Jesus is Lord, then we are all His servants; that the role of the pastor is that of an enabler, so that the pastor assists the ministry of each member, rather than doing their worship and witness for them.