Statement of Faith

The first thing that you must know about my faith, if you wish to understand any part of it, is that I
believe that the Bible is the inerrant and divinely inspired word of God. It holds the truths which are
necessary for us to understand God the Father, Jesus Christ who was sent to save us, the work of the Holy
Spirit which cleanses and purifies us, and the way of salvation provided by this triune God. There is no other source on earth, which can reveal the truth of the love that He has for His people, than the words that He breathed Himself. His word is where we find His direction for our life, and it is through this generations old text, that He can speak to us.

I believe that we were created by God because He wanted to be with us, and He desired to love us.
He created an entire world so that we could have a place to be with Him and experience His love for us. In
order to properly love us however, He had to give us the free will to choose to love Him and be obedient to
His will. He will not force us to love Him, and He will not force us to submit to Him, because He desires for us to do these things by our own decision. This is the reason that He created us, so that He could have a
personal loving relationship with each one.

As water runs down a hill, it will always follow the easiest path available to it. If the water were to
encounter a stone, the water will divert its course and travel around the stone. It is easier for that water to
travel around the stone than over it. Like the water, I believe that each one of us is born with a tendency
toward sin. A life of sin is easier to live in this world than a life of righteousness. It is easier to steal than to
work, and it is easier to gossip than to have loving conversation. While we have a tendency toward sin, we are not born guilty of sin. To be guilty of sin requires a conscious decision to disobey the will of God in our life.

When we reach a point in our life where we are mature enough to be held responsible for our choices, each one of us makes the decision to disobey the will of God in some fashion. When we make that decision, we create a separation between ourselves and the one who created us. While we were created in His image, our decisions to behave in ways that are not according to His will, changes us at a spiritual level.

The more we sin, the less like Him we appear and the less likely we are to do the things that He would have us do. According to Romans 3:23, all people have sinned and are not worthy of the glory of God. The
punishment for this sin, according to Romans 6:23 is eternal death and separation from the Father.
I believe that God experiences more pain by our separation from Him than we do. Therefore, He sent
His Son to die on the cross as payment for our sin. His sacrifice created a new covenant between God and
man. This covenant says that anyone who believes in what Christ has done for them, and repents from their sinful ways, can inherit eternal life. The blood of Christ was paid so that, upon our acceptance of His gift, we can be restored to our original purity, we can be justified before the Father, and we can be adopted into His family so that we can receive that inheritance.

This is not the end of the process, however. Hebrews 12:14 tells us that “without holiness, no man shall see God.” This is the work of the Holy Spirit, who was sent by Jesus Christ to be our helper and guide. He brings us to the Lord before we know Him, and upon our submission to the Lordship of God over our lives, rids us of our old sinful selves and replaces it with a new life which desires after the will of God. As we give pieces of ourselves over to Him, He makes us more like Christ. It is a process of growth, which will only be completed by our death in this world and resurrection into the next.

The final piece of my faith that I wish to share, is that I believe we are each called to share our faith
with others. We are required by Christ, in Matthew 28, to make Christlike disciples in every part of the world. We are to teach others about the love of God and the sacrifice that He made for us. We are to teach them about right living, and the wonderful promise of heaven which is offered to those who obediently pursue His will in their life.

This is the faith that I hold, and it is the faith which defines my life. Thank you for allowing me to share it with you.