Doctrinal Statement

The following is doctrinal statement that I teach.  I affirm that these are essential core doctrines to Christian faith and practice.  May God’s Word be our teacher over any man.

I.  There is One God, His Name is Yahweh

                God is Triune, existing eternally as one God in three Persons: the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, all referred to as male.

                God is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient.

                God is perfect in goodness, righteousness, justice, wrath, wisdom, mercy, grace, and love.

                God is without restraint or limitation in regards to time, force, action, space, or matter.

                God is the only true God; all others are false gods, they do not truly exist.

II.  The Bible is God’s Perfect Word

                The Bible is inerrant in all its original manuscripts.

                The Bible is infallible in all its parts, and as a whole.

                The Bible is plenary in its 66 books, missing no portion, nor having any unnecessary portion.

                The Bible is sufficient to achieve its purposes for faith and godliness in every time and every culture.

                The Bible is perspicuous, having one true meaning, knowable by any man through proper historical-grammatical context.

III.  Man is Inherently Sinful

                We are made in the image of God which is obscured through the stain of sin.

                We are sinful from the moment of conception, when we are fully human with a human soul.

                We are spiritually dead—unable to achieve any spiritual good—until regenerated by the Holy Spirit.

                We are under penalty of moral law and deserve divine moral justice, namely physical and spiritual death.

                We are unable to save ourselves by any means or merit or motive.

IV.  Jesus Christ is the Only Savior

                Jesus was born of a virgin, conceived of the Holy Spirit, 100% man, 100% God, unstained by man’s sin.

                Jesus lived a perfectly righteous life, being tempted in every way and overcoming every time.

                Jesus was physically killed, physically resurrected, and ascended into heaven.

                Jesus died an undeserved death, taking the place of any who surrender their lives to him in faith.

                Jesus is the only way of salvation, by paying the penalty for man—not removing it from him.

V.  We are Saved by Grace Through Faith Unto Righteousness

                Saving faith is not earned or deserved by any man, but freely offered by God’s grace.

                Saving faith is produced by the work of the Holy Spirit in the soul of the man.

                Saving faith is an inherent trust in the character of God as described in His Word.

                Saving faith is manifested and witnessed in repentance, belief, and good works.

                Saving faith is indestructible, never failing, and cannot be lost, abandoned, or taken away.

VI.  Salvation was, is, and is to come.

                Salvation is by predestination in the plan of God for every believer before time began.

                Salvation is by the free agency and will of man to place faith and trust and allegiance in God.

                Salvation is by predestination and free will, and is impossible to truly reconcile with temporal understanding.

                Salvation is by justification in coming to saving faith, sanctification in daily living, and glorification in the future.

                Salvation is by true saving faith, which can only be known to God with full certainty.

VII.  Christ Will Come Again

                Christ currently sits at the right hand of God, alive and active in the world through the activity of the Holy Spirit.

                Christ will return in physical form as before to claim the earth with judgment.

                All persons who have ever lived will be resurrected with true, indestructible, physical bodies, like Christ.

                Those who had true saving faith will live on a new heaven and new earth with God.

                Those who did not have true saving faith will be cast into Hell—the lake of fire—with Satan and his minions forever.

The following are also important doctrines that I teach; though I affirm the value of each of these statements, I do not hold them to be of central import to the saving gospel of Jesus, and I hope never to split fellowship in God’s kingdom over them.  May the Word of God be our teacher over any man.

VIII.  The Church

                The Church is the people of God, not a building nor an institution, but a collection of all who possess true saving faith.

                The Church is the body of Christ, the means by which his activity takes place on earth.

                The Church is the bride of Christ, characterized by commitment and faithfulness, each from one to the other.

                The Church is the priesthood of believers, mediating between God and the world as ambassadors of salvation.

                The Church is the holy nation of God, a people of an invisible kingdom of allegiance, intimacy, and loyalty to God.

IX.  Men and Women

                Man and Woman are both equally created in the image of God, equal in value, but different in function.

                The pastoral office is specifically male, not by capacity or ability, but simply by God’s intention, order, and design.

        Like the Trinity, man and woman are united as one (in marriage), yet maintain their separate personhood.

        Man was made for natural relations with one woman, and woman was made for natural relations with one man.

        Adultery, promiscuity, homosexuality, and other aberrant sexual behavior are explicitly deviations from God’s desire.

X.  Spiritual Gifts

                Every believer is equipped with varying abilities which are to be used to edify the Church.

                Spiritual gifts can be used properly, as instructed in Scripture, or irresponsibly abused.

                Speaking in tongues, interpretation, healing, and prophecy were authenticating gifts in the early church.

                Authenticating gifts do not possess the same prominence today as during the Apostolic Age, but have not ceased today.

                No authenticating gift can contradict, reinterpret, nor conflict in any way with Scripture.

XI.  Baptism & Communion

                Baptism is the physical symbol of a believer’s death, burial, and resurrection with Christ by immersion in water.

                Baptism is to express true saving faith, not parental intent nor baby dedication; it is not for infants or unbelievers.

                Communion is the physical symbol of a believer’s participation in the broken body and shed blood of Christ.

                Communion is to express true saving faith, not transubstantiation nor consubstantiation; it is for remembrance of Christ.

                Baptism is done only once, for new believers; Communion is done frequently for all believers.

XII.  Creation & Evolution

                God created the world in six literal, 24-hour, solar days, approximately 6000 to 10,000 years ago.

                God created all things in a mature state, including the earth, all life, and all physical processes.

                God created the world with everything created “according to its kind”, not evolved, mutated, or speciated.

                God did not evolve anything and is not evolving anything by theistic evolution.

                God created the world and no longer creates ex nihilo, but will someday make a new heaven and a new earth.