When this website was a community website, I did not feel it was appropriate to post a statement of faith, because as a community we may be at different points in our faith & although even an infantile faith should subscribe to some basics, as a community-based website I wanted to allow some latitude to others.  Perhaps I was wrong not to at least post a basic statement of faith even for the community to discuss.

Now that I have transitioned this website into more of a personal blog, I feel it is not only appropriate but indeed necessary to post a statement of faith that reflects my beliefs.  This statement may not reflect the beliefs of former or future contributors but at least the readers will have something solid to determine the mindset of the owner of this website rather than be in constant doubt or flux as to what I actually believe.

I could simply select a historical statement of faith or confession, but I wanted to personalize it a bit more.  However, I would like to encourage the reader to understand that even the historical statements of faith should not be shunned or avoided merely as a manmade bind upon the consciences of men, but rather a declaration of stability.  A statement of faith is a starting point from which a true conversation can ensue.  So many people in our contemporary world desire to be enigmatic about everything & thus any conversation with them about almost anything is a constant contradiction in terms & beliefs to the point that even when you think you have their basic beliefs resolved they will protest that you misrepresent them.  It is my hope that this statement of faith will be so clear that the reader will know exactly where I stand & will not have to spend hours & hours just trying to ascertain my basic beliefs.  I will soon add biblical references to each point.

I believe…

1. The purpose of Creation & everything therein is to glorify God, not so God could have something to love or something to love Him.
2. God is eternal – having no beginning & no end.
3. God is one expressed through three personas – Father, Son, & Holy Spirit
4. God created the physical universe including the planet earth
5. God created humans & all humans descend from Adam, a real man not just a representation.
6. God has decreed (not just foresaw) all things from the end to beginning including the Fall of Adam for the sole purpose that God may glorify Himself in restoring creation (see point #1), yet God is not guilty of the Fall of Adam. (see supralapsarianism)
7. The Fall affected all humans descended from Adam (see point #5) & all inherited a sinful nature, prone to sin & unable to sustain any righteousness, but only appearances of it.
8. God has mainly worked through typological pattern, showing more & more of His plan, nature, & character through a progressive revelation culminating in the coming of Christ. There is no more new revelation outside of revelation of Christ & His purpose.
9. The Bible is the Word of God which means that it is the surest revelation of His plan, nature, & character.  (The Bible is defined not by any specific translation but by the original & received text & its original intent which can be ascertained by Christians of all languages with proper dedicated & prayerful study).  Nature also reveals God & His handiwork but that is not the surest method to “know God”.
10. The Bible is no longer being constructed but was completed with the removal or death of the last of the original apostles of Christ – the apostles to whom the Holy Spirit was given to guide THEM into all truth.  No man or woman today can speak in any revelatory manner that would supersede or magnify what ANY Christian can ascertain from reading the Bible for him or herself.
11. The Holy Spirit still operates today but was specifically given to the apostles to guide THEM into all truth (which is the definition of inspiration) & to relate to them things that were yet to come.  No contemporary Christian can claim to have more or less of the Holy Spirit’s guidance than any other Christian.
12. The Ten Commandments or Law was given specifically to the Jews but generally to mankind to magnify the sinful nature of humanity (see point #7) & no man except for Christ was or is able to keep all points & yet if a man is guilty in just one point, he is guilty in all.  The Law is not unrighteous in of itself but is only a “curse” in the fact that it reminds mankind of his sinful state.  The Ten Commandments act as a schoolmaster bringing eventual realization of sinful nature & repentance of those who God has decreed will return to Him (see points #1 & #6)
13. The Jewish/Israelite people WERE used by God to show that God’s grace & mercy is & will be exclusive & not universal/all-inclusive.  It was never about being Jewish by ethnic or genetic lineage but always about being a “Jew” via faith.  The Church has not replaced the Jews, but Israel was always only of Israel by faith.
14. Jesus is God personified in the flesh, sent as decreed from God as part of the eternal God-glorifying plan to exclusively redeem a peculiar people (His sheep) which include not just ethnic Jews but also Gentiles – from this we understand verses such as John 3:16 speak not as all-inclusive of every individual but of every type of people; Jew & Gentile, free & slave, rich & poor, male & female.
15. Jesus as the Messiah, the Christ whom the Jews often mistook as coming only to redeem ethnic Israel/Jews actually came & successfully completed the God-decreed process of redeeming the “world” (see point #14).  This means that God did NOT change plans simply because the Jews rejected Jesus as Messiah, but it was always supposed to be that Jesus would die & pay the price for the sinful nature of the “world” – not just the Jews. God did NOT revert to a backup plan, nor is there a parenthesis age called the "Church Age" that must be completed & at which time God will revert back to saving Jews specifically.
16. Jesus is the culmination of the entire Bible – all things pointed to Him & His act on the Cross, His resurrection, & His return as the redeemer of the “world”.
17. Jesus’ death on the Cross was the blood atonement (payment) for the penalty of death which was wrought by Adam & Eve’s disobedience.  Except a person repent & believe in Christ & His atoning work on the Cross alone, that person cannot be saved – thus faithful people before the historical advent of Jesus’ coming looked forward to this atonement & the life it would bring (often called “the hope of Israel”) & people since the Cross are now able to partake of the atoning work immediately upon true confession brought about by regeneration.
18. Miracles performed by Jesus & the apostles were not merely in effort to express humanistic kindness to persons but were specifically to physically manifest the nature of restoration that was occurring in the spiritual realm.  Though it is not denied that God may still act in the world via miraculous intervention, the specific types of miracles performed by Jesus & the apostles & Christians during the apostolic age (before all apostles were removed or died) were for a specific purpose & do not continue to this day. (see cessationism)
19. Christ is the Cornerstone of the Church & the apostles are the foundation, thus there is no more foundation being laid that was not constructed in the apostolic age, hence there are no more apostles & prophets today (see point #16).
20. The Church was designed to never end, never go completely into corruption, never to be destroyed by the “gates of hell”, thus any teaching that claims the Church or Gospel has been completely lost or corrupted & needed to be restored, is in error (such as how Mormons & other groups have claimed).
21. Church government in the apostolic age was of such nature that the apostles had direct oversight via apostolically appointed elders.  There is no sense that there would be a succession either of apostles (such as in popes) or elders since all elders in the apostolic age were appointed by apostles & worked in concert with apostles.  Elders in the apostolic age, though having to meet a criterion still were always appointed by apostles.  There is no evidence of elders being elected by congregations, assuming the role after schooling, or summarily taking up the role.  Hence, I submit the role of Elder was also for the specific apostolic age to act in concert with apostles as the Bible was being concluded for the direction of the saints, at which time all Christians would then have direct access to the Word of God, revealed (the O.T. was a shadow, the N.T. is the revelation).  There is no longer need for apostles, prophets, or even elders to speak in a revelatory manner of “thus saith the Lord”.  This does not negate  the possible organizing of groups of Christians as it is still necessary to assemble, but any & all distinction of “clergy” or “laity” is not only confusing but misleading because it causes the Church to assume some men have more access to Christ than others.
22. The purpose of the Church is to glorify God, to preach the Gospel which is repent & believe in the atoning blood of Christ (see point #17), to equip & edify Christians for this purpose.  The Church should NOT be primarily active in social or cultural programs but should be primary involved in equipping & edifying the Christian to carry out the preaching of the Gospel – this means churches that are spending more time catering to non-Christians, even in effort to convert them is NOT performing the work given to the Church – the equipping & edifying of the saints.
23. The preaching of the Gospel is be preached to the “world” – all types of people without distinction, & indeed has already gone into all the world & will continue to go into all the world as people are constantly being added to the world.  It is by God’s decree alone that some respond to the Gospel & others do not, thus it is not the Christian’s prerogative as to whom may or may not have the benefit of hearing the Gospel preached.
24. Freewill in as much as it is a reality at all only would have pertained to Adam & Eve in their original ability to obey or disobey (see point #6) but since that time no man can rightfully be said to have “freewill” or neutrality of will to choose life over death or death over life, but all men are born with the inherited sinful nature & are by nature in “bondage to sin” & no man is able to free himself from this bondage even if commanded any more than mankind could have kept the Ten Commandments when commanded – only by the enabling mercy & grace of God are SOME redeemed out of bondage to sin & then placed into the happy servitude of righteousness (which actually is the righteous via & of Christ alone).
25. Just as God must be the initiator of faith, He is also the finisher of faith thus no truly regenerated person can revert back to the dead state he was in before Christ gave him life.  Simply, we did not gain our salvation by works nor can we maintain our salvation by works, yet works of righteousness are done in appreciation of election & reflection of the fruit of life now within us.  Those claiming to be Christian yet not displaying any consistent fruit, may actually not be regenerated & may at some point be treated as unregenerate by God & fellow Christians until & unless they make their calling & election sure.
26. UPDATED Jan 09, 2008 -- In matters of the so-called “endtimes” (eschatology), the Church is at a threshold of understanding.  That is, the Church has worked out its understanding of such things as the deity of Christ, the nature of the Trinity, & other such theological expressions but in the area of eschatology, the Church has yet to go through the arduous process of solidifying a biblical understanding of eschatology but has nevertheless espoused a basic eschatology, which includes a future advent of Christ & the resurrection of believers -- however that is to be interpreted.  In that regard I consider myself "propositionally preteristic but postmillenial in practice".  I am open for vigorous & honest Bible-based interaction on this topic from honest people.

Please take some time to read these historically important Confessions & Statements of Faith.

Reformed Christians Confessions of Faith

B.B. Warfield’s Statement of Faith