Beliefs
Below is a list of my core doctrinal beliefs. The source of my beliefs is the Word of God which dictates all my beliefs and behaviors as a Christian. The keystone of my beliefs is Jesus Christ, the living Word, who saved me redeemed me, and now calls me to follow Him in the daily grace that He offers through His death and resurrection. This list, of course, is not a complete list of my Christian beliefs. If you have questions about the beliefs listed here, feel free to reach out to me at the contact information listed at the bottom.
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The Bible
I believe in the verbal, plenary inspiration of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments and that they compose the entire Word of God. The Scriptures, including every word, are inerrant, infallible, and God-breathed; and therefore, are the final authority for faith and life.
(2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21)
I further believe that God has preserved the inspired Scriptures forever, down to the very words, and that God has made His preserved Word available to use for our learning and benefit. Based on my commitment to the text from which it comes, I use the King James Bible for English-speaking people. In other languages, I seek to use translations of the same Greek and Hebrew texts that faithfully translate that text.
(Psalm 119:152,160; Mark 13:31; Luke 16:17; Romans 15:4; 1 Peter 1:23)
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The Godhead
I believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons - God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit. God is an infinite, intelligent Spirit, the Maker and Supreme Ruler of heaven and earth, inexpressibly glorious in holiness and worthy of all possible honor, confidence and love.
(Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; II Corinthians 13;14; John 14:10, 26)
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Jesus Christ
God’s only begotten Son, conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, sinless in His life, ever obedient unto the Father, and the only atonement for the sin of this world by His death (through the shedding of His blood) on the cross. I believe that He arose bodily after the third day, ascended to Heaven, and even now is seated at the Father’s right hand, as our High Priest and only Mediator. I look for His personal, visible, bodily, pre-millenial, pre-tribulational, and imminent return to the earth according to His promises.
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The Holy Spirit
I believe the Holy Spirit is a divine Person, equal with God the Father and God the Son, and of the same nature: that He was active in the creation: that in His relation to the unbelieving world, the Holy Spirit restrains the evil one until God's purpose is fulfilled; that the Holy Spirit convicts of sin, of judgment, and of righteousness; that He is the witness of and guide into all truth; that He shall not speak of nor exalt Himself, but will glorify the Son of God; that the Holy Spirit is the agent in the New Birth; and that He seals, endues. comforts, guides, teaches, witnesses, sanctifies, and helps the believer.
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Man
I believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam’s sin the human race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; and, that all men are sinners by birth and by choice, and, of themselves, utterly unable to remedy their lost condition.
(Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:22-23; 5:12; 6:23; Ephesians 2:1-3; 4:17-19)
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Salvation
Salvation is by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8,9). I believe that eternal salvation is impossible apart from the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:10). Salvation is obtained through “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ”(Acts 20:21). Biblical salvation is offered solely by grace, as a free gift, through the shed blood of God the Son, which He shed for the sins of the whole world (all mankind). In order to be saved, sinners must be born again. This new birth is a new creation in Christ Jeus; it is instantaneous and not a process. Salvation is an eternal work and those who are truly saved can never be lost again, but will be kept (preserved) by the power of God (Romans 8:38,39; John 10:28-29), and not the efforts of man.
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Heaven & Hell
I believe that Heaven and Hell are literal places, prepared by God. Every person will spend eternity in one of these two places. All those who have been saved (born again) will live eternally with God in Heaven. All those without Christ (devoid of spiritual life) will live in Hell, eternally separated from God. One day, death and Hell will be cast into the lake of fire, the final dwelling place for all who reject Christ (Revelation 20:14-15).
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The Church
I believe that the local church, which is the body and espoused bride of Christ, is a visible assembly solely made up of born-again persons who have been Scripturally baptized who meet for worship, fellowship, and fulfillment of the Great Commission.
(I Corinthians 12:12-14; II Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:25)
I believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures and that the local church is God's primary means of working in and through His people in this dispensation.
(Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; I Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11)
I believe in the autonomy of the local church, free of any external authority or control.
(Acts 13:1-4; 15:19-31; 20:28; Romans 16:1, 4; I Corinthians 3:9, 16; 5:4-7,13; I Peter 5:1-4)
Water baptism by immersion and the Lord’s Supper are the Scriptural ordinances of obedience for the local church in this age. Scriptural baptism should be performed by a local church, and the Lord's Supper should be administered in and for the local church.
(Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; 18:18; I Corinthians 11:23-26)
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Separation
I believe that all the saved should live in a manner that does not bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord; and that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices, and associations is commanded of God. In addition, I believe the church should adhere to godliness, separating from brothers that “walk disorderly” and from fellowshipping with other churches that promote false doctrine.
(Romans 12:1-2; 14:13; II Corinthians 6:14-7:1; II Timothy 3:1-5; I John 2:15-17; II John 9-11)
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The Second Advent of Christ
I believe in that “blessed hope,” the personal, imminent return of Christ Who will rapture His Church prior to the seven-year tribulation period. At the end of the Tribulation, Christ will personally and visibly return with His saints to establish His earthly, Messianic Kingdom which was promised to the nation of Israel. I believe that this will be a literal, thousand-year kingdom in which the saints will rule and reign with Christ.
(Ps. 89:3-4; Daniel 2:31-45; Zechariah 14:4-11; I Thessalonians 1:10; 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; Rev. 3:10; 19:11-16; 20:1-6)
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The Eternal State
I believe in the bodily resurrection of all men- the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgement and everlasting punishment.
(Matthew 25:46; John 5:28-29; 11:25-26; Revelation 20:5-6, 12-13)
I believe that the souls of the redeemed are at death absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord.
(Luke 23:43; II Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; 3:21; I Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 20:4-6)
I believe that the souls of unbelievers remain after death in conscious punishment and torment until the second resurrection when, with soul and body reunited, they will appear at the Great White Throne Judgment and will be cast in the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment and torment.
(Matthew 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; II Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Revelation 20:11-15)
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Satan
I believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin, and the cause of the fall of man; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; and that he will be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire.
(Job 1:6-7; Isaiah 14:12-17; Matthew 4:2-11; 25:41; Revelation 20:11-15)
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Creation
I believe that God created the universe in six literal, 24-hour periods. I reject the Gap Theory, the Day-Age Theory, and Theistic Evolution as unscriptural theories of origin.
(Genesis 1-2; Exodus 20:11)
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Marriage
I believe that God has commanded that no intimate physical activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. God's design for marriage and intimacy is one man and one woman for a lifetime, and anything else is a sinful perversion of God’s original intent for a physical relationship between a husband and wife.
(Genesis 2:24; 19:5, 13; 26:8-9; Leviticus 18:1-20; Romans 1:26-29; I Corinthians 5:1; 6:9; I Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4)
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Missions
I believe that God has given the church a great commission to proclaim the Gospel to all nations so that there might be a great multitude from every nation, tribe, ethnic group, and language group who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. As ambassadors of Christ we must use all available means to go to the foreign nations and not wait for them to come to us. Missionaries ought to be sent out of a local church with the guidance of the Holy Spirit and should remain accountable to that sending church.
(Matthew 28:29-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; II Corinthians 5:20)