An overview of the beliefs held by the author.
This summary is a brief and hopefully thorough statement of the author’s beliefs. It is not meant to be exhaustive and does not provide justification for these beliefs. This does not cover all the beliefs held by the author, merely those which are central to the major doctrines of Christianity. A future statement is “under construction” that is meant to provide a broader and more detailed picture of beliefs as well as the Biblical justifications for each belief.
There is one Most High GOD, Who is the GOD of the Holy Bible, the GOD of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. GOD is three persons and one GOD. The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit are all equally GOD in all ways. They are coequal and yet have different roles. GOD is the Creator of all things we know, all of the universe, man, the sun, moon, stars, planets, life, everything. GOD, or Yahweh, is a name given in the Bible to the Father. I Am is also an often repeated Name of GOD in the Bible. This triune Godhead is referred to as the Trinity. GOD is all loving and patient, long suffering and willing to accept all who are willing to honor, love and worship Him. GOD is also just and He cannot and will not abide sin.
The Bible is the very Word of GOD. It is GOD breathed, written by The Holy Spirit and penned by the hands of men through whom the Spirit acted. The Biblical authors wrote scripture under the influence of the Holy Spirit but the act of writing was not robotic. The human authors were fully in control of themselves when they wrote (or in some cases dictated to a scribe) yet the text is the work of The Holy Spirit. The Bible is a single book, made up of smaller books, penned by human authors over a period of 1600 – 1700 years. The Bible is a work of writing delivered to mankind by deliberate design. Each and every word, phrase or story in the Bible is there with specific intent. We have not yet learned everything there is to know about GOD or GOD’s Word and some things remain uncertain. The core doctrines of orthodox Christianity are not impacted by our lack of total understanding however. Good scholars have learned a great deal about the text over the centuries and the evidence for its authenticity is great, if only one is willing to look.
The Bible is inerrant and infallible as originally delivered to the human authors. This is only completely true in the original languages of course, mostly Hebrew and Koine Greek with a small amount of Aramaic. There are many things in the Bible that are considered controversial by some people and some things are even considered contradictory. Thorough study clears up the vast majority of these supposed contradictions quite easily. Every person should remember that just because something is described in the Bible, that does not mean it is an instruction from GOD. The Bible has descriptive and prescriptive passages. Some of these tell what happened while others give us instruction. The best understanding of the Bible is found through study of the whole, never by taking meaning from any small isolated part.
Jesus (or Yeshua) is The Son, one of the three persons of the One GOD. Jesus came to earth and was born as a human, lived a sinless life as an example to us and primarily so that He would be a fitting sacrifice to pay for our sins. Jesus Christ is and was the Messiah predicted to come and provide salvation to all mankind. Jesus gave up His life on the cross of crucifixion and took up His life again on the third day, as prophesied in the Old Testament scripture and by Jesus Himself in the gospels. This atoning death was and is the payment for the sins of all mankind, offered as a free gift to those who believe so that through Him we may have eternal life. Jesus has other names, such as the Lamb of GOD, the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world, the Door, the Good Shepherd, I Am – since He and The Father are one – the Lion of the Tribe of Judah and others.
The Holy Spirit works GOD’s will (His will actually since He is the third member of the Trinity) on earth today and indwells true believers. The Holy Spirit points in all ways to Christ and does not glorify Himself.
Mankind is born into a sinful nature and all have sinned and come short of the glory of GOD. Man fell when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden and the earth was cursed then. We live in this fallen state. Jesus Christ is the Redeemer, He Who came to pay the debt we could never pay so that we might return to fellowship with our Creator, GOD, and have eternal life through Him. You can learn more about salvation from our sins here.
Whosoever will may come to Jesus, and if they believe in Him, that he died for their sins and rose again on the third day, anyone who believes this and puts their faith and trust in Him, they may be dead to their sins through His sacrifice and be born again as a new creation and be given eternal life, that even as He lived they may also live.
You might want to explore Biblical doctrine further and a good resource for that is GotQuestions.org. This site is filled with answers to many questions about the faith and is written by accomplished Biblical scholars who consistently provide the justification for their statements.
May GOD Bless and Keep you as you Seek the Narrow Gate