It occurred to me recently that although an official "statement of faith" is something you would typically expect to see decreed by a church denomination--or local assembly--it's not such a bad idea for each of us, as believers, to fashion a personal statement of faith, putting into words what we believe and why we believe it. For me and my household, we believe the following...
1. We trust that the the Bible as we have it, unadulterated from the most reliable texts, is God's Holy and Inspired and Inerrant and Infallible Word. We believe that God has not failed to exercise His sovereignty over the translation of His Word, and that while there are many good translations available, we note that the King James Version has been proven in use for more than 400 years. We therefore conclude that God considers it sufficient to this day, and we believe that Christians do well to compare the modern translations to the King James Version during study.
2. With God's printed Word as our guide, we have been taught to affirm that God indeed has come to visit His creation, in the Person of His Son Jesus Christ, and He has paid the owed penalty for all of the sins of ALL mankind. We reject notions of "limited atonement," affirmed by some doctrines of men, and do so based on 1 John 2:2 and 2 Peter 2:1. Jesus has paid the price for the sins of every man, and salvation is available to all mankind.
3. We further affirm that there is no other way to be saved, except through faith in Jesus Christ as our savior. We believe that the grace of God which brings salvation has appeared to ALL men, which we learn from reading Titus 2:11. We understand that not every man has heard the gospel spoken to him directly; however, Psalm 19 tells us that God's Heavens have declared--and continue to declare--His Glory. We find further evidence of this doctrine in Romans chapter 1. Therefore we affirm that God has made salvation available to every person, for all ages, through His Divine Providence, holding each man and each woman accountable for what he or she has known of God. Acts 17:30 and the full text of Psalm 19 give us hope for peoples who have lived and died having never heard the gospel preached verbally.
4. Salvation is, in its totality, the work of God. Man has nothing to add to the finished work of Christ. We reject as heresy any teaching that asserts that man must perform some sort of additive work to either take hold of, or else to maintain his salvation.
5. We have noted the intrusion of false doctrine in these seeming last days, as the Apostle Paul warned us about. We believe we must stand firm for what the Bible actually teaches, and that we must speak out against the heresies of false teachers whenever and wherever we hear them.
6. We believe in a pre-millennial rapture of true believers in Christ. Prior to the tribulation period to come, Christ will take His bride--the church--away from this world while judgment is poured out upon those left behind. We believe that many will come to true faith in Christ during this time, and we praise God for that. We know these things from reading the book of Revelation and accepting its literal Truth.
7. We reject the allegorical interpretation of scriptural prophecies, and trust that where no obvious reason is given in the text to take these prophecies in a symbolic manner, we should take them literally. Since the prophecies which have been fulfilled so far in the Bible were all fulfilled in a literal manner, we trust that those yet remaining to be fulfilled will come true literally.
8. We believe in Bible study. Not occasionally reading a verse or chapter here and there, but rather applying ourselves to the understanding of God's Word. Since we are commanded to study to show ourselves approved (2 Timothy 2:15), we seek to zealously apply ourselves to this task.
9. We are told in 1 Thessalonians 5 not to despise prophecies. We understand that God has included a substantial amount of prophecy in His Word, and we would be remiss not to study it. The Jews in Jesus' day missed their Messiah because they did not understand the PROPHECY which God had given them. Therefore we study prophecy, and ask God to reveal to us the Truths therein, by His Holy Spirit. We must understand the times in which we are living.
10. We believe that those who sew discord among the brethren will be dealt with by God. Therefore we truly seek to avoid doing such. Romans 14 shows us that we are not to divide ourselves over disputable matters. We must accept each other's differences on non-essential matters such as which Bible version they favor, dietary issues, eschatology, and such. We must treat each other with love.
11. We believe in sharing our faith as Christ commanded us to do, and we understand that as Christians we represent Jesus Christ to the world around us. Since Jesus died for the sins of all mankind, we know that we can truthfully tell everyone who will listen that He died to cover their sins. True believers will have a heart for lost souls, and we therefore pray that God will make opportunities for us to share the Truth with the unsaved people in our lives.
12. We know that once we are saved, we have become Christ's sheep. Since Jesus is the Good Shepherd, we trust that He will keep us in the fold. Just as any earthly shepherd is the one charged with keeping account of his sheep, we trust that our Lord will keep us, as His Word affirms in Jude verse 24. Therefore we fear God, and know that He will chasten those who are His (Hebrews 12), but we do not fear losing our salvation, as that would be His failure, not ours, and our Sovereign and Loving and Long Suffering God does not fail! :)
