Beliefs

This section is known as “doctrine” and in all honesty, can be kind of boring and dry to people who are not well acquainted with the church.

That’s O.K.  I understand.

If anything I’ve said here is confusing or unclear – please leave a comment and I’ll get back to you with a response asap!

What I believe

I focus on Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Bible in governing all areas of my living and beliefs. In summary my beliefs are:

I believe in one God, who exists eternally in three co-equal Persons: the Father, Son (Jesus), and Holy Spirit.

I believe in the Bible as the Christian’s primary source of authority for faith and living.

I believe that people are born sinful both in identity and action and are therefore separated from God.

I believe that because of His love for people, God made a way to overcome our sinful bent by sending His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die as a payment for our sinfulness and disobedience. His sacrificial death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead provide the only avenue through which restoration with God the Father is possible.

I believe that through the simple, personal act of depending on Jesus’ death as the full payment for their sins, each individual can be restored to a right and intimate relationship with God (becomes a Christian).

I believe that once a person has placed their trust in Jesus Christ in this way, they receive within themselves the Holy Spirit, who is their Helper, Teacher, and Guide in all areas of life and spiritual knowledge. The Christian is to work in cooperation with the Holy Spirit to transform their character so that over time they begin to take on the character of Jesus Christ. The Spirit also provides supernatural gifts to each Christian, as He desires, for the benefit and health of the church.

I believe that provision is made in the work of Jesus Christ – His life, death, and resurrection – for the healing of mankind in body, mind, spirit, emotions, etc. Prayer for the sick and anointing with oil are taught in the Scriptures and are to be practiced today. However, Jesus’ provision for healing does not guarantee that healing will occur in every case. All healing, whether physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual occurs only as God, in His sovereignty determines it should.

I believe that all people who place their faith in Jesus Christ are united together into one unit, one “body,” called the church. With Jesus Himself as its leader, the church is to gather together for prayer, teaching, community, and worship. These are done for the purposes of knowing God intimately, equipping each member to help others in the church, and to spread the message of salvation and spiritual growth through Jesus to their individual communities.

I believe there will be a bodily resurrection of all people. For those who have received Jesus as Savior, this resurrection will be one that ends in eternal life in the presence of God forever. For those who have rejected Jesus as Savior, it will be a resurrection that ends in eternal judgement.

I believe that the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ could happen at any moment, and will be literal and visible  This hope in Jesus’ return is a wonderful incentive to holy living and faithful service for all who place their faith in Jesus Christ.

About men & women

Since this is a website focusing on the Christian home, it’s not only inevitable, but necessary that I say a few things about the hotly debated issue of men and women’s roles.  So, here goes…

From the first pages of the scriptures, on through the New Testament, there is clear indication that God designed men to be the primary leaders – in their families and their church communities.  So no, I don’t believe that male roles of authority or leadership are culturally determined.  Neither do I believe that this design is an outgrowth of the fall of humankind.  I believe the scriptures clearly teach that God decided and determined these things when He created men and women uniquely different.   That doesn’t mean that men have the right to be bossy, bullying, or abusive to women in any way.    And it doesn’t mean that women are “second-class” in any way.  It simply means that men and women are designed by their Creator to be different, and are therefore intended by Him to carry out differing functions in marriage and the church – roles that complement each other.

When it comes to marriage, this complementary order gives us a living illustration of the Gospel message: Jesus’ love for His bride, the church.  Paul distinctly and clearly says that the way a man leads and cares for his wife is to demonstrate how Jesus leads and cares for His church (Ephesians 5:25-28), and that the wife is to be submissive to his God-given leadership as she would be to Christ Himself (Ephesians 5:24).  In saying this, Paul is telling us that our marriages are to be gospel plays, dramatizing how Jesus loves His church and how His church responds to His love.  We are also taught that men are to lead their wives and children in loving, understanding, compassionate ways (1 Peter 3:7).

In regards to church leadership, I believe that the Bible teaches that the primary leadership and teaching  roles within the church (Elders/Pastor) are reserved for men (1 Timothy 2:12-14). This doesn’t mean men are better, or smarter, or any such nonsense.  It simply means that God has ordained men to be leaders in the church, and did so in part, because of how he designed them.

Having said that, I also believe that all Christians (male and female) are called to service within the body of Christ, and that God has given both men and women important and strategic roles within the home, the church, and the society.  However, those roles look very different exactly BECAUSE men and women are designed with differing purposes in mind.   In other words, this biblical distinction of roles does NOT exclude women from meaningful ministry in Christ’s kingdom.

History shows that male oppression of women has been, and in some cases still is common.  I believe that any man who mistreats a women through coercion, violence or the threat of it, intimidation, physical dominance, or any other actions apart from loving consideration of her as a woman, is misrepresenting both manhood and Jesus Christ.  The role God has given men is a role of provider, protector, and servant-leader – not tyrant.  Every man is called by God to give up his very life for the women in his life.  This is one of the ways he shows Jesus to his wife, his church, and his world.

If you have any comments or questions on these issues… feel free to shoot them to me below!