What I Believe

The sole basis for what I believe is founded upon the Bible. I believe the Bible is the very Word of God and being so is distinctly God inspired, truthful, infallible or without error, and has final authority in all matters to which it pertains (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Ps 119:160). The Bible teaches there is One God, eternally existing in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Ghost (often referred to as the Trinity).

Because God created humans for the purpose of fellowship, He made them both morally and spiritually like Himself. In the Book of Genesis (1-2), when God made the first man Adam, He fashioned him from the dust of the earth, forming a physical body. Then He breathed the breath of life into his nostrils and man became a living being. This is the “spirit” part of man made in the very “image or likeness of God” which makes man distinct and places him above all of the rest of God’s creation. Since God is Spirit, he communicates and fellowships with man through the spirit of man. God also gave Adam and Eve a soul or a personality with likes and dislikes. So man was made up of 3 parts: Spirit, soul and body. He then placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and gave them authority to rule over all He had made. Everything at this time was good, pure and harmonious. Adam and Eve were innocent and had no knowledge of evil.

Lucifer, later known as Satan or the devil (deceiver), was a cherub angel and believed to have been worship leader in God’s courts. Lucifer was not satisfied with his position and wanted to be God. Pride and envy overtook him and sin entered his heart (Isaiah 14:12-14; Ezekiel 28:2, 11-19). Since he couldn’t overthrow God, he decided to usurp the authority that God had given to Adam and Eve, and in this way rule the earth. So in Genesis 3, he appears to Eve in the form of a serpent and deceives her into eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. This was the only fruit tree in the Garden that Adam and Eve were instructed by God not to partake of, because if they did they would be introduced to evil and sin would enter the world. And this is exactly what happened. Because there was another tree in the Garden called the Tree of Life, Adam and Eve had to be removed from the Garden, for if they ate from this tree now, they would have remained in their sinful state forever with no opportunity for redemption. Hence, Adam and Eve were removed from the Garden of Eden which represents being removed from God’s Presence as sin had entered in breaking fellowship with God.

The result of this single act of disobedience had great impact on the rest of the human race. The whole earth became cursed. From now on, man would have to toil to make a living, women would have pain in childbirth, sin, sickness and suffering would permeate the world. The earth itself would grow old. From this point on every baby born into the world is born with a sin nature or a natural inclination to sin against God. That is why every person is in need of God’s forgiveness that would be provided through the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross.

God, the Father, was not taken by surprise with Adam and Eve’s disobedience. Genesis 3:15 reveals that the Father had a plan of redemption already put in place that would unfold through the ages. He would give His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross to pay for the sin debt of the world and reverse the curse.

Jesus Christ, God’s Son, agreed to carry out the plan. He left the glory of heaven and was born of the Virgin Mary, putting on human flesh (Luke 1:26-38; Matt. 1:18-25; John 1:14). He became like us, with the exception that He was not born with a sin nature. His Father was God and being God Himself, He was completely righteous and lived a sinless life on earth. That is why Jesus was the only one qualified to die for the sins of the world. When He was crucified on the cross, the curse of sin, which was spiritual death and separation from God, was removed and fellowship with God the Father was restored. Not only that, but Jesus gave us His righteousness in exchange for our sin, giving us the right to become children of God (2 Cor. 5:21, John 1:12). Salvation, then, is a gift; it cannot be earned (Eph. 2:8-9). All we have to do is believe and receive the finished work of Christ on the cross and trust in Jesus alone.

Because Jesus arose from the dead on the third day and ascended to heaven where He lives to make intercession for us, He ensured that all believers will likewise be resurrected and have eternal life. I believe upon the death of a believer that the spirit part of man immediately goes to heaven to be with the Lord. The physical remains will be resurrected from the grave and rejoined with their spirit when Christ returns for His own, an event referred to as the Rapture of the Church. Believers, who are still alive, will also be resurrected at this time. Both will be changed and put on immorality and will rule and reign with Him throughout all eternity (1 Thess 4:13-17, 1 Cor. 15).

It is the job of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead, to work out the plan of salvation in every heart. From the very start the Holy Spirit is there drawing us to the truth of God’s Word and giving us understanding. In John 16:13 Jesus referred to Him as “The Spirit of Truth.” When we believe and ask Jesus to come into our heart, it is the Holy Spirit that comes in and joins with our spirit, birthing the very life of God within us.  This is the new birth Jesus referred to in John 3:3:  “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”  From that point on the Holy Spirit sets up housekeeping in our hearts, teaching, leading, guiding, convicting us of righteousness, and changing us by the power of His Presence to become more like Jesus, preparing us for Heaven.  2 Cor 5:17 says “we become a new creation!”

The Church is made up of a body of believers, whose role is to glorify God, share the gospel, and serve those who are in need.  Believers will not face “spiritual” judgment but will be judged and/or rewarded for the things they have or have not done during their time on earth.  When God establishes His new kingdom on earth, only born again believers will enjoy eternal fellowship with Him.

Have you thought about where you will spend eternity?  Have you made a decision to follow Christ?  If not, this is a good time to think about it, because unbelievers will live for all eternity too.  If you die and don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus, your physical body will go to the grave but your spirit lives on and immediately departs to place of torment the Bible refers to as hades or hell.  It will be a place of torment because God’s Presence will not be there, only evil.  Anything you struggled with here on earth i.e, addictions, sadness, pain, jealousy, envy, anger, hatred, etc., will be magnified and there will be no comfort.  I know people joke about hell, saying, “Well at least all my friends will be there and it’ll just be one big party!”  The problem is, there will be no beer!  You might crave a beer, but the only thing that will happen is that the craving will grow in intensity but will never be satisfied.

Unbelievers will also experience a bodily resurrection and will be rejoined with their spirit man at an event the Bible refers to as the The Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15).  Here you will be justly judged and all your sins exposed, because you did not receive the redemption and the forgiveness of sin that Christ offered.  You will not be able to plead your case; your destination was set at the time of death.  Following judgment, unbelievers will be thrown into the Lake of Fire, where the devil, the antichrist and the false prophet will also reside (Revelation 20:10), and the torment will continue for all eternity!   This is NOT what God wants for you!  That is why God sent His Only Son, Jesus Christ:  “For God so loved the world [You!] that He gave His One and Only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life [in Him]” (John 3:16).

Your decision today determines your destiny tomorrow.  If you don’t know where you are going, just say a simple prayer and ask Jesus to come into your heart right now.  It will change the course of your life forever!