Featured Your Confession of Faith...Let's see it!

Confession of Faith


Of God and the Holy Trinity – One God in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Matthew verse that says baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Of God's Decree- God before creation chose to bring about creation for the purpose of creating mankind for His glory, Isaiah 43:7

Of Creation –In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, Gen 1:1

Of Divine Providence – God made everything and sustains everything and brings about the conditions useful for His purpose of creation, including altering the course of human events by intervention.

Of the Fall of Man, of Sin, and of the punishment thereof – Adam volitionally sinned, knowing God said not to eat of the fruit of the tree of good and evil. This resulted in Adam being separated from God, i.e. kicked out of the garden, and his corruption, i.e. his eyes were opened. Gen Ch 3.

Of God's Covenant – God’s eternal covenant was to provide eternal life for those of His choosing, based on crediting their faith as righteousness, keeping His covenant of love. James 2:5

Of Christ the Mediator – Jesus is our mediator, our high priest who sacrificed Himself, becoming the propitiation for the whole world, interceding for those given to Him, taking whatever was against us out of the way. Book of Hebrews.

Of Free Will – We make plans but God directs our steps, thus God allows us autonomous thoughts and actions, but only so far as He allows. He can and does intervene and restrict our options, such as hardening hearts to cause some to continue to reject Christ for a time.

Of Effectual Calling – I deny the doctrine of Irresistible Grace, men of flesh, unless hardened, can hear and understand and respond to the milk of the gospel, 1 Corinthians 2:14 – 3:3.

Of Justification – refers to being made “right” with God, thus our “sin burden” is removed. This occurs when we are spiritually placed in Christ, and undergo the circumcision of Christ.

Of Adoption – Our adoption refers to being made physical children of God when we bodily resurrected at Christ’s second coming, Romans 8:33.

Of Sanctification – Salvation is presented in scripture as having three phrases, Positional Sanctification referring to when we are set apart in Christ 2 Thessalonians 2:13; Progressive Sanctification, referring to our life after being put in Christ where we strive to become more Christ like, 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8, and Ultimate Sanctification, our Adoption at His second coming, some verse near the end of Thessalonians, where we are made perfect totally.

Of Saving Faith - Faith God credits as righteousness, being from the heart, fully committed and devoted to Christ, having more to do with our love of Christ than believing the right doctrines. Romans 4:4-5;24.

Of Repentance unto Life and Salvation – God grants repentance via His revelatory grace, i.e. providing us with an understanding of God’s perfection and our sins and their consequences. When we repent we give glory to God.

Of Good Works – Before salvation, all our “good works” are as filthy rags to God, but upon being born anew, created for good works, we can earn eternal rewards if we build upon the foundation of Christ according to His will.

Of the Perseverance of the Saints – Once born anew, we cannot undo. 1 Peter 1:3-5.

Of the Assurance of Grace and Salvation – If we have been born anew, our life changes, and we exhibit the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Thus, when we meet for communion, we are to examine ourselves to see if we are of the faith, and if our heart does not convict us, we are to take the bread and the wine in remembrance of our Savior.

Of the Law of God – Under the Old Covenant, under the Law of Moses, the Law acted as a tutor, leading us to a knowledge of our sins and our need of a Savior. Once born again, under the Law of Christ (also Called the Law of Liberty) we are to strive to follow Christ, and keep His commandments. Primarily, we are to love God with all our heart, mind and soul, and love our neighbors as ourselves.

Of the Gospel and the Extent of Grace thereof – The only unpardonable sin is to reject Christ. Other than that, God will forgive your sins and remember them no more forever.

Of Christian Liberty and Liberty of Conscience – As ambassadors of Christ we are to be His witness to the world, thus being careful to not be a stumbling block to others.

Of Religious Worship and the Sabbath Day – The Law of Moses has gone away, and with it the requirement to keep the Sabbath, but we are to set apart a time for worship and reflection, and study and meditation, and Sundays are used by many Christians.

Of Lawful Oaths and Vows – We are not to swear by God or anything else.

Of the Civil Magistrate – God has established governance, and so we are to submit provided that in doing so would result in violating a clear command of God. In the military the concept is known as following “lawful” orders. No massacring women and children because the officer said so.

Of Marriage - Marriage is the union of a man and a woman, both committed to Christ.

Of the Church – Church refers to either the local temporal assembly of professing believers, made up of both wheat and tares, or to the general assembly, the bride and body of Christ, made up of all who have been born again.

Of the Communion of Saints – When we, believers, gather together we are to remember our indebtedness to Christ who gave his body, broken for us, and his blood, shed for us, and to examine ourselves to see if we are of the faith.

Of Baptism – Christ using the agency of the Holy Spirit, baptizes us to the body of Christ spiritually, and then seals us in Christ with the Holy Spirit. Christ commanded we illustrate this spiritual baptism, and make a public declaration of our faith in Christ, thus we are to be water baptized and water baptize all who profess faith in Christ .

Of the State of Man after Death, and of the Resurrection of the Dead – When we physically die, our spirit/soul departs and goes either to heaven to be present with the Lord, or to Hades to suffer torment and await the resurrection of the dead. At the great white throne judgment, all the spirits in Hades will be reunited with physical bodies and be gathered for judgment. There names, not being found in the Lamb’s book of life, they are put into the Lake of Fire where they suffer and die the second death.

Of the Last Judgment – Those of us whose spirits go to be with the Lord, are also united with our glorified physical bodies at Christ’s second coming, and we are judged, with Christ awarding rewards for faithful service if we have built upon the foundation of Christ with material of eternal value, i.e. helped save lives.

 

I don't "do" homework anymore....I give it.

 

Any lazy fool can copy and paste a creed from some website like you do, you want us to write out our own creed. I am under no obligation to do ANYTHING for you, PERIOD.

I know what I believe and I post scriptures all the time. I have posted views that NOBODY else holds to with support from scripture such as my views on Original Sin. You couldn't do that if you tried, you rely on other people to tell you what you believe.

So shove it.

 

Hey Iconoclast, let's see if you can do what you want us to do. Let's see you write out a creed concerning all those various subjects WITHOUT CHEATING and relying on others as you want us to do.

You will be like Obama without his teleprompter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zn-pLvhBQuw

You see, others have been expressing their own views in their own words all along. It is you that copies what others write, it is you that lets others do your thinking for you.

You are the first one who should write out his own creed. Let's see what you got.

 

No you don't, you are the undisputed king of copy and paste. You rely on others to say what you believe.

See, you think you are clever asking us to write out a complicated creed, when it has been you all along that copies what others write and think.

If you had an ounce of honesty, you would admit that I for one have always expressed my own thoughts and views, and have always showed scripture (and gone into great detail to explain how I interpret that scripture) to support it.

You are challenging folks to do what you NEVER do. That is what folks call a HYPOCRITE.

So, you just man up and write out your own creed before you challenge others to do so. You might have to crack open a Bible for once instead of copying what others reference.

As for me, I have been answering questions from my own point of view for over four years here, and posting scripture that I looked up to support it. I have never put together a complete creed, but I have expressed myself on probably at least 5 or 6 major topics. Some things I do not comment on, because I am not quite decided where I stand. But I promise, when I know I will tell you IN MY OWN WORDS AND THOUGHTS, not what others tell me to think like you do.

You've got a lot of nerve. You've ticked me off this time you big HYPOCRITE.

 

Oh, I know what you asked for. If I was lazy, I would just copy and paste from some website like you do. Simple, any mindless person can do that.

Well, if anybody understands dark places, you are THE MAN.

Lots of other folks write out in detail what they believe all the time such as Van. Van even ventures into Greek, where he really doesn't belong. But he has the courage to go for it, UNLIKE YOU. Dr Ach is new here, but he speaks for himself and doesn't copy creeds. Webdog and Inspector J make their own arguments, they speak for themselves.

That is what is so hypocritical about your request, you are the person who most copies and pastes what others teach and say. I'll give you a little credit, you have done a little better lately, but that is only because everybody criticized you for copying and pasting what others wrote.

Yes, he did. Van has always expressed himself in his own words, and so have I and many others. I am under no obligation to you to write out an entire creed. I specialize in a few subjects I feel knowledgeable about. If I don't know much about a subject, I keep my mouth shut. One thing I don't do is copy what some other person wrote. Anybody can do that.

I have read statements of faith many times. I have not spent time reading the famous creeds like the WCF. You don't get it, I don't rely on what others say, I read the Bible for myself and form my views from what I believe the scriptures and the Holy Spirit reveals to me.

And you have to admit, I have some views you have probably never seen before. But you know what? Nobody ever refutes me, in fact, many folks have written me and said my arguments were VERY convincing.

Yes, and this is why I am so offended. You imply I am a coward? You are the one who copies what other write, I speak up for myself and always have. Who is the coward??

You man up and do it first, and if I feel like it I will respond.

So what? I am not QF.

You wouldn't talk like that to my face, at least not for very long. :thumbs:

 

No, you think you are clever to challenge people to do what you do not have the intellect to do, write out a complicated creed. Copying and pasting what a theologian wrote does not make YOU intelligent. It is obvious that you've got NOTHING.

The people you are challenging have been speaking in their own words and giving their own arguments all along. We don't have to prove anything we haven't already proved long ago.

You don't seem to get the concept of a debate forum. It is not designed to give links to other people's websites and other people's recorded sermons, you are supposed to PERSONALLY debate. You are supposed to make YOUR OWN arguments.

Look, if I want to listen to other people's sermons, I am quite capable of finding them myself, and so is everybody else. If you can't personally debate in your own words, then why are you here? It is a DEBATE FORUM.

 

Here goes....

....without fear of criticism, I post the following.

I came to Jesus in San Dimas Canyon, San Dimas, CA on Christmas Eve - late afternoon - and my confession of faith was on the premise that after my girlfriend challenged me, she shared with me what it meant to be a believer, born-again, with your name written in the Lamb's Bookk of Life!

We had been dating for several months, and we drove back to a beautiful, serene spot of the canyon where we could roll down the car windows and hear all His creations rejoicing around us. From the water rippling along the creeks off to our side, to the chirps of birds and a slight wind blowing through the tall, stately pine trees, eucalyptuses and California Oaks...it was a day to be quiet of heart, and with the girl, you had hopes to marry one day.

We just finished sharing our gifts with each other, when she said, "Paul, I know you go to church. And I know you believe you are a Christian. Still, I'd like to know just what it is that makes you believe you are a Christian?"

Of course, in a moment of vanity, I thought maybe I was going to lead her to my church in order to become a member. Members at our church went through classes and stood before the church after weeks of classes to confess their faith before the church, repeat the Apostles Creed, and the UCC Creed and receive their official membership card.

As I shared with her, she had a puzzled, unsatisfied gaze, and when I was finished and about to ask her if she wanted to leave her Baptist church and become a member of the United Churhc of Christ, she placed her fingers over my lips and asked me to listen. She shared that while my words were enjoyable, they lacked what she wanted to hear. She told me that in her church, they were taught that Jesus came from the Father, to die for our sins upon the cross. That He had risen from the dead on the third day, and after walking among His followers, He ascended to heaven, to sit next to the Father, where He waits for the Father to send Him back to take the church out of this world!

She then asked me a loaded question. She said Paul, "Are you born-again?" And while I wanted to say, "Yes!" Deep down in my heart, I knew, after hearing what she shared with me, that I was simply another member of a church who had never confessed that Jesus was my Lord, and more importantly, I never asked Him into my heart.

As I sat and stared, quietly out of the window and into the canyon, it seemed like hours had passed before I could find the words to tell her, that based on what she shared, I was not a born-again believer.

I must go back to when she finished sharing the Gospel message of grce, and tell you that at that moment, a light seemed to click on within me, and I was eager for her to ask me that very question, and as I worked through the religious confusion within my head - confusion from having been baptised as a baby in the Lutheran church; and attending my mom's Catholic church on every major holiday and when someone died; and the fact that I had been born in America to Christian parnets - I realized for the first time in my 20 years of life, that I had never confessed my need for forgiveness of sins. I had never asked Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. I never invited Him into my heart and gave Him permission to live in me and mold me into the image. He wanted me to be.

With a contrite, yet spiritually hungry heart, I asked her how I could have what she shared, and right then and there, with nature rejoicing and celebrating all around us, I confessed my sins and made Jesus my Savior. And as I prayed that prayer, something heavy and old lifted from my shoulders and heart, and I can honestly say that I have NEVER been the say.

Later that evening, I invited this gal to come with me to the chapel at a local California Mission, which sat back in the West Covina hills, and it was there that I had my out-of-body, supernatural calling into the ministry.

If you want to hear more about this life-changing event, it is in my book, Prodigal Daze, which is currently out-of-print! All I can say is that this Christmas Eve Day, 1966, was one day I'll never forget. It was my birthday in Jesus, and the day I was called to preach His Gospel to the world.

I don't know if this is what Icon was looking for, but he will admit that it fits me to a tee! If anything, I am consistent.

Especially the supernatural event and calling into the ministry. I wouldn't be upset with any of you who doubt my calling or knock it, because I would never have believed anything like this could have happened too. I was a sound person. A person that didn't believe in any of the things I went through that night, But unless you were in my shoes, I suspect you wouldn't understand, too! Selah!

Shalom!!! :wavey:

 

Yes, Righteous Dude, we disagree on almost everything, but on the power of being convicted by the witness of someone we knew was truly different, i.e. born anew, we are peas in a pod.

Thanks for sharing!!

 

RD, it was supposed to be a confession of faith -- not a testimony.