I was led to the Lord when I was about 8 while attending my Sunday School class. Since then I have worked in my church in various ways, from usher to children’s ministries. On July 15, 2012 I was called to be a pastor, and have since started my education, and work toward severing our Lord and Savior for the rest of my life.
What I believe.
Scripture
I believe that the sixty-six books of the King James Holy Bible constitute the perfectly preserved, inspired, and infallible Word of God to English speaking people. As such, we hold it to be the highest authority for our lives. Furthermore, I believe that ALL Scripture is profitable to us today for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness.
God
I believe in the One True and Living God, Creator of all that is. I believe that He is Father, Son, and Holy Ghost – three distinct persons and yet one God. I furthermore hold that God is the Just Judge of all the universe, “…keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty.” (Exodus 34:7)
Sin
I believe that sin is the willful act of transgressing the eternal Law of God, which Law is inherent within every human being.
Man
I believe that man was created by God, in God’s image, for God’s glory, and given freedom to choose between good and evil. In the garden of Eden, Adam made a choice to turn away from God and follow Satan. That day, through the offense of one man, all men were separated from God, and from all the blessings of His divine presence.
I believe that all men have sinned through personal choice with the exception of One. Man’s ONLY hope of reconciliation to God is through faith in the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ
I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, God manifest in the flesh, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, the Savior of all those who believe on His Name, and the ONLY Mediator between God and man.
Salvation
I believe that through His love for the world, God has provided ONE way for sinners to be cleansed from their sin, and thus delivered from impending damnation in hell. Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, and died on a Roman cross, shedding His innocent blood as a substitute for sinners. This blood was then placed on the heavenly mercy seat before God as the final atonement for the sins of ALL MANKIND. Any sinner, who turns from faith in his own dead works, to faith in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ will be delivered from condemnation in hell, and granted eternal life. At the moment of salvation, God imputes the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ to the sinner, translating him from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of God. From that moment forward, he is no longer counted a sinner, but a saint and a joint-heir with Jesus Christ.
I furthermore believe that this salvation is completely separate from any work (past or future) of the individual, and can ONLY be obtained through faith.
Security of the Believer
I hold that all believers, and only believers, have eternal security, being kept by the power of their Savior, Jesus Christ.
Sanctification of the Believer
I believe that sanctification, that is the separation of a believer to holy living, is by faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. ALL believers, regardless of their understanding or experience, are forever free from all sin based on the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
I furthermore hold that all believers, based on their freedom in Christ and the clear commands of Scripture, are both able and obligated to walk in complete holiness before God, and to refrain from all acts of sin.
Future Judgment
I believe that there is an appointed day in which every man and woman will stand before God and give account of their deeds, whether good or evil. The righteous will be rewarded with life eternal, and the wicked will be damned to everlasting torment in the lake of fire.
Creation
I believe that the universe was created in six, literal, twenty-four hour days by the Word of God, in accordance with the account given in Genesis chapter one.
The Holy Spirit
I believe that the Holy Spirit (Holy Ghost) is God Almighty, the third person of the God-head. He is the Comforter promised by Jesus when He was with His disciples, sent into the world to teach us the ways of God. We furthermore believe that He indwells EVERY true believer from the moment of salvation.
The Church
I believe that the Church is the body of our Lord Jesus Christ, made up of all those who have believed on His Name.
I furthermore believe that the Church operates in the world as multiple, autonomous groups of believers, who assemble for the purpose of fellowship, teaching, worship, and edification. I believe that the Church is called to holiness, and is commissioned to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to every creature.
Baptism
I believe that all those who believe on the Name of Jesus Christ are baptized spiritually into His death. Following this conversion, believers are commanded to be physically baptized (immersed) into water as a testimony of their death, burial, and resurrection with Jesus. We believe that while water baptism is commanded in Scripture, is NOT a requisite to salvation.
Heaven
I believe that heaven is a literal place where God dwells, and where believers will one day be united with Him. It is a place of indescribable beauty, free of all evil and sadness.
Hell
I believe that hell is a literal place of eternal judgment and torment created by God for the devil and his angels. Furthermore, all men and women who have sinned against God, and who refuse to believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ, will be condemned to hell without hope of deliverance. On judgment day, the dead in hell will be raised, judged for their deeds, and cast into a lake burning with fire and brimstone. The smoke of their torment will rise up forever before the Lamb of God, whose mercy they rejected.