By Russ Atmore
The
importance of this question should not be underestimated. The Christian
is a person who confesses to certain truths for one simple reason – they
are biblical, and therefore, they are from God Himself. In this regard,
our theology is old-fashioned. We uphold the glory, the majesty and
sovereignty of Almighty God, the total inability of men and women to
save themselves, simply because they are unable to do so, and that
salvation in its totality is to be ascribed the sovereign, electing,
resistless, one-sided grace and power of God.
This is nothing more that
evangelicalism in its most pure form. We have the Apostle’s Creed in its
same form since its completion in A.D. 700, but the commencement of it
began in the second century. Every Christian should affirm it for its
truth and simplicity. Christians are facing war on every side. To stand
for the truth is going to cost you. We affirm our ‘statement of faith’
because we believe the Bible teaches the truths as stated. We affirm,
with the myriads of others, the supernaturalism and evangelicalism of
our faith. These two factors must be used to stem the tide of humanism
and naturalism.
We believe the Bible not
simply because it contains the Word of God, but because it is the
Word of God. We affirm the infallibility and inerrancy of the Holy
Scriptures. We affirm our belief in the eternal Triune God. We affirm
our belief in our Lord Jesus Christ, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born
of a virgin in the first century, as foretold by the prophets, and who
died as a substitution and Sin-Bearer for the sins of His people. We
affirm that faith is the gift of God, sovereignly dispensed by Almighty
God, as He has ordained from all eternity. We affirm the death, burial
and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We affirm our inherent sinfulness –
born in sin and shapen in iniquity. We affirm the gracious Holy Spirit
in His regenerating power, as the One who sovereignly bestows gifts upon
believers for service to the Glory of God. We believe that Jesus will
come as He has promised. We believe in eternal life in glorious bliss
with God, and we believe in the damnation of the lost.
These are just a few of the
truths that the Bible teaches. For the fundamental truths of the
Scripture that affirm a supernaturalism and evangelicalism, we are
prepared to sacrifice our lives. We say with the Paul, “it is by grace
that you are saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves – it is
the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). Do you believe these truths? Are they
your very life? Do you love them? Will you die for them?
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