WHAT I BELIEVE AS A BORN-AGAIN CHRISTIAN
THE BIBLE
The Bible is God's written revelation to man, given and inspired by the Holy Spirit by a process of dual authorship with humans through their individual personalities and different styles of writing to compose and record God's Word without error, in whole or in part.
The Bible contains 66 books, divided into 2 categories, the Old Testament and the New Testament. Prophets, priests, kings, and leaders from the ancient nation of Israel wrote the Old Testament books, and apostles of Jesus Christ and their associates wrote the New Testament.
The 39 books of the Old Testament speak about the history of Israel and the promise of the coming Savior, while the 27 New Testament books talk about the person of Christ and the establishment of the church.
After the completion of the Old Testament, there were 400 years of silence, during which no prophet spoke or wrote any scripture. That silence was broken by the arrival of John the Baptist announcing that the promised Lord Savior had come. The New Testament records the rest of the story from the birth of Christ to the establishment of the gospel and the church, ending in prophetic revelation for the end of days.
THE BIBLE AS THE FINAL AUTHORITY
The Bible is the only true and final authority in determining the gospel of Jesus Christ. All other sources of information, including all institutions, denominations, and humans claiming to be authorities of Christ, should be heavily scrutinized and discarded if they contradict what is written in the Bible.
WHO IS GOD?
There is one living and true God, who is an infinite all-knowing Spirit, perfect in all His attributes, one in essence, eternally existing as a triune or trinity, in three distinct persons, 3 in 1—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each equally deserving worship and obedience. God has no beginning and no end.
WHO IS JESUS CHRIST?
Jesus is the incarnation of God becoming man, representing humanity and deity in oneness. The purpose of this incarnation was to reveal God, redeem mankind, and rule over God's kingdom. Jesus is called "The Son of God" but is not the literal son in a anthropomorphic "birthed" sense. Jesus is literally God incarnate.
THE FALL OF MANKIND
Mankind exists within a fallen realm and contains a fallen nature due to Adam and Eve's disobedience to God. Man was created by God in His image and likeness, to glorify God, enjoy God's fellowship, and to live his life in the will of God. When Adam disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden he lost his innocence and separated himself spiritually and physically from God. Mankind was corrupted by default and inherited a sin nature.