Personal Statement of Faith (last updated on Aug. 10, 2018)
The Doctrine of Scripture
A. Verbal Inspiration
I affirm that the divine verbal inspiration of both the Old and New Testament in their entirety is the word of God by which he intended to reveal himself to all people. The Lausanne Covenant asserts, “the Scripture is “the Word of God” because God “spoke” it (Heb. 1:1,2; I Thess. 2:13); it is his “written Word” for he then caused it to be recorded for the instruction of later generations (Rom. 15:4; I Cor. 10:6,11; I Tim. 3:14,15); and it is his “only” written Word, for we cannot accept the so called sacred scriptures of other religions (e.g., the Koran or the Book of Mormon) as having come out of the mind and mouth of God.”[1]Inspiration means that the words of the Bible were “God-breathed”[2], the God chosen writers were “moved by the Holy Spirit”[3], to [4]an extent that of their words “the mouth of the Lord has spoken it”[5].
B. Inerrancy
I affirm the Scripture is God’s written Word, and it is true[6]just as Jesus said in prayer to theFather, “Your Word is truth”[7]. Inerrancy means that the original text of the scripture is true, and it is without error in all that it affirms. “All Scripture is self-attesting and being Truth, requires our unreserved submission in all areas of life. The infallible Word of God, the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, is a complete and unified witness to God’s redemptive acts culminating in the incarnation of the Living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible, uniquely and fully inspired by the Holy Spirit, is the supreme and final authority on all matters on which it speaks.” The Bible, when correctly interpreted, can be fully relied upon as a sure, dependable, and trustworthy authority for Christian faith and practice.[8]
The Doctrine of God
A. Attributes of God
God is both eternal and active in time. “He is the eternal God, existing outside time and before time began. Scripture is clear about this. “From everlasting to everlasting thou art God”[9]. Nevertheless (to use the terms of classical theology) the God who is “transcendent” beyond the universe is also “immanent” within it. He brought it into being and rules all that he has made. He is Creator and Lord of the world.”[10]The two truths are brought together in Isaiah 40:28,“The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.” There is only one true and living God[11]and the doctrine of God is foundational for all aspects of Christian theology and practice, and is central in both the OT and NT. “True and substantial wisdom principally consists of two parts, the knowledge of God, and the knowledge of ourselves.”[12]
B. Trinity
God is both one and three. He is the one God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.[13]“The LORD our God is one LORD”[14]. He says, “I am the LORD, and there is no other, beside me there is no God”[15].
C. Creation
God is the Creator and Lord of the world also governs all things according to the purpose of his will. He brought all things visible and invisible into existence with the use of pre-existing materials.[16]God created the heaven and the earth by his Word[17]and is the work of the Triune God, from the Father, through the Son, by the Holy Spirit.[18] The original creation is good.[19]The declaration of the glory of God is the purpose of creation.[20]
D. Providence
God is good in working out his purpose and sovereignty.[21]God’s providence is active both in nature[22]and history[23]. He is the Lord of the world who governs all things according to the purpose of his will.[24]So convinced of this were the apostles that they believed even the hostility of persecutors to be under the control of God. Forbidden to preach, and threatened with severe penalties if they disobeyed, they cried to God as “Sovereign Lord” and declared that the opposition of men to Christ was part of his predestinating plan[25]. This must be so, because God “accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will”[26].
The Doctrine of Man
A. Man’s Original State
Man, including woman, is created in God’s own image and likeness[27]. Being an image bearer of God required man to multiple or reproduce, have dominion over the rest of God’s creation, and to engage in work.[28]God created all humans with conscience that reflect the requirement of the moral law written in their hearts.[29]
B. Man’s Original Sin
Sin entered the world through Adam and brought death to world.[30]Sin did not originate from God.[31]Sin not only corrupted human but creation as well[32]. The term original sin is applied to entire human race.[33]The most devastating effect of the Fall on humankind was the spiritual blindness and insensitivity to God’s truth,[34]and those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.[35]
The Doctrine of Christ and His Work
A. Person of Christ
I affirmed that Jesus Christ was fully man and fully God. He was fully man because he grew,[36]slept,[37]drank,[38]wept,[39]and he suffered, bled and died on the cross.[40]It was necessary for the Christ to be a man so that God can be intimately revealed to man[41]and be our model to follow.[42]Evidence of Christ’s divinity were the calming a storm,[43]feeding five thousand people,[44]and turning water to wine.[45]He is the only begotten Son[46]who is the mediator between God and man.[47]He is the promised prophet,[48]priest,[49]and king,[50]and he the head and savior of his church,[51]the heir of all things,[52]and judge of the world.[53]From all eternity God gave him a people to be his seed[54]and to be in time redeemed, called, justified, sanctified, and glorified by him.[55]He will be the judge to both angels and man when he returns.[56]
B. Work of Christ
The work of Christ focused mainly on teaching, preaching, and healing[57]to give evidence for Kingdom of God is at hand. The salvific work of Christ was achieved through his perfect obedience in his entire life[58]and his death on the cross.[59]Christ can atone for our sin because of the incarnation[60]. His atonement for our sins was done out of the love of God.[61]Before the atoning sacrifice of Christ we were enemies of God.[62]But his resurrection proved that Christ has defeated sin, death, and the Devil.[63]The ascension enthroned Christ at God’s right hand, where he is now directing and empowering the church in its mission.[64]
The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit and His Work
I affirm that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity.[65]The scripture testifies that the Spirit grieves,[66]gives spiritual gifts to the people of God as he wills[67], the Spirit has intelligence,[68]sanctifies us by the production of spiritual fruits: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control,[69]gives visions[70], strength[71], revelation[72], and direction[73], assurance of Scripture[74], unity[75], hope[76], joy in affliction[77], words to speak[78], and convicts sins[79]. The Spirit is a key role in believers’ conversion and spiritual growth.[80]
The Doctrine of Salvation
A. Calling and Regeneration
I affirm that “at the right time, appointed by him, God effectually calls all those and only those whom he has predestined to life. He calls them by his word and Spirit out of their natural state of sin and death into grace and salvation through Jesus Christ.”[81]The Holy Spirit implants a new nature in the sinners’ heart spiritually with a saving understanding of the things of God[82]and takes away their heart of stone and gives them a heart of flesh.[83]
B. Repentance and Faith
The Holy Spirit works in an effective way by the saving grace for enabling the elect to respond in repentance and faith.[84]The conversion of an unbeliever is twofold with: repentance- turning away from sin,[85]and faith- turning toward Christ for salvation.[86]God regenerates those who repent and believe in Jesus.[87]Born-again means God has given the believer a new life from above, who is made dead in the flesh but alive in the spirit.[88]“True saving faith involves the commitment of the whole person to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in response to the free offer of salvation in the gospel.”[89]So, salvation requires more than just orthodoxy- right belief, but also orthopraxy- right conduct, both ethical and liturgical built upon faith and grace for Christian living.[90]
C. Justification and Adaptation
Genuine repentance is followed by justification which is “an act of God's free grace, wherein he pardons all our sins,[91]and accepts us as righteous in his sight,[92]only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us,[93]and received by faith alone[94].”[95]And justification is immediately followed by adaptation which is “an act of God's free grace,[96]whereby we are received into the number, and have a right to all the privileges of the Sons of God[97].”[98]
D. Sanctification
Sanctification is a continuous process of Christian’s growth in holiness by “the work of God's free grace,[99]whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God,[100]and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness[101].”[102]The key to grow in conformity to the character of Christ is through personal faith and obedience and the ministry of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. A believer never reaches a state of Christian perfection in this life[103], “ is neither equal in all, nor in this life perfect in any, but growing up to perfection”[104]. “In this understanding, the old sin nature is progressively subdued, but never entirely abolished in this life.”[105]
E. Perseverance
Perseverance is God’s act on the endurance of the saints which “does not depend on their own free will but on God’s unchangeable decree of election, flowing from his voluntary, unchangeable love.[106]It also depends on the effectiveness of the merit and intercession of Jesus Christ,3[107]on the indwelling Spirit and indwelling seed of God in the saints,4 and on the nature of the covenant of grace.5[108]All these establish the certainty and infallibility of their preservation[109].”[110]
The Doctrine of the Church
A. Nature of the Church
I affirm the one, holy, catholic, apostolic church which is invisible but consists of all the elect who have been, are, or ever will be gathered into one under Christ, the head. The church is his body and spouse, the fullness of God, who fills all in all.[111]“The visible church is also catholic or universal under the gospel... It consists of everyone in the world who professes the true religion[112]together with their children.[113]The visible church is the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ[114]and the house and family of God,[115]outside of which people cannot ordinarily be saved[116].”[117]Therefore, the mission of the church is to carry out evangelism, foreign missions, acts of benevolence, and social compassion, discipleship training and Christian nurture,[118]and through these varied activities the kingdom of God is extended both in the world and in the hearts of believers as the people who sent by God to the world.[119]
B. Government of the Church
The office of the elders has the authority in the local church.[120]As Paul wrote to Timothy, the elders of the church should have mature Christian character and stewardship.[121]God’s Will and Word are the ultimate standards by which the church will determines its government and actions. The people of God will have direct accessed to God and have the right to express their personal opinions, but the power of the local church resides in the group of elders, not with the individuals.[122]
C. Sacraments of the Church
“Baptism is not to be administered to any that are out of the visible church, till they profess their faith in Christ, and obedience to him;[123]but the infants of such as are members of the visible church are to be baptized.”[124](WSC, q. 95)
The Lord's Supper is a sacrament according to Christ's appointment,[125]and is required of them that would worthily partake of the Lord's supper, that they examine themselves of their knowledge to discern the Lord's body[126], of their faith to feed upon him,[127]of their repentance,[128]love[129], and new obedience;[130]lest, coming unworthily, they eat and drink judgment to themselves.[131](WSC, q. 96-97)
The Doctrine of Eschatology
A. Death and Intermediate State
“After death the bodies of human beings decompose and return to dust,[132]but their souls, which
do not die or sleep, have an immortal existence and immediately return to God who created
them.[133]The souls of the righteous are then perfected in holiness and are received into the highest heavens, where they behold the face of God in light and glory and wait for the full redemption of their bodies.[134]The souls of the wicked are thrown into hell, where they remain in torment and complete darkness, set apart for the great day of judgment.[135]Scripture recognizes only these two places, and no other, for souls separated from their bodies.”[136]
A. Millennial Views and The Second Coming of Christ
I affirm with the Alliance Stand[137], “The second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is imminent[138] and will be personal, visible, and premillennial[139]. This is the believer’s blessed hope and is a vital truth which is an incentive to holy living and faithful service.[140]
B. Final Judgement
God the Father has ordained a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by Jesus
angels be judged, but all the people who have lived on earth will appear before the court of
Christ to give an account of their thoughts, words, and actions, and be judged according to what
they have done in the body, whether good or evil.[143](WCF)
C. Eternal State
I affirm that Heaven[144]is for real, so as Hell,[145]“by the power of Christ the bodies of the unjust shall be raised to dishonor, but by his Spirit the bodies of the just will be raised to honor and be made according to the pattern of his own glorious body.”[146]
[1]John Stott, For the Lord We Love: Your Study Guide to the Lausanne Covenant(Lausanne Movement, 2009), 16.
[2]II Tim. 3:16
[3]II Pet. 1:12
[4]The Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF), iv.
[5]Isa. 40:5
[6]Num. 23:19
[7]John 17:17
[8]Erickson, 234, 240.
[10]Lausanne Covenant, I A
[11]Duet. 6:4, I Thes.1:9
[12]Calvin, Institutes, I.1.1
[13]Matt. 28:19
[16]John 1:3, Eph. 3:9
[17]Ps. 33:6, Heb. 11:3
[18]I Cor. 8:6, Gen 1:2
[19]Gen. 1:10, 12, 18, 21, 25
[20]Isa. 43:7, 60:21, Col. 1:16, Eke. 36:21, 22
[21]Rom. 8:28
[22]Ps. 147:8, Joel 2:25
[23]Dan. 2:21, Isa. 45:11
[24]Lausanne Covenant, I A
[27]Gen. 1:26-7
[28]Gen. 2:15
[29]Rom. 2:12-15
[33]Rom. 3:23, 1 Jn. 1:8
[34]I Cor. 2:14, Eph 4:17-8
[35]Rom. 8:7-8
[36]Lk. 2:40, 52
[37]Lk. 8:23
[38]Lk. 22:17
[39]Jn. 11:35
[40]Jn. 19:32-34
[41]Jn. 1:18
[42]1Cor. 11:1
[43]Lk.8:22-25
[44]Mt. 14:19
[45]Jn. 2:1-11
[46]John 3:16
[48]Acts 3.20-22, Dt 18.15
[56]Rev 20:11-21:1
[57]Mt 4:23-24, 7:28-29, 8:16-17, 9:35-36
[58]Lk 2:49, 51, Phil 2:8
[59]Isa 53:4-5, Mk 10:33-34
[60]Mt 1:18-25
[61]1Jn. 4:10
[62]Eph 2:17, Rm. 5:10, 18, Col 1:21-22
[63]Mt 28:9, Lk 24:36-39
[64]Ac 1:9-11, Heb 4:14, 7:26
[65]2Cor. 3:17
[66]Isa 63:10, Eph. 4:30
[67]1Cor. 12, Rm. 12, Eph 4:11
[68]Jn 14:26
[69]Gal. 5:22, Rm. 15-16, Tit. 3:5
[70]Rev. 1:11
[71]Jud. 13:25, 14:6, 14:19, 15:14, phil 2:1-2
[72]2Pet. 1:21, Eph. 3:4-5
[73]Acts 10:19-20, 13:2-4; Rm. 8:4, 13-14
[74]1Jn 3:24, 16:13, 1Cor.2:12-13
[75]Acts 2:16-18; 42-47, 1Cor. 12:13
[76]Rm 15:13
[77]1Thess 1:6
[78]Lk. 12:10-12, Mk 13:11
[79]Jn. 16:8-9
[80]1Cor. 12:3, Jn. 3:5, Rm. 8:9
[81]Rom 8.28,30, 11.7, Eph 1.5,10-11, 2 Thes 2.13-14, 2 Cor 3.3,6, Rom 8.2, 2 Tm 1.9-10, Jn 15.16, Acts 13.48, 1 Thes 5.9, Jas 1.18, 1 Cor 2.12, Eph 2.1-10. (WCF)
[82]Acts 26.18, 1 Cor 2.10,12, Eph 1.17-18, 2 Cor 4.6.
[83]Ez 36.26.
[84]Erickson, 930-931
[85]2 Chron. 7:14
[86]Isa. 55:6, 7, Rom 5:1
[87]Jn 1:12, 13, 3:6
[88]2Cor 5:17, Gal 5:24, 25, Eph. 2:1-10
[89]Davis, 88
[90]Erickson, 946
[95]Westminster Shorter Catechism (WSC), q. 33
[98]WSC, q. 34
[102]WSC, q. 35
[103]Mt 6:12, Lk 9:23, Eph 5:18, Phip 3:12, Jas 3:2, 1Jn 1:8-9
[104]Westminster Larger Catechism (WLC), q. 77
[105]Davis, 94
[106]2 Tm 2.18-19, Jer 31.3, Eph 1.4-5, Jn 13.1, Rom 8.35-39.
[107]Heb 10.10,14, 13.20-21, 9.12-15, Rom 8.32-39, Jn 17.11,24, Lk 22.32, Heb 7.25
[108]Jer 32.40, Heb 8.10-12
[109]Jn 10.28, 2 Thes 3.3, 1 Jn 2.19, 1 Thes 5.23-24, Heb 6.17-20
[110]WCF, 17.2
[111]Eph 1.10, 22-23, 5.23,27,32, Col 1.18
[112]1 Cor 1.2, 12.12-13, Ps 2.8, Rv 7.9, Rom 15.9-12
[113]1 Cor 7.14, Acts 2.39, Ez 16.20-21, Rom 11.16, Gn 3.15, 17.7, Gal 3.7,9,14, Rom 4, Mk 10.13-16
[114]Mt 13.47, Is 9.7, Col 1.13, Mt 13.31, Ps 72
[115]Eph 2.19, 3.15, Prv 29.18
[116]Acts 2.47, Mt 28.19, Acts 2.38, 1 Cor 12.13, Mt 26.26-28,10.32-33
[117]WCF, 25.2
[118]Matt 28:18-20
[119]Jn 20:21-22
[120]Acts 15, 20:17, 28
[121]I Tim 3:1-7, Tit 1:6-9
[122]Erikson, 1077-1078
[132]Gn 3.19, Acts 13.36
[133]Lk 23.43, Eccl 12.7, Phil 1.23, 2 Cor 5.6-8
[134]Heb 12.23, 2 Cor 5.1,6,8, Phil 1.23, Acts 3.21, Eph 4.10
[135]Lk 16.23-24, Acts 1.25, Jude 6-7, 1 Pt 3.19, 2 Pt 2.9
[136]WCF, 32.1
[137]“The Alliance Stand.” Accessed August 10, 2018. https://www.cmalliance.org/about/beliefs/doctrine. Cf. https://ecommunity.cmalliance.org/topic/6742-where-is-the-cma-on-end-times-doctrine/
[138]Heb. 10:37For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay…”
[139]Luke 21:27 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory
[140]Titus 2:11–14 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
[141]Acts 17.31, Mt 25.31-34
[142]Jn 5.22,27
[143]1 Cor 6.3, Jude 6, 2 Pt 2.4, 2 Cor 5.10, Eccl 12.14, Rom 2.16, 14.10,12, Mt 12.36-37, 1 Cor 3.13-15
[146]Acts 24.15, Jn 5.28-29, 1 Cor 15.42, Phil 3.21 (WCF, 32.3)
