So many times we are asked “what do you believe” even when the person asking knows you are a Christian. Why? Because Christianity has become fragmented and distorted over the passage of time. Many congregations are only a shadow of real Christianity and what the body of Christ was intended to be.

The body of Christ is not the corporate church, indeed it hasn’t been for a long time, even though many churches are in the body of Christ.

Too many man-made doctrines, too many compromises. Sad. But God’s children (or God’s Kids as I usually say) are everywhere. In the church, in home groups, in prayer and study gatherings and even those who walk alone, but are not alone. God’s kids are everywhere.

However that may be, the following statements convey what I personally believe and strive to live by:

1. I believe in one God in three persons - The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit, and that He is the Creator of all things.
2. I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God. That He was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, then was crucified, died and was buried, then was resurrected, ascended into heaven, and is now seated at the right hand of God the Father and is God.
3. I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is our sacrifice for our sins unto Redemption and that He is the only path to heaven. That He is our example and our intercessor and that only by living a life in, through, and of Him do we have salvation.
4. I believe the Bible, in its entirety, to be the inspired Word of God and the infallible rule of faith and conduct for all mankind.
5. I believe in personal salvation through the gift of the shed blood of Jesus Christ. That our salvation must be professed AND lived to be received by; the repentance of sins, by accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as our Redeemer and Savior, and by water baptism as a symbol of this new life in Christ.
6. I believe in sanctification through the Word of God and by the Holy Spirit. I believe in personal holiness, purity of heart and life. That this is a walk of faith and not a singular act of piety whereby we receive sonship and our inheritance. That to receive this sanctification we must ACT upon our faith according to the principles of Grace through Christ Jesus as given by the Word of God.
7. I believe in divine healing, through faith in the Name of Jesus Christ, and that healing is included in the Redemption through Grace.
8. I believe in the Christian’s hope of the soon-coming, personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ and the establishment of His Kingdom on earth.
9. I believe that holiness is not just possible without death, but that it is the real expectation of our faith and goal of our discipleship (Matthew 5:48).

I do not seek concensus with what I believe, each of us stand at differing points upon the path. However, with that said, I encourage and seek discourse with those of the real Christian faith, for edification, communion and the glorifying of our Heavenly Father.

In the community of believers I truly believe we find family—and that family sanctified before God. The bonds of unity stem forth from the bonds of love, in which Christ admonished us to nurture within our hearts and express to our fellow brethren and sojourners that travel with us along the pathway home.

And in that, is no censure.

Be blessed, be loved and be at peace.

~ Jonathan