A few days ago, I had a conversation with a close friend of mine and she told me, plainly and simply, that she doesn’t believe in anything. Any mention of religion, church, theology or absoluteness of truth is a put-off for her. We fought on the issue for hours and, thought the conversation was frustrating, it got me thinking about the whole issue of belief. Is it really possible for a living, breathing, thinking person to believe in ‘nothing’? I then remembered coming across an official statement of faith, put together by Christians. It goes as follows:
1. We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God. We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
2. The Bible is the infallible Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and contains every answer to man’s problems.
3. There is one God, existing eternally in three persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
4. God is Love and He loves all people. It is His desire to reach out to those who are poor, oppressed, widowed or orphaned, and to heal the brokenhearted.
5. Man is created in the image of God but separated from God by sin. Without Jesus we cannot have a relationship with God.
6. We can have a personal relationship with God through salvation, God’s free gift to man. It is not a result of what we do, but it is only available through God’s unearned favor. By admitting we have sinned and believing in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, and accepting Him as Lord, we can spend eternity with God.
7. We believe in water baptism, as taught and demonstrated by Jesus, as the way for believers to identify with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.
8. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is a gift from God. He helps empower the believer to develop the character of Christ and live every day in God’s will.
9. God gives all believers spiritual gifts. They are for the strengthening of God’s people (the Church) and proof of God’s existence and power to unbelievers. The gifts of the Spirit are active and relevant today.
10. Sanctification is the ongoing process of allowing God’s character to be developed in us.
11. Divine healing is active in the lives of people today through Jesus, who is the Healer. Healing includes physical, mental, emotional and spiritual restoration.
12. The Bible describes hell as a real place. It is a place of suffering and a place of permanent separation from God for those who die without accepting Christ. God’s desire is that no one be separated from Him for eternity, which is why He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to earth.
13. Jesus will return and take all those who have accepted Him as Savior to be with Him for eternity.
Though many of the terms are ones that non-Christians might not really be able to connect with because of the jargon, it is inspiring to see a set of beliefs written down and expressed so clearly. So often, many of us just make our way through life without actually knowing what we believe in. So, what do you believe in?
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