What I believe to be true affects my entire person and is as follows:
Scripture alone is the authority for the things I believe. (Psalm 119:18; Psalm 138:2; II Tim. 3:14-17) God’s revelation to people is clear and undeniable, and also necessary for any sort of intelligibility. Everyone knows God and knows that He has revealed Himself. Rejecting this results in futile, vain, and foolish thinking. (Psalm 14.1; Proverbs 1.7; Romans 1.18-23; 1 Corinthians 1.20) God’s glory alone is at the center of everything. (1Colossians 10:31; 1Peter 4:11; Revelation 1:6; 2 Peter 3:1; Ephesians 3:21; Revelation 7:12; Romans 11:36) According to Scripture, the work of Christ alone (1 Titus 2:5-6; Colossians 1:13-18) through grace alone (Ephesians 1:3-8) resulting in faith alone (Galatians 3:6-11) brings about salvation to the glory of God…nothing else.
Humans are totally incapable of doing any saving good apart from God working in them through regeneration by the Holy Spirit. (Romans 8.7-8; Ephesians 2.1, 5) No one is able to come to Christ on his or her own. (John 6.44) Regeneration, or being born again, comes prior to and apart from our repentance and faith. We are totally passive when God gives us a new birth, hence the language of “being born†(we did not choose to be born). (1 John 5.1; John 1.12-13; Ephesians 2.8) This is not only why we thank God for our salvation rather than boasting about our own “decisionâ€, but it is also why we pray for God to save others and believe that He can do so regardless of how hardened they may be to the Gospel. While many resist the Gospel call and the ever-present work of the Holy Spirit, no one can resist God’s saving grace if He chooses to save that person. (Acts 6.14; 1 Corinthians 1.23-24; John 6.65; Matthew 16.17; Luke 10.21) Jesus Christ died on the cross to save all of those who will repent and trust in Him alone for salvation, not each and every individual of the entire world, for there are many who must still pay for their sins in hell and God does not ask for double payment. Unbelief, which even Christians have been and often are guilty of, was atoned for along with all other sins. The atonement of Christ Jesus is thus limited in scope, not in power, for it saves completely all of those whom it was intended for. (Ephesians 5.25; Hebrews 10.14; John 3.16; John 10.15) Those for whom Christ shed His blood are regenerated by the Holy Spirit and kept in Christ. (Romans 8.30; John 10.27-29; Philippians 1.6; 1 Corinthians 1.8; 1 Thessalonians 5.23) This is all carried out in accordance with the plan of the Father, who elected (chose) individuals to salvation before the world ever began. God did not make this decision based upon knowledge of human choices, as no human could ever produce his or her own faith apart from the work of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 13.48; Romans 11.7; John 6.37; John 17.6) It follows from this that God also passed over some, leaving them in their sins. (John 10:26; 12:37-40; Romans 9:11-18; 1 Peter 2:7-8)
Christ Jesus died on the cross for the sins of His people, was buried, and was raised again on the third day in accordance with Scripture. Those who repent from their sins and trust the living Christ as Savior and Lord will have their sins forgiven them and will be counted righteous in God’s sight because of the perfect life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, being credited to their account. (1 Corinthians 15.3-4; Romans 5.1; John 14.6) The answer to the question, “How may I be saved?†is: Repent, turn from your sins, trust Jesus Christ, the only name under heaven by which people are saved, and you will have abundant life eternally in Jesus Christ.
My Beautiful Girlfriend and Me
