My Statement of Faith




1. The Scripture
I believe that the Scripture is the word of God.  I believe that the Scripture is given by God by the infallible inspiration of the Holy Spirit for the very purpose of revealing who God is and what He does and what He requires all humans to do and what we ought to do as His people.  The Scripture is the special revelation of God to bring His people to know the salvation in Jesus Christ.  In the Scripture we find our origin, the very truth of our sinful estate, and the hope of redemption that God has planned and completed in His Son.
2. God
I believe that God is the infinite, eternal, and incomparable Spirit in all that He is.  God is one but three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God is not created; His existence is on Himself; and He is sufficient in Himself.  God is our Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier. In His power and wisdom, righteousness, goodness, and truth we may safely put our trust.
3. The Creation
I believe that God created the heavens and the earth and all that is in them.  God directs and governs everything so they may fulfill the purpose of their creation.  God’s sovereignty and providence guarantee our life to the fullest according to His will.
4. Man
I believe that God created man after His own image, and the perfect image of God is Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  Therefore man is like God in many ways.  Man’s original nature should exhibit God’s communicable characters.  God established His covenant with man for the goodness of man.  To man God has given the world to subdue for the glory of God.  The ultimate purpose of man’s life is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.
5. The Fall and Sin
I believe that we are all fallen in Adam and therefore by nature we are children of wrath, deserving to be condemned by God. Since the fall, we are all totally depraved, prone to evil and liable to eternal death.  We cannot be delivered from our sinful state save through the unmerited grace of God through Jesus Christ our Savior.
6. Grace
I believe that God has not left the world to perish in its sin, but out of His great love He has chosen from eternity His elect for Himself, to deliver the elect out of their sin and depravity.  Through the elect God builds up again in the world His kingdom of righteousness.  In Christ, we the elect of God, inherit His Kingdom as children of the Most High God.

7. Jesus Christ
I believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God.  I believe that through Jesus Christ our Lord God has redeemed His people for Himself.  For the purpose of redemption, Jesus Christ was born in the world, of a virgin, fulfilling the Scripture, suffered under Pontius Pilate.  I believe that He died on the cross to pay the penalty of our sins and satisfied the justice of God through the eternal death he experienced.  He rose again on the third day and broke the power of death once and for all and thus bestowed eternal life to His people.  He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.  Now He reigns in His kingdom and will come again for the final judgment of all the living and the dead.
8.  The Holy Spirit
I believe that the Holy Spirit is God and is the third person of the Trinity.  I believe that the Holy Spirit effectually applies the redeeming work of the Lord Jesus Christ to all His people.  The Holy Spirit works faith in us and thereby unites us to Christ, renews us after the image of God, and enables us more and more to die unto sin and to live unto righteousness.  The Holy Spirit is the guarantee for our salvation and eternal life while we are in the process of sanctification.
9. Salvation
I believe that salvation is only in Jesus Christ.  There is no other way of salvation that man can go through.  Therefore salvation is not the works of man, but solely the works of God.  God the Father chose the elect since before the creation of the world to be His people forever.  The elect are redeemed by Jesus Christ through His sacrifice on the cross once and for all.  The Holy Spirit applies the justification and redemption in the work of Jesus Christ to the elect since the beginning of time until the end.  Our regeneration is the work of the Holy Spirit so we may accept the salvation in Jesus Christ through faith.  Receiving the salvation is expressed by our repentance from sin and our confession of faith in Jesus Christ.  Since then we all persevere to live a life pleasing to God and continue to do good works prepared by God.
10. Good Works
I believe that as the followers of Christ we are further required to walk in the Spirit.  The Spirit guides us to exhibit the love of God through our good works to our neighbors.  By doing so we fulfill our obedience to Jesus Christ our King and perform all the duties required by the holy law of God.  The grace of God includes preparing and providing us good works to do that is in accordance with our new status in Jesus Christ as children of God following the model of our Lord and savior.
11. The Church
I believe that God has established His church in the world.  God has endowed His church with the ministry of the Word and prayer, and the holy sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper. Through the applications of these means of grace in His church, the riches of His grace in the gospel may be made known to the world. Through His church Jesus Christ communicates the salvation to His people whom otherwise have no other way of knowing the forgiveness of sin and redemption that He had completed.  As members of the church, the body of Christ, we are required to attend on these means of grace with diligence, preparation, and prayer, so that through them we may be instructed and strengthened in faith, and in holiness of life and in love. The commission of Jesus Christ as the head of the church is for all of us to use our best endeavors to carry this gospel and convey these means of grace to the whole world.
12. The End Time
I believe that Jesus Christ will surely come again in glory.  When He comes the second time He will judge the world in righteousness and justice.  We who are in Christ will be raised into eternal life with God.  Those who reject Jesus Christ will be raised into eternal condemnation apart from God.  In the eternal life with God, all suffering and pain will be wiped out, and we will sin no more, and we will live holy and pleasing to God for eternity enjoying a life full of love and grace.  And to Him, our Redeemer, with the Father, and the Holy Spirit, three Persons, one God, be glory forever, world without end. Amen, and amen.

1 comment:

Marcia said...

Ferry,

Your statement of faith is absolutely beautiful, so completely Reformed, fully Biblical, and spoken so eloquently and with great personal sincerity. It resonates deeply in my heart which is in total agreement with your words. God has truly given you gifts of a brilliant mind, clear expression, beauty of words, and complete dedication to Him. Glory be to God!

Bless the Lord, O my soul and all that is within me. Bless His Holy Name!

Marcia