Statement of Faith and Influences

One of my big things whenever I start to read or listen to a possible Christian writer or podcaster is that I want to know what they believe.  Is this person that I'm opening my thought life up to someone that is actually a Christian or do they have questionable beliefs?  So with that in mind below are my beliefs about certain subjects:

Jesus

Jesus Christ was born of the virgin Mary, lived a sinless life, did many miracles, died an unjust death on the Cross and rose again on the third day.  It is through faith in Him and Him alone that one can receive salvation.  No other religion or philosophy can save you.

He is fully God and fully man.  He is eternally God and by Him the universe was created.

The Trinity

God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are 3 different Persons and yet are one in Their Essence.  3 in 1 - in a mysterious unity that does not cause Them to lose Their distinctness.

The Bible

The Bible is the inerrant Word of God.  It is God-breathed and authoritative on all matters of life and theology.

Eternity

Heaven and Hell are real.  Hell is the final destination for all who have sinned and it is only by faith in Jesus that one can be forgiven of sin in order to escape Hell and instead go to Heaven.

Salvation

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  We are saved not by somehow making up for our sin by doing good things to counteract it but rather we are saved only by having genuine faith in Jesus.  Genuine faith in Jesus is one that acknowledges Him as Lord.  This means that the individual ascertains to God's definitions of sin and seeks to depart from such actions in some degree.  The actual doing of this is fraught with weakness, struggle and setbacks but the genuine believer in Jesus will genuinely seek to obey Him in every way that he believes that Jesus would want him to live.  

I really hope I'm not misunderstood by the above paragraph and what I mean to communicate may be better said by Martin Luther that "salvation is by faith alone but faith is never alone".  Which is to say that true genuine faith will embrace repentance and seek to live according to God's ways - even though it is done in a very imperfect and flawed way.

Sexuality

I believe in the Biblical standard of sexual ethics.  A full articulation of this can be found here.

Spiritual Gifts and Miracles

I believe the Gifts of the Spirit are for today.  Healing is the Will of God.  God speaks to believers very often.  Miracles are possible and promised through faith in Jesus.

Money

I believe that the Love of money is a root of all kinds of evil and that greed is a horrible sin.  I also believe that God calls His Church to Radical Generosity and promises to bless those who give with an even greater abundance.  Living your life for money is a foolish pit but not pursuing the blessing of God so that you can be a blessing to others is also bad.  As such I believe in "Prosperity with a Purpose" - which is to trust God for financial abundance in your life but to also live with an awareness that your money is not your own but rather that you are a steward of God's resources and that you will be held accountable for what you did with it.

My Influences

I call myself a Charismatic Calvinist because I was raised in the Baptist Church and have not departed from those doctrines in any way but have discovered alongside of them the power of God and the Gifts of the Spirit.  My favorite Bible teachers are Bill Johnson and Kris Vallotton of Bethel Church, Mike Bickle of the International House of Prayer and Rick Joyner from Morningstar Ministries.  I also have greatly received from R.C. Sproul and Ligonier Ministries and regularly listen to Reformed Theologians.  I think that there is great strength in combining the love for the Presence and Power of God that I see in the Charismatic Church alongside with the love for Church History and Philosophy that were in the late R.C. Sproul's ministry.