My Most Precious Faith (Part 3) Belief of A Christian

BELIEF OF A CHRISTIAN

All that one needs to believe with the heart, unto salvation is summarized in the Apostles Creed. It is a document of three parts: 1) That concerning God the Father and our creation; 2) that concerning God the Son and our salvation; 3) that concerning God the Holy Spirit and our sanctification.



So at this point in my faith I must state that it has been revealed of God that he is a Triune being. That is, that he is the one tru and eternal God existing in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Each person of the Godhead are equal in substance, power and glory.

THE APOSTLES CREED

I BELIEVE IN GOD THE FATHER ALMIGHTY MAKER OF HEAVEN AND EARTH.
I BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST HIS ONLY SON,OUR LORD,WHO WAS
CONCEIVED BY THE HOLY GHOST,BORN OF THE VIRGIN MARY,
SUFFERED UNDER PONTIUS PILATE WAS CRUCIFIED DEAD AND BURIED;HE DESCENDED INTO HELL.THE THIRD DAY HE ROSE AGAIN FROM THE DEAD. HE ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN AND SITS AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD THE FATHER ALMIGHTY. HE SHALL COME TO JUDGE THE QUICK AND THE DEAD.
I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY GHOST,THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH,
THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS, THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS AND LIFE EVERLASTING. Amen

GOD THE FATHER (Part 1)


I do, my dear, children believe in the Creator God which created the world and all that is in it. The world and all that in it is He created out of nothing. It was in six days that he created the world by the word of his omnipotent power. It is this great and powerful God who that sustains all that he has created. He has executed his decrees in the works of creation and providence so that all things which he hath foreordained comes to pass. This simply means that not only has he created the heavens and the earth but he also rules and upholds them by his power according to his decrees.



Now since He is the Creator and all things are upheld by his decrees then “lady luck” is out of the question. There is no such thing as the proverbial "luck" which is used in our language. Neither is there any such thing as "chance". But whatever comes in life comes by the provision of God, worked by his ever present and almighty power so that whatever happens in life is done not by "chance" but by the most holy wise decrees of God.



As I have come to know and understand this I have become a more patient man. I know that in sickness or health or whatever may befall you or I we are in his hands and that with his care and guidance I can live in peace and thankfulness.



GOD THE SON (Part 2)


Who is this Lord Jesus Christ that I so profoundly profess to you? What does my life have to do with him? Just who does the Bible proclaims him to be?

The bible proclaims him to be the Son of God and that his name is Jesus which means Savior. It is he, the second Person of the Trinity that has delivered me from all my sins and has saved me. There is in no other but jesus, the savior, that salvation can be found.

It is useless to seek for salvation in any church, creed, mere man, or any institution. To do so is to deny the Savior and the salvation that he alone can give. But to those who truly believe in Jesus there is found in him all that is necessary for the salvation of the soul.

It is this Jesus that has been anointed or ordained by the Father who is called "Christ". He has been ordained by the Father and anointed by the Holy Spirit to be the great prophet and teacher to reveal to us the plan of God and the mystery of the faith.



He has been ordained as our high priest to be a sacrifice for our sins and to plead our cause before the Father almighty. He also in our salvation is the King of his kingdom, into which we belong. In that kingdom Christ defends us. He being our Savior knows that we are weak and helpless and that we need His governing and defense. In Christ I am delivered, taught and protected so that I am free to live unto him in the salvation he has procured for me. He is God and is called that many times within scripture. Many times the Bible calls him the son of God. This name is a name that directs attention to his deity and function in the Godhead.


The son of God is distinct from the term believers have as the "children of God" for in that terminological understanding we are designated as being creatures that have been delivered from sin and have been adopted into the family of God being saved by grace. In this calling we have all the privileges as a son to our heavenly Father. He loves us, cares for us, provides for us, and disciplines us as sons. In all of this we still are not, nor have we become God or a “lesser god” but have become connected in an adopted relationship to the father in Christ in our eternal salvation.


Jesus is not my "big brother" he is my Lord I belong to him, I have been brought with a price. This redemption was not with dollars, the euro, gold or silver but with the blood of his precious self. I was on the road to hell the price to turn the Father’s wrath from me was very expensive and it was the Lord Jesus Christ who purchased me and delivered me from Satan and hell. Now I am his and he owns me. In other words God himself died for me and now possesses me as his own and I am to live in his kingdom under his kingdom law with all the privileges as a king's son.


The Son of God took upon himself the form of a servant through natural birthing process with the exception of having no earthly father. The Lord Jesus was conceived not by ordinary means but by the Third person of the trinity the Holy Spirit’s overshadowing / impregnating of Mary. He therefore became man with a reasonable soul, a true body, thereby becoming a true descendant of David's lineage. He is and ever will be truly God who became truly man.


In becoming man he was in a state of humiliation in that he was born in a lowly condition, born under law, under went the miseries of this life, had the wrath of the Father placed upon him for my sins, and was cursed with the death of the cross.

In the sufferings of Christ he supported in both His body and soul the whole of God's wrath for me and the sins of all the elect. He did this so that my sins would be atoned for and that the wrath of the Father would be turned from me. Bless his most holy Name. He took upon himself all my sins and went to the accursed death of the cross.


By faith in Jesus Christ I am linked to him at the cross. I am dead to sin and alive to righteousness. The evil ambitions and desires no longer have control over me. I have the Holy Spirit that energizes me both to will and to do of his good pleasure. I am being changed daily in heart and in conduct. I truly am a new creation in the Lord Jesus Christ. I am, in my whole being, progressively being renewed in the image of God so that I may die more and more to sin daily and live more righteous. The sufferings of Christ has delivered me from the wrath of God. In his resurrection I have several benefits. First is the benefit that death as been overcome. Secondly, by his power I am resurrected to a sanctified life in Christ Jesus. Thirdly I am guaranteed a glorious resurrection of the body at the last day for He that has the keys both of hell and of death. With them He has opened life to me.

Christ not only suffered, died, and rose again for me but he even now sits in heaven at the right hand of the Father interceding for me. I am still prone to sin and sin daily in thought, word, and deed. This is not a pretty picture of me. However, I am so very thankful that I have a high priest which has passed into the heavens that intercedes in my behalf before the Father. He having lived in humiliation can understand my needs and knows first hand my every weakness. Christ being before the Father is not only an act of power but also of love which assures me of the reality that when I need him he is there. Also when this life is over he will carry me to the celestial city where he himself is seated at the right hand of God the Father.

He, being in heaven at the right hand of the Father, declares his power and authority as Head and King of the church. His position also declares that the Father is ruling all things through the Lord Jesus. It is in this kingship function that he has poured out upon his church the blessed Holy Spirit and has given me and all his people gifts for the mutual service and edification of each other. He is also defending his church, from the throne, against the enemy of our souls which seeks to devour us, which is Satan.

Christ will come again at the last day to judge the living and the dead. For the believer, when he comes, we will be safe at the judgment for the very one that will appear to judge the world in righteousness has already stood trial in the elects place before the Father, having removed the wrath of the Father and the guilt from us, and therefore I will be judged righteous as the one who is Judge is righteous Himself. In other words I will stand as righteous as Jesus Christ himself. But this is not so for the unbeliever for they are still guilty before the Father, their sin is upon them and they have lived as enemies of God. For the believer he will say for them to enter into eternal heaven but for the unbeliever he will say to depart forever and be cast into hell.


GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT (Part 3)


I now want to let you know about my faith concerning the Holy Spirit. It is very important to know the comforter of my faith given to me by the Lord Jesus.



It is of the Holy Spirit that I have come to believe in the Lord Jesus as my Savoir. He worked in my heart and changed me from a spiritually dead person and one who had no desire to seek God, to a person who believed the gospel message, got emotional about my sin, and placed my soul and life in his hands under the blood he shed for salvation. In all of this he comforts me and abides with me forever. It has been the Spirit that has applied to me this great salvation that Jesus procured on the cross.


The Holy Spirit placed me into the body of Christ, his church. He has given me and others the gifts needed to help us grow in our faith and has also given the church the "means of grace" by which we can grow as well. These means of grace are the word of God, the sacraments, and church discipline. It is in this church that I have communion with other believers, and am ready and cheerfully desirous to serve others in the fellowship of the saints.


The Holy Spirit has put me into the holy catholic church which is the one and only true church. It is that church that has been pure in doctrine throughout all ages and has and always will be until the consummation at the end of the age. It is because of the work of the Holy Spirit that I am Christian and have the forgiveness of sins for he alone worked in my heart to believe the gospel. I know of a surety that my sins will never be held against me and that I am in right standing with the Father for I do believe on the Lord Jesus.



The power of the Holy Spirit raised up Christ's body from the dead and that same power and work of the Holy Spirit will give life to my mortal body at death. My soul at death will be made perfect in holiness and I will pass into glory. At death the body will return to dust until the resurrection, wherein my body and soul will be united in glorification and I will be made like Christ's glorious body.



My Christian experience and joy now is just the beginning of eternal life. My eye has not seen nor has my ear heard nor have I fully experienced the total blessedness that I will on the day I enter the celestial city. Even though that be so, I do now experience eternal life in the kingdom of God. I want to ask you, my children, "are you right with God?," Do you know that you have not kept the commandments of God?", "Do you really see and know that you are a sinner in need of salvation from the wrath of God?",. "Have you repented of your sin and placed your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ?" the gift of eternal life is free to those that believe. Believe and be delivered or walk away and perish. The prayer of my life for you is that salvation will come to you and your house. If it has then I suggest you pass this statement of faith on to your children and grandchildren calling them to faith in the Son of God.