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These are some of my core beliefs concerning the Word of God and the Christian Faith
I believe that the Godhead or God eternally exists in three persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are one God, having precisely the same nature, attributes, and perfection and worthy of precisely the same honor, confidence, and obedience. (Matt. 28:18–19; Mark 12:29; John 1:14; Acts 5:3–4; 2 Cor. 13:14; Heb. 1:1–3; Rev. 1:4–6).
I believe that Jesus is fully God and fully man. The only God-Man to ever exist or ever will exist. There was never a time He did not exist, He is present everywhere, has all knowledge and all power. He performed works only God could do, was given names and titles of God and He claimed to be God. He had a human body, soul and spirit. He exhibited characteristics of a human being and was called human names. (John 8:58, Matt 18:20, Matt 16:21, John 11:38-44, John 10:30, Philippians 2:5-11)
I believe that man was originally created in the image and after the likeness of God, and that he fell through sin, and, as a consequence of his sin, lost his spiritual life, becoming dead in trespasses and sins, and that he became subject to the power of Satan. I also believe that this spiritual death and total depravity of human nature, has been transmitted to the entire human race of man, except the Man Christ Jesus. As a consequence of the sin of Adam, every child of Adam is born into the world with a nature which not only possesses no spark of divine life, but is essentially and unchangeably bad apart from divine grace. (Gen. 1:26; 2:17; 6:5; Psalms: 14:1–3; 51:5; Jer. 17:9; John 3:6; 5:40; 6:35; Rom. 3:10–19; 8:6–7; Eph. 2:1–3; 1 Tim. 5:6; 1 John 3:8).
I believe that, because of universal death through sin, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless born again. No degree of human effort can help the sinner to take even one step toward heaven; but a new nature imparted from above, a new life implanted by the Holy Spirit through the Word, is absolutely essential to salvation, and only those thus saved are sons of God. I believe, also, that our redemption has been accomplished solely by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, who was made to be sin and was made a curse for us, dying in our place and then raised from the dead by the power of God. (Lev. 17:11; Isa. 64:6; Matt. 26:28; John 3:7–18; Rom. 5:6–9; 1 Cor 15: 1-11, 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:13; 6:15; Eph. 1:7; Phil. 3:4–9; Titus 3:5; James 1:18; 1 Pet. 1:18–19, 23).
I believe that a person is saved and brought back into union with God through the grace of God by faith and faith alone. It is a gift of God so that no man can take any credit for his salvation in Christ. I believe it is the total work of God in bringing people from condemnation to justification, from death to eternal life from alienation to acceptance in Christ. (Eph 2:8-9, Titus 3:5)
I believe that sanctification, which is a setting-apart unto God, is threefold: It is already complete for every saved person because his position toward God is the same as Christ’s position. Since the believer is in Christ, he is set apart unto God in the measure in which Christ is set apart unto God. From his position in Christ, the believer will experience his death, burial and resurrection in Christ to walk in newness of life. However, the believer will continue to struggle with his flesh or the independent urge to disregard God and make his life work anyway. This sinful urge from the past that lingers on in the believer will need to be crucified daily as the believer learns to walk in the Spirit as opposed to the flesh. I believe also that the child of God will yet be fully sanctified in his state as he is now sanctified in his standing in Christ when he shall see his Lord and shall be “like Him”. (John 17:17; Rom 6:1-14, Gal 2:20, 2 Cor. 3:18; 7:1; Eph. 4:24; 5:25–27; 1 Thess. 5:23; Heb. 10:10, 14; 12:10).
I believe that the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the blessed Trinity, though omnipresent from all eternity, took up His abode in the world in a special sense on the day of Pentecost according to the divine promise. He dwells in every believer, and by His baptism unites all to Christ in one body, and that He, as the Indwelling One, is the source of all power and all acceptable worship and service. (John 14:16–17; 16:7–15; 1 Cor. 6:19; Eph. 2:22; 2 Thess. 2:7)
I believe that all who are united to the risen and ascended Son of God are members of the church which is the body and bride of Christ, which began at Pentecost and is completely distinct from Israel. I believe that by the same Spirit all believers in this age are baptized into, and thus become, one body that is Christ’s, whether Jews or Gentiles, and having become members one of another, are under solemn duty to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Rising above all sectarian differences, and loving one another with a pure heart fervently. (Matt. 16:16–18; Acts 2:42–47; Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor. 12:12–27; Eph. 1:20–23; 4:3–10; Col. 3:14–15).
I believe that the period of great tribulation in the earth will be climaxed by the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to the earth as He went, in person on the clouds of heaven, and with power and great glory to introduce the millennial age. He will return to bind Satan and place him in the abyss. He will lift the curse which now rests upon the whole creation, to restore Israel to her own land and to give her the realization of God’s covenant promises, and to bring the whole world to the knowledge of God. (Deut. 30:1–10; Isa. 11:9; Ezek. 37:21–28; Matt. 24:15–25:46; Acts 15:16–17; Rom. 8:19–23; 11:25–27; 1 Tim. 4:1–3; 2 Tim. 3:1–5; Rev. 20:1–3).
I believe that "all Scripture is given by inspiration of God,” by which we understand the whole Bible is inspired in the sense that holy men of God “were moved by the Holy Spirit” to write the very words of Scripture. I believe that this divine inspiration extends equally and fully to all parts of the writings as appeared in the original manuscripts. I believe that the whole Bible in the originals is therefore without error. I believe that all the Scriptures center about the Lord Jesus Christ in His person and work in His first and Second Coming, and hence that no portion, even of the Old Testament, is properly read, or understood, until it leads to Him. I also believe that all the Scriptures were designed for practical application and living. (Mark 12:26, 36; 13:11; Luke 24:27, 44; John 5:39; Acts 1:16; 17:2–3; 18:28; 26:22–23; 28:23; Rom. 15:4; 1 Cor. 2:13; 10:11; 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:21 Email Me: bbarenk@charter.net
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Email Bill: bbarenk@charter.net Bill Barenkamp's Web: Chris McDonald, Spirit Web Design FOR THE KINGDOM |
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