What I Believe

Today, we are living in a time of profound moral and spiritual confusion, distortions, and the redefinition of truth. Many of you who receive my weekly Thoughts Provoking articles have known me for years, while others of you may have never met me. Many of you heard my teachings in person as you were part of my church over the last 33 years, or attended some of my many conferences, while others of you have heard only a few of my teaching messages. Many of you who access my messages through my Strong Disciple website live in places all over the world. From Africa, the Middle East, Asia, India, Cambodia, the Philippines, Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Germany, France, Canada, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Honduras, England, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Hong Kong, Brazil, America, and on and on it goes. We have never had the chance to meet face to face. I do, however, feel a great responsibility to all of you and desire God’s very best in each of your lives.

As I pray over this ministry every single day and ask God to use these articles and the message’s on strongdisciple.com in people’s lives, my great desire is to help you know and follow Jesus Christ more fully, more completely, and to encourage and build up His body, the Church, made up of all believers in Jesus Christ from all over the world. I thought it would be most helpful to each of you to have a synopsis of what I believe.

As many of you have come to know, I speak and write in a very accessible and easily understood way. I generally do not speak or write using high academic language. I have nothing against that style of writing, and in fact, have great admiration for those who do so effectively. My desire has simply been to emulate the style of my Savior Jesus Christ, who preached and taught using simple and easy to understand stories and illustrations as he expounded on divine truth to the masses of ordinary, hurting, broken people. I will strive to do the same as I lay out what I believe. Even my best attempt, I realize, will still be imperfect. I trust you will grant me grace in this matter.

This solemn charge from God has been my passion and calling for 44 years.

2 Timothy 4:1-2 (NLT) “And so I solemnly charge you before God and before Christ Jesus–who will someday judge the living and the dead when he appears to set up his Kingdom: Preach the word of God. Be persistent at it, whether the time is favorable or not.”

My passion is to help you understand and live God’s word, the Bible, which is why all 32 years of my messages are freely available to anyone and everyone around the world. Here then, for your understanding is what I believe, with all my heart. The list is by no means exhaustive, but I attempt to cover some major issues.

I BELIEVE

I believe that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life, that no one can come to the Father, God, except through Jesus Christ.

I believe that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, Jesus Christ, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.

I believe that unless we believe in Jesus Christ, we will die in our sins, face the judgment of God, and spend eternity separated from God in a place called hell.

I believe that all of us are sinners in desperate need of God’s grace and salvation through Jesus Christ.

I believe that only the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin and nothing else can ever substitute for that.

I believe that Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God, the only sacrifice that takes away the sins of the world. He is the only sacrifice that took away my sins.

I believe that God’s salvation is a gift of His amazing grace and love, and we can do nothing to earn that salvation or deserve it. We must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the only name given among men whereby you must be saved.

I believe that the moment a believer in Jesus Christ dies, they are absent from their bodies and present with the Lord Jesus Christ in heaven.

I believe Jesus Christ is the source of all life, physical and spiritual, the provider and sustainer of all things, the source of all wisdom and knowledge.

I believe Jesus Christ is God, revealed to us in the flesh.

I believe that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin.

I believe Jesus Christ was fully God and fully man.

I believe Jesus Christ bore our sins in His body on the cross, and His death satisfied the wrath of God for all those who believe in Jesus Christ.

I believe that Jesus Christ died, was buried, and rose from the dead on the third day.

I believe that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one, and yet three, each fully God.

I believe that God created the heavens and the earth in six 24 hour days, resting on the seventh day. I believe the earth is young, that the fossil record points directly to the great flood that God brought to the whole earth in the time of Noah.

I believe God created the heavens and the earth by the very power of His word. He spoke, He commanded and all things came into being.

I believe God is sovereign over all things, that in His sovereignty, He created man and woman in His image. That in His sovereignty He put them in a perfect place called Eden. That in His sovereignty God gave man and woman the freedom to choose. That in His Sovereignty He chose and planned to send His son Jesus Christ into the world to provide eternal redemption and payment to God for all our sins. I believe God sovereignly allows humans to embrace Him or reject Him. God chose to give humans a free will.

I believe through Adam’s rebellion against God, sin entered into the world and that sin was passed on to every human being thereafter.

I believe God has authoritatively revealed Himself to us, through creation, through his Son, Jesus Christ, and through the inspired word of God, the Bible, all 66 books, both the Old and New testament.

I believe God also makes Himself known through His people, as Christians love one another.

I believe God’s Word, the Bible, is inspired by God, and is absolute truth and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God’s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do.

I believe the Bible provides the moral and spiritual framework and guidelines for a healthy, vibrant life, and thriving civil society. When we ignore it or violate it, it does great harm to ourselves and the fabric of our society.

I believe God created two, and only two genders. Male and female. That each has the unique imprint of God in their unique nature, both created in the image of God.

I believe God created man, and God created woman as a helper to man, that it was not good that man should be alone. I believe God created marriage as a great gift to mankind, that marriage is by its very creation and design, exclusively meant for one man and one woman, for the rest of their lives, as the two become one flesh.

I believe that God, in His great wisdom, designed men and women with unique roles and responsibilities within the framework of marriage.

I believe that God created unique roles within the church for men and women.

I believe the Bible teaches only men who have the characteristics found in Titus and 1 Timothy may be appointed and ordained as pastor/overseer/bishop in the church. I believe that married men or single men may serve in that role in the church.

I believe the true church, the body of Jesus Christ, is made up of all genuine believers in Jesus Christ from all different walks of life, different backgrounds, different languages, different denominations, who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ for their salvation, having then been indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and placed by God in His body, the church.

I believe that every genuine believer in Jesus Christ, the moment they are born again, are given the Holy Spirit in full measure, they are baptized in the Holy Spirit, that He never leaves us or forsakes us. I believe the Holy Spirit was given to us to comfort us and counsel us. He is the divine Helper who helps teach us all things, as Jesus said in John 14:26 and He brings to our remembrance all Jesus taught. He guides us into Biblical truth. I believe it is the Holy Spirit who empowers us to live the Christian life and produces the wonderful fruits of the Spirit in our lives.

I believe that God wants every Christian to be involved in some meaningful way in a local church body with other believers. They may meet in a home, they may meet in a rented building, or own their meeting facility. You and I need the regular fellowship of other Christians.

I believe there is one mediator between God and mankind, Jesus Christ.

I believe Jesus Christ is our Great High Priest, the only one sufficient, the only one we need, that he has great sympathy for our struggles and uniquely understands our weaknesses. I believe each believer in Jesus Christ may confidently approach the very throne of God directly, and receive grace and mercy in their time of need.

I believe that God alone hears and answers our prayers. I believe only God has the supernatural power, the supernatural ability, to hear our prayers as though privately and personally spoken to Him, while at the very same time hearing privately and personally the millions upon millions of prayers of other believers throughout the entire world.

I believe that many Christians do not truly know nor understand who they are in Jesus Christ, what was fully given to them through the gospel of God’s grace and what that means for them now that Jesus Christ lives in them and they have been justified in the eyes of God, made pure and holy, without blame because of Jesus Christ. It was for this reason I wrote “Because I Am” – found here:

https://strongdisciple.com/wp-content/uploads/Because-I-am-bookmark.pdf

I believe that when you believed in Jesus Christ as your Savior, you have been once for all time forgiven for all your sins, and do not need repeatedly to ask God to forgive what He already forgave you for. I believe instead, you need to believe He already completely forgave you, whether you feel like it or not, and walk in the full truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is not arrogance, but the humility to grasp it is your birthright as a child of God, a gift of God’s grace and love, received by faith.

I believe God loves you far more than you have ever imagined or dared to dream. That when you begin to grasp how high, how deep, how wide, how long his love for you really is, to genuinely experience the love of Christ, you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God!

I believe that true faith and love for God shows itself in a life of obedience to God and a life of love for other believers. Jesus said if you love me, obey my commands. Anyone who does not obey God’s commands and loves other Christians, as 1 John 3:10 states, does not belong to God.

I believe that true believers in Jesus Christ will demonstrate and show forth that genuine faith in a life of good works and upright holy living, as they devotedly follow Jesus Christ. Faith that does not show itself by good deeds is not faith at all-it is dead and useless, as James 2:17 says.

I believe we are called by God to live a life of love, obedience and devotion to Jesus Christ, and a life of love for others. We must grow in love, it is God’s great command. The Bible teaches us that without love, we are no good to anybody. Love builds up, knowledge puffs up. We must grow in Christ-like love, articulated in 1 Cor. 13:1-8.

I believe it is essential to be growing in spiritual maturity in order to be more useful to God. I believe that this requires enthusiastic, intentional discipline and every effort to build ourselves up in our most holy faith. Otherwise, we will become lukewarm, and ineffective in our knowledge of Jesus Christ, and remain spiritual infants.

I believe it is essential that we develop and maintain spiritual disciplines in our lives. We must seek the Lord with our whole heart, develop a vigorous prayer life, be devoted to reading and meditating on the Holy Scriptures, obeying the word of God, and make doing the will of God our way of life.

I believe that as a disciple of Jesus Christ, our life is to be a life of service to others. Jesus said, “The servant of all, is the greatest of all.”

I believe as Jesus said,” You are the light of the world. Let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven”. God has a great purpose for  Christians in this world. Our lives, our witness, our deeds of kindness for others matters tremendously. He has left us here to be lights to the world!

I believe it is the godly, upright, winsome way that we live our lives before a watching world that gives great credibility to our Christian message. We are to be a good advertisement for the Christian faith.

I believe God wants to use each of us in some meaningful way to go and make disciples of others. It might be as a mother with her children or a father with his family, or going on a mission trip, or reaching out to friends, family, or neighbors. We are all a vital part of fulfilling God’s great mission on planet earth.

I believe every believer in Jesus Christ should be baptized in obedience to our Lord’s command. I believe that baptism, as taught in Scripture, is symbolic of our death, burial, and resurrection with Jesus Christ to newness of life and has no part in our eternal salvation. I believe it is to be a baptism of full bodily immersion into the water and back out again. I believe it is an essential act of obedience in our commitment to Jesus Christ.

I believe the Lord’s supper, often known as communion is of vital importance in our Christian life. I believe it honors our Lord and is extremely important in remembrance of His great sacrifice for us, the new Covenant of his blood poured out for our sins. We should partake in it regularly, with a sense of real reverence, reflection and deep gratitude, as Paul writes in 1 Cor. 11:22.

I believe all those who are true believers in Jesus Christ will, in this life, suffer in some way, shape or form, persecution, hatred, ridicule, vilification, slander, and injustice. Jesus said, “If they hated me, they will hate you also.” It is an honor to suffer ridicule, false accusations, and hatred because of our faith in Jesus Christ, because of our stand on moral issues, because of our upright living among wicked people.

I believe Christians will be eternally rewarded by God for the sufferings they endure for Christ’s sake.

I believe as disciples of Jesus Christ, we must take up our cross daily, die to ourselves, and live for God’s purposes. When we lose our life for Jesus sake, we find true life.

I believe in this world we will have many tribulations, trials, and hardships. God uses them to mold and shape us as His children, to make us more like Jesus Christ, and they are a pathway of blessing both now and in eternity.

I believe we should be far more concerned about laying up treasure in heaven, than laying up treasure here on earth.

I believe Jesus Christ will return at some future time and take all true believers in Jesus Christ out of this world to be with him in heaven.

I believe Jesus Christ will return one day with His people and set up the kingdom reign that He promised to the Jewish people, for 1000 years on the earth.

I believe Jesus Christ will, at the end of that time, destroy the heavens and the earth and make a new heaven and a new earth where righteousness lives, free of all sin, sorrow, death, and disease. We will live in the new heaven and earth in our new glorified bodies forever, and ever, and ever.

I believe Christians of good character, and sincere, genuine faith, may arrive at different conclusions on matters of conscience. That it is imperative that we are respectful, kind, and sensitive to their convictions and perspectives. That we do all we can to live in peace with others of different convictions and Biblical perspectives. I believe we should strive to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Remembering always, there is one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.

I believe life starts at conception and we should do everything in our power to protect and nurture that life. All children are a great gift from God.

I would like to close with this vital truth.

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