What I Believe

The Scriptures

I believe the Bible is the inerrant, God-breathed Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit, written by human hands (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21; Psalm 12:6; John 17:17). I teach from the King James Version because of its accuracy, and because of the texts it was translated from: the Hebrew Masoretic Text of the Old Testament and the Greek Textus Receptus of the New.

God

I believe there is one God in three Persons: God the Father, God the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19).

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Jesus Christ

I believe Jesus Christ is God (John 1:1, 14). He was born of a virgin (Luke 1:26–35). He bore our sins on the cross (1 Peter 2:24), and He rose bodily from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3–4).

Man and Sin

I believe God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1). Adam was a real man, formed directly from the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7). Every person is born into sin, separated from God, and in need of salvation (Romans 3:23; 5:12).

Salvation

I believe salvation is by grace through faith, a free gift offered to all (Ephesians 2:8–9). The shed blood of Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation and the redemption of our sins (Ephesians 1:7). God foreknew those who would come to faith (Romans 8:29). God is sovereign, and every person is responsible to believe (Romans 9). Salvation cannot be lost (John 10:28). Believers are not under the law of Moses; Jesus fulfilled it (Matthew 5:17; Romans 6:14).

The Holy Spirit

I believe the Holy Spirit comes to live in every believer at the moment of salvation, and seals them (Ephesians 1:13).

The Church

I believe the church is the body of Christ: every true believer in Him (1 Corinthians 12:13; Colossians 1:18). Baptism follows faith and does not save (Acts 8:36–37). The Lord's Supper is a memorial (1 Corinthians 11:24).

Israel

I believe God's promises to Israel stand (Romans 11:29). Israel remains the natural branches (Romans 11:24), and a day is coming when Israel will turn to Christ (Zechariah 12:10; Romans 11:26). I reject replacement theology.

Last Things

I believe that at death, a believer goes straight to be with the Lord (Philippians 1:23). Christ will catch up His church before the seven-year tribulation (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17). After the tribulation He returns to the earth (Revelation 19:11–16) and reigns for a literal thousand years (Revelation 20:4–6). The New Jerusalem is a literal city (Revelation 21:2).

Hell

I believe hell is a real place of conscious torment, of outer darkness and eternal separation from God (Matthew 25:46; Luke 16:23–24; Revelation 14:11; 20:10). It was prepared for the devil and his angels, not for man (Matthew 25:41). But sin cannot enter the presence of a holy God (Habakkuk 1:13; Revelation 21:27). Whoever refuses the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for their sins stands before God in those sins, and sin is cast into outer darkness, away from His presence (Matthew 25:30; 2 Thessalonians 1:9). God is not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9). Hell is the choice of every person who rejects Christ (John 3:18).