My personal statement of faith

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<aside> 💡 Here is my personal statement of faith—examine it to see if it is out of step with Scripture or our confession

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Man was made very good, male and female, to represent God by establishing his family kingdom on the earth. However, at the prompting of his wife, in turn deceived by a rebellious spiritual family member, the first man Adam chose to break faith with God—bringing upon himself and all those to whom he was father the sentence of death: separation from God.
God is the triune Yahweh, whose existence is of himself, in whom is life, who created all things in order to reveal his perfections, and planned every event in creation, every choice of men and angels, from eternity—to ultimately glorify his son, Jesus.
Jesus is the incarnate second person of God; the angel and word of Yahweh depicted in the Hebrew scriptures: fully God now also fully man by birth of the virgin Mary, the seed of David and inheritor of God’s covenant promises; who lived a life of faith without blemish, wholly pleasing to his Father, who then cursed him in our stead, whereby he bore the penalty for our guilt by his death on the cross. On the third day he was vindicated as righteous by the Holy Spirit through his resurrection from the dead, and declared to be the son of God now in power, replacing Adam as the head of God’s kingdom, and subjecting all rulers and authorities on earth and in heaven to him, making possible our salvation.
Salvation is wrought by the Holy Spirit first indwelling us; whereby we are adopted as sons of God, united with God’s anointed king, Jesus; and receive a share in everything that is his. This includes his righteousness, reckoned to us, and acquittal of wrongdoing; it also includes our response, which is to subject ourselves to his rule, relying completely on him to pardon us, and loyally representing his name by living in obedience to his commands—foremost of which is to be immersed in water as a symbol of having been washed of sin, buried with him, and raised a new creation in a royal priesthood, in anticipation of our resurrection at the final judgment.
The final judgment is the day on which God will raise to life all those who have died, to be judged by the Lord Jesus according to their works. Those who have been adopted as his family and have their guilt covered by his headship will be acquitted, with their lives of faithful obedience serving as proof that his verdict is just, and as the basis for their rewards. The rest of mankind will be condemned according to their works. God’s adoptive human family will then take the place of the rebels in his spiritual family, and judge these according to their works. Everyone who opposes God, both men and angels, will be cast out of the kingdom to endure just punishment forever; everyone faithful to Jesus, both men and angels, will rule with him on a renewed earth, as prophesied in Scripture.
Scripture is the Bible in its 66 books, the very words of God breathed out by the Holy Spirit in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek; and although accommodated to human expression and knowledge as an artist must accommodate his work to his medium and materials, is nonetheless entirely truthful by the standards that its human authors intended, and says everything that God intended it to say, for the ultimate purpose of building his church.
The church is the community of people throughout time whom God chooses to join to his eternal covenant; the visible body of the Lord Jesus that, in this last age, assembles together in local congregations to worship and break bread. It is tasked with expanding God’s kingdom, retaking the nations for their rightful king until the knowledge of him covers the earth as the waters cover the sea. She fulfills this mission by going out into the world and, with the word of God, tearing down the strongholds of the spiritual powers that control it; making disciples and then guiding them to live in obedience to the duties given by their Lord. All this is achieved through the instruction and discipline of her pastors and other fathers, aided by the Holy Spirit, who indwells all believers, guiding and gifting them as he sees fit until the Lord Jesus returns to defeat the last enemy, death, and establish his eternal kingdom.

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