STATEMENT OF FAITH

 

Faith Beyond Belief

Statement of Faith

 

A Christian Worldview Is Synonymous with a Biblical Worldview

We affirm the following . . .

  1. The Bible, consisting of the 39 books of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New

Testament, is the Word of God. Written by men prepared and superintended by God’s Holy

Spirit, it reveals the Divine Being, specifically His nature, character, will, and purposes. In

the same way, the Bible reveals humanity, authoritatively describing our nature, duty, and

destiny. In the original manuscripts (autographs), the Scriptures of the Old and New

Testament are inerrant, i.e., without error or misstatement, in all they affirm, morally,

spiritually, historically, and scientifically. Inspired Scripture stands as judge over all human

ideas and philosophies, including modern speculative science. Scripture alone presents a

coherent, verbal revelation of the Creator’s understanding of His creation. It alone explains

God’s reign over nature and presents the only eye-witness account of the origin of all things.

(Gen. 1-11; Job 38:1-7; Ps. 19:7-11; Ps. 33:6-9; Ps. 119:160; Mt. 24:35; Luke 24:44-47;

John 10:35; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:21).

2. There is one eternal, unchanging God, infinite in being, knowledge, wisdom, power, holiness,

justice, righteousness, love, mercy, and grace, and eternally consisting of three Persons in

perfect unity—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. (Isaiah 44:6-8; 45:5;

Mt. 28:19; Luke 9:35; John 14:15-18; Rom. 8:12-17; 2 Cor. 13:14)

3. Our Lord Jesus was supernaturally conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of a

virgin, Mary, a lineal descendant of David (Luke 1:26-38). Jesus lived, taught, and

performed mighty works, wonders, and signs, exactly as recorded in the New Testament. He

was put to death by crucifixion under Pontius Pilate (Luke 23:18-25), but God raised Him

from the dead in the very same body that had been nailed to the cross (John 20:24-29). The

Lord Jesus, after His crucifixion, showed Himself to be physically and spiritually alive to His

disciples, appearing to them several times over the space of forty days. After this, the Lord

Jesus ascended into heaven to be head over all things, including the Church. There He is

eternally engaged in intercession for us (Ps. 2:1-12; Dan. 7:13-14; Luke 24:44-48; John 2:19-

22; Acts 1:1-11; Col. 1:15-20; 1 Cor. 15; Heb. 7:25; Rom. 8:34).

4. The Lord Jesus, before His incarnation, existed in the exact form of God, and of His own

choice laid aside His divine glory and took upon Himself the form of a servant and was

made in the likeness of men. As the second Person of the Trinity, He is possessed of all the

attributes of deity, and is to be worshipped as God by angels and humans (John 1:1; Phil. 2:5-

11). “In Him—[the man Christ Jesus]—dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (1

Tim. 2:5; Col. 2:9).

5. By His death on the cross, the Lord Jesus made a perfect atonement for sin, the only means

by which the wrath of God against sinners is appeased and the only ground upon which God

can in mercy deal with sinners. He redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a

curse in our place. He Who was without sin had our sin counted to Him so that we

might have His righteousness, the righteousness of God, counted to us (1 Peter 2:24; 1 John

2:2; 3:4-5, Isaiah 53:4-6; 2 Cor. 5:18-21; John 19:30).

6. At a time known only to God, the Lord Jesus will return to earth, personally, bodily, and

visibly. At the end of time the saints will be gathered and welcomed into God’s presence

forever, while the unbelieving and disobedient will be judged in righteousness by Jesus

Christ (Acts 1:6-11; 1 Thess. 4:16-17; Heb. 9:28; Rev 1:7; 20:11-15).

7. The Holy Spirit is a Divine Person distinct from the Father and the Son. As the third Person

of the Trinity, He is God, and as God He possesses all divine attributes. We believe in the

present ministry of the Holy Spirit. By His indwelling presence the Christian is enabled to

live a godly life and to perform the good works that are the necessary evidence of genuine

faith in Christ. Persistent, egregious sin (e.g., lying, stealing, witchcraft, and the active

practice of sexual sin) is inconsistent with a profession of salvation (Ex. 20:14, 17; Mt.

28:19; John 7:39, 14:15-18, 16:7-15; Acts 15:8-9; Rom. 1:18-32; Rom. 8:12-17; 1 Cor. 6:9-

11; 2 Cor. 3:16-18; Gal. 5:19- 21; Eph. 2:4-10, 4:4-6; Eph. 5:3-6; 1 Thess. 4:7-8; 2 Thess.

2:13; 1 Pet. 1:2; 1 John 3:24, 4:13).

8. After making all other living things, God made man in His own image, after His likeness.

Because He made them male and female, all human beings possess transcendent, intrinsic

worth (Gen. 1:27; 5:1-2). Hence, the unjustified destruction of any human being at any point

in his or her existence, i.e., from fertilization to natural death, is wrong. As examples, we

reject abortion, euthanasia, and assisted suicide, along with embryonic stem cell research,

cloning, and all forms of “gender-affirming healthcare.” These, and such like, constitute

discrimination against the helpless, the disabled, the suffering, the elderly, and the wrongly

influenced. Other than for Biblical reasons such as self-defense or a just war, we believe that

God alone has the right to end human life (Gen. 9:5-6; Ex. 20:13; 21:22-23; Job 1:20-22;

30:23; Ps. 139:13-16; Prov. 24:11-12; Ecc. 8:8; Rom. 5:3-5; Jas. 2:11; I John 3:16-17).

9. The entire human race fell in the sin of the first Adam. Consequently, all people, apart from

spiritual regeneration, are lost, darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of

God through the ignorance that is in them, hardened in heart, and morally and spiritually

dead through their trespasses and sins. They cannot see nor enter the Kingdom of God unless

they are born again of the Holy Spirit (Jn. 3:1-8; 6:28- 29; 8:44; 15:5; Eph. 2:1-10; Phil. 1:29;

Rom. 3:10-12; 8:7; Jn. 1:13; 1 Cor. 2:14).

10. People are justified before God on the sole ground of the shed blood of Christ and upon the

sole condition of faith in Him. They are born again by the quickening, renewing, cleansing

work of the Holy Spirit, through the instrumentality of the Word of God. These alone become

children of God and receive eternal life. At death their spirits depart to be with Christ in

conscious blessedness, and at the second coming of Christ their bodies shall be raised and

transformed into the likeness of His glorified body (Ps. 32:5-6; Jn. 1:11-13, 3:3-5, 16; Rom.

3:20-28, 4:1-8, 10:9-17; Gal. 2:19-21; Eph. 2:4-10; Phil. 3:20-21; Jas. 1:18; I Pet. 1:23).

11. All those who persistently reject Jesus Christ in this present life shall be raised from the dead,

judged according to their deeds, and punished for their moral crimes and rebellion against

God. Throughout eternity they will exist in a state of conscious isolation from God, in endless

torment and anguish (Mt. 8:12; 25:46; Mark 9:43-48; Lk. 16:19-31; Rev. 20:14-15; 21:8).

12. The church consists of the host of the regenerate in Christ, wherever they are found. The

church is the body and bride of Christ, which Christ loves and for which He gave Himself.

Moreover, the church is called to be the body of Christ, doing His will in the power of the

Holy Spirit, standing firm as the household of God, and as the pillar and foundation of the

truth, defending the faith, and relating to the world as Ambassadors for Christ, imploring the

world to be reconciled to God (1 Cor. 12:12-14; 2 Cor. 5:20; Eph. 2:11-22; 3:6-11; 5:25-27; Phil.

2:14-16; I Tim. 2:15; 1 Pet. 3:15; Rev. 21:2, 9-14; 2 Cor. 11:2).

13. There is a personal devil, a being of great cunning who can exert vast power, but only so far

as God allows. He shall ultimately be judged, condemned, and tormented day and night

forever. (Job 1-2: Mt. 4:1-11; 25:41; 2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 1:6).

14. Biblical marriage consists only of a faithful union between one man and one woman.

Moreover, God intends Biblical marriage to last for as long as both partners live and is the

only acceptable context for a sexual relationship (Gen. 2:22-24; Mt. 19:4-6; I Thess. 4:3-8;

Heb. 13:4-7).

15. We believe that every human being is made in the image of God and is equally valued by

God. For this reason, we reject racism, sexism, ageism, or other forms of malicious

discrimination based solely upon a person’s biological traits. We affirm that as part of God’s

original good creation, men and women differ physically and psychologically, and are

therefore designed by God to play different, but complementary roles in society and in the

family (Gen. 1:26-27; 2:18, 21-24; 3:20; 9:19; Job 31:13-23; Mal. 2:10; I Cor. 8:6; 11:3;

15:22; Eph. 4:4-6; Col. 3:18-20).

16. We further affirm that everyone who comes to God through faith in His Son is privileged to

find their eternal identity in Christ. Gender, race, age, sexual attractions, and all other

possible identities, are secondary to the believer’s identity as a redeemed, transformed

disciple of Christ. It is idolatry when another identity takes precedence, or is seen as equal to

our identity in Christ (Matt. 22:30; Luke 8:1-3; Acts 9:36-39; 16:14-15; 18:24-26; Rom.

16:3-5; Galatians 3:28; 5:6; 1 Tim. 2:9-10; 2 Tim. 4:19; I John 3:1-2).

Additional Material

While not necessarily endorsing everything contained in the following statements, Faith Beyond

Belief stands in large agreement with them and believes they provide helpful information to

Christians seeking to apply the biblical worldview to the most pressing issues of our day. We

recommend them to our supporters without reservation, at least in the form found on the

following websites on August 15, 2022.

Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy

https://www.etsjets.org/files/documents/Chicago_Statement.pdf

Chicago Statement on Biblical Hermeneutics

https://library.dts.edu/Pages/TL/Special/ICBI_2.pdf

Danvers Statement on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood

https://cbmw.org/about/danvers-statement

The Nashville Statement on Marriage and Sexuality

https://cbmw.org/nashville-statement

The Dallas Statement on Social Justice and the Gospel

https://statementonsocialjustice.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/SSJG-FINAL.pdf

The Frankfurt Declaration of Christian & Civil Liberties

https://frankfurtdeclaration.com/