Beliefs

Statement of Faith

This statement of faith is a summary of what I sincerely believe and confess as a student of God's Word. These convictions are shaped by historic Reformed theology and a Progressive Covenantal understanding of Scripture. I offer them humbly, recognizing that theology is not merely academic, but a reflection of the God who has revealed Himself to us and called us into covenant with Him through Christ, and must ultimately lead to worship, obedience, and love for God and His people.

I. The Doctrine of God

• One true and living God: eternal, sovereign, holy, and triune; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Deut. 6:4; Matt. 28:19)

• God is self-existent, unchanging, simple (not composed of parts), infinite, eternal, omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent. He is utterly unlike His creation and is the source of all life, truth, and goodness (Exod. 3:14; Mal. 3:6; Ps. 90:2; 139; Isa. 46:9–10; Jer. 32:17).

• All things exist by and for His glory (Rom. 11:36).

II. Scripture

• The Canon of Scripture (66 Books as affirmed through the council of Nicaea in 325 AD) is the inspired, inerrant, infallible, and sufficient Word of God (2 Tim. 3:16–17).

• The entirety of Scripture is profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and for training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16–17).

• Progressive revelation unfolds God’s redemptive plan, culminating in the person and work of Jesus Christ (Heb. 1:1–2).

• The canon of Scripture—66 books of the Old and New Testaments—was recognized by the early church and affirmed through church councils as the inspired, inerrant, infallible, and sufficient Word of God (2 Tim. 3:16–17).

III. Creation & Humanity

• God created all things out of nothing in six days, and all was very good (Gen. 1:1–31).

• Humanity is made in God’s image, male and female, with dignity, purpose, and accountability (Gen. 1:26–27).

• God created man and woman with distinct yet complementary roles, designed to reflect His wisdom and order within creation, the family, and the church (Gen. 2:18–24; Eph. 5:22–33; 1 Tim. 2:12–13).

IV. Sin & The Fall

• Adam’s sin brought death and corruption to all humanity (Rom. 5:12), resulting in a fallen nature that opposes God and cannot submit to His law apart from the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:7–8, Eph. 2:1–3).

• All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23).

• God is holy and just, and His justice demands death and eternal separation from Him as the righteous consequence of sin (Rom. 6:23; 2 Thess. 1:8–9).

V. Person & Work of Christ

• Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man (John 1:1, 14).

• Christ lived a sinless life, died a penal substitutionary death, and rose bodily (1 Cor. 15:3–4).

• Christ fulfilled the law, established the New Covenant, and reigns as Lord (Heb. 1:3).

VI. The Holy Spirit & Gifts

• The Holy Spirit is fully God, the third person of the Trinity, who proceeds from the Father and the Son and applies the finished work of Christ to believers (Titus 3:5–6).

• He regenerates the heart (John 3:5–8), convicts of sin (John 16:8), indwells believers (Rom. 8:9) and sanctifies them by producing fruit of righteousness (Gal. 5:22-23).

• The Spirit empowers the church for ministry, mission, and worship, and guarantees the believer’s eternal inheritance (Eph. 1:13–14).

• The Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts for the edification and unity of the church, but the miraculous sign gifts served a temporal and foundational role to confirm the apostles and the message of the gospel in the early church (Eph. 2:20; Heb. 2:3–4; 1 Cor. 13:8–10).

• God remains sovereign and may, in extraordinary circumstances, still work miracles according to His will and purposes (Dan. 4:35; James 5:14–16)

VII. Salvation

• Salvation and justification are by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone (Eph. 2:8–9; Rom. 5:1).

• Regeneration is a sovereign work of the Holy Spirit, raising the sinner from spiritual death and leading to genuine repentance and saving faith (John 6:44; Eph. 2:4–5).

• Sanctification is both a definitive setting apart and an act of adoption at conversion, as well as a lifelong process of growing in holiness and conformity to the image of Christ (1 Thess. 4:3; Rom. 8:29).

• In accordance with God’s eternal purpose, those whom He foreknew, He also predestined, called, justified, and glorified (Rom. 8:29–30).

• The elect will persevere to the end, kept by the power and faithfulness of God, who will complete the good work He began in them (Phil. 1:6; John 10:28–29).

VIII. Prayer

• Prayer is a God-ordained means of grace and communion with Him (Matt. 6:9–13).

• It is made possible through Christ’s mediation and empowered by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:26–27).

• Christians are called to pray persistently, dependently, and corporately (Phil. 4:6; Acts 2:42).

IX. Covenant & Redemptive History

• God’s redemptive plan unfolds through a unified covenantal framework centered on Christ, the true offspring of Abraham, the greater Moses, and the promised Son of David (Luke 24:27; Gal. 3:16; Heb. 1:1–2).

• There are six major biblical covenants:

  1. Adamic (Creation) Covenant – Genesis 1–2; Hosea 6:7

  2. Noahic Covenant – Genesis 6:18; 8:20–9:17

  3. Abrahamic Covenant – Genesis 12:1–3; 15; 17

  4. Mosaic (Sinai) Covenant – Exodus 19–24; Deuteronomy 5

  5. Davidic Covenant – 2 Samuel 7; Psalm 89

  6. New Covenant – Jeremiah 31:31–34; Luke 22:20; Hebrews 8:6–13

• The New Covenant, inaugurated by Christ through His atoning death and victorious resurrection, fulfills and surpasses all previous covenants, bringing the full pardon of sins and the internal work of the Spirit (Luke 22:20; Heb. 8:6–13; 2 Cor. 3:6).

X. The Church

• The Church is the New Covenant community, composed of the elect, those chosen by the Father before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4), redeemed by the Son (Eph. 1:7), and regenerated and sealed by the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13–14; Titus 3:5). This community is marked by faith, obedience, and perseverance, united to Christ and one another by the Spirit (Heb. 12:22–24; Gal. 3:26–29).

• The local church is a gathering of believers in covenant fellowship (Acts 2:41–47).

• Christ is the head of the church; qualified elders and deacons serve the body under His authority (1 Tim. 3).

• The church’s mission is to make disciples, preach the Gospel, and build up the saints (Matt. 28:18–20).

XI. The Ordinances: Baptism & The Lord's Supper

• Baptism is for believers only, administered upon credible profession of faith (Acts 2:38–41).

  • • It is a public sign of union with Christ in His death and resurrection (Rom. 6:3–5).

    • It is an act of obedience to Christ’s command (Matt. 28:19).

• The Lord’s Supper is a memorial meal instituted by Christ for His church (1 Cor. 11:23–26).

  • • It proclaims the gospel, nourishes faith, and visibly expresses the unity of the body.

    • It is reserved for believers walking in repentance and faith.

XII. Last Things

• Christ will return bodily, gloriously, and suddenly to judge the living and the dead (Acts 1:11; 2 Tim. 4:1).

• There will be a bodily resurrection: the righteous to everlasting life, the wicked to everlasting punishment (John 5:28–29).

• God will dwell with His redeemed people in the new heavens and new earth forever (Rev. 21:1–4).