Statement of Personal Faith

Terminology: In order to emphasize the Hebraic and Jewish nature of Scripture I use the terms Tanakh (Old Testament), and Besekh (New Testament), Torah (Law), Yeshua (Jesus), Messiah (Christ).

I came to know Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) as my personal Savior in 1959 during a Vacation Bible School in a small church in my hometown of Roswell, New Mexico. I learned that because of sin all people are separated from God, but the death of Yeshua on the cross provided the way for my sins to be forgiven, as well as to make it possible to know our Heavenly Father and have a personal relationship with Him. I chose to confess my need of a Savior that day and grounded my faith on the truth that if we confess our sins God is faithful and just to forgive our sins [1Jn 1:9]. It is still my desire today to know my Father better and to please Him in all aspects of my life.

In unity with Scripture I believe:

1. that the Bible, consisting of the Tanakh and Besekh, is the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God, totally truthful and accurate in its historical narratives and is the supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct [Isa 40:8; Luke 24:2-7,44; 1Th 2:13; 2Tim 3:16; 2Pet 1:21];

2. that there is only one God, the God of Israel, who has revealed Himself to mankind as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit [Gen 1:1-2; Deut 6:4; Ps 2:6-12; 89:26; Prov 30:4; Matt 28:19; Acts 5:3-4; Titus 1:3-4; 2:13];

3. in the Scriptural record of special and recent creation by the God of Israel of the universe, the earth and all living things on it, and especially of Adam and Eve created in the image of God and from whom all humans have descended; in the alienation of mankind from God through the sin of Adam and Eve resulting in death and the necessity of salvation [Gen 1:1-27; 2:2f, 18-25; 3:13-19; Ex 20:11; 31:17; Neh 9:6; Ps 19:1-6; 33:6-9; 146:6; 148:3-5; John 1:1-3, 10; Acts 14:15; 17:24-28; Rom 1:18-25; 3:23; 6:23; 1Cor 8:6; 15:22; Col 1:16; Heb 1:2; 11:3; 2Pet 3:5; Rev 4:11; 10:6; 14:7];

4. in Yeshua, Messiah of Israel and King of the Jews, the only Mediator between God and Man, the God of Israel in human flesh, his birth to a Jewish virgin, his full identity with the Jewish people, his perfection in obedience to the Father and the Torah without sin, his miracles, his sufferings, his vicarious and atoning death through his shed blood for all mankind, his bodily resurrection, his ascension to the right hand of the Father, and his personal return in power and glory [Mark 16:19; Luke 1:27, 31, 35; John 1:1-2; 2:11; Acts 1:11; Rom 1:3-4; 2Cor 5:21; Col 1:13-20; 2:9; 1Tim 3:16; Titus 2:13; Heb 3:18; 7:26; 10:12];

5. that a person is made right with the God of Israel through His infinite mercy and grace and receives salvation by trusting faithfully in the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah of Israel [Mark 16:16; John 4:22; 10:9; 14:6; Acts 2:21; 4:12; 15:11; 16:30f; Rom 5:9f; 10:9; 1Cor 6:11; 2Cor 5:21; Php 2:9f; Eph 2:8-10; 1Th 5:9; 1Tim 2:5; 4:10; 2Tim 2:10; 3:15; Titus 3:4-7];

6. in the regenerating and sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit by which he transforms the repentant person into the image of Yeshua [John 3:5-6; 6:63; 20:22; Acts 15:9; 19:2; Rom 8:9, 11; 1Cor 2:14; 6:11; 12:3; 2Cor 3:3, 6; Gal 3:14; 4:6, 29; 6:8; Eph 1:13; 2:5; 1Th 1:6; 5:23; 2Th 2:13; Titus 3:5; 1Pet 1:2; 1Jn 4:13];

7. in the expectation of the Lord Yeshua that his disciples be set apart to live by the commandments given through the Hebrew prophets and the Jewish apostles by the holy God of Israel who does not change [Isa 33:22; Jer 31:33; Matt 3:11; 5:17-19; 12:8; 15:1-6; 19:17; 23:23; Luke 1:6; 24:49; John 8:34ff; 14:15, 21; 15:10, 14; 17:17; Acts 1:4f; 15:19, 28-29; 21:20, 24; Rom 2:13-16; 6:12, 22; 7:12, 14; 8:4, 11, 13; 15:16; 1Cor 1:2; 6:11, 19; 7:19; 11:2; Gal 5:22f; Eph 1:4; 2:9-10, 20; 3:16; 5:18; 1Th 4:3; 5:23; 2Th 2:13, 16; Heb 8:8-12; 12:14; 1Pet 1:2, 16; 2:21; 3:15; 1Jn 2:3-4; 3:22, 24; 5:2-3; Rev 12:17; 14:12];

8. in the physical resurrection of the living and the dead, both the righteous and wicked, they that are righteous to receive the resurrection of life and dwell in the presence of God forever, and they that are unrepentant to receive the resurrection of judgment and dwell apart from God in a place of torment forever [Matt 10:28; 25:31-34, 41; Luke 14:14; John 5:28-29; Acts 24:15; 1Cor 15:50-54; 2Cor 5:10; 1Th 4:16; 2Th 1:9-10; Rev 20:4-6, 12-15];

9. in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Yeshua and the commonwealth of Israel consisting of the faithful remnant of Jews and grafted-in Gentiles [Luke 1:68-75; Rom 9:3-5; 11:1-2; 1Cor 12:12-13; Eph 1:10; 2:11-22; 4:16, 22, 23; Col 1:18];

10. in the inviolability of the covenants and promises made to Israel, including Israel's right to all the Holy Land, from the Mediterranean to the Jordan and from the Negev to Lebanon. [Gen 12:7; 15:18; 17:8; Ex 32:13; Jud 20:6; Isa 11:11-12; 49:8, 12; Jer 31:8; 46:27; Ezek 37; Rom 9:3-5];

11. in God's design for marriage as exclusively heterosexual, the commitment of male and female to each other in covenant with God [Gen 1:27; 2:18-24; Prov 2:17; Mal 2:14; Matt 19:5-6; 1Cor 7:2; 11:3; Eph 5:22-33; Col 3:18-19], and as limited by the prohibited degrees of blood relation and gender [Lev 18:6-18; 20:11-14]. By biblical practice marriage may only occur between those free to marry, competent to give consent and able to consummate the union. In addition, God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman in heterosexual marriage [Ex 21:10; Prov 5:15-19; 1Cor 6:18; 7:2-5; 1Th 4:3-5; Heb. 13:4]; and

12. in God's creation of humans from the beginning as exclusively male or female (Gen 1:26-27; 5:2; Matt 19:4). These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. Rejection of one's biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person.

"Every word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him."

(Proverbs 30:5)

Current as of 24 June 2021.