Author’s Statement of Faith

Why we include this statement

A paraphrase and study guide involve interpretation. Sharing the author’s convictions makes that perspective visible and helps readers evaluate the paraphrase, translation decisions, and study notes with an informed understanding of the author’s approach.

This statement is an invitation to examine the work carefully against Scripture. It is not a substitute for the biblical text, and readers are not asked to agree with every interpretation to use the free reader. As James affirms in the statement itself, Scripture remains the final authority, including over his own conclusions.

In this statement

1. I. The Scriptures
2. II. God
3. III. Jesus Christ
4. IV. The Holy Spirit
5. V. Humanity
6. VI. Sin
7. VII. Salvation by Grace Through Faith
8. VIII. Justification and Sanctification
9. IX. Baptism
10. X. The Church
11. XI. The Lord’s Supper
12. XII. Christian Discipleship
13. XIII. Marriage, Sexuality, and Human Dignity
14. XIV. The Kingdom of God
15. XV. Death, Resurrection, Judgment, and Eternity
16. XVI. The Great Commission
17. XVII. Scripture, Interpretation, and Theological Humility
18. XVIII. Christ and Psalm 22
19. XIX. Final Authority

Author’s STATEMENT OF FAITH

I. The Scriptures

I believe the Holy Bible is the inspired Word of God, written by human authors under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Scripture is true, trustworthy, sufficient, and authoritative in all that it teaches.

The Bible is the final standard by which doctrine, tradition, experience, personal conviction, theological systems, and church practice must be tested.

No denomination, pastor, scholar, creed, confession, tradition, or technological tool stands above the Word of God.

I believe Scripture should be interpreted with careful attention to its original languages, grammar, historical setting, literary context, and the whole counsel of God.

Where Scripture speaks clearly, we should speak clearly. Where the text permits uncertainty, we should acknowledge that uncertainty rather than claim more than Scripture itself warrants.

Where my own understanding, denominational tradition, or theological preference conflicts with the biblical text, the biblical text must prevail.

Scripture: Psalm 19:7–11; Psalm 119:89, 105, 160; Matthew 5:17–18; John 17:17; Acts 17:11; 2 Timothy 3:14–17; 2 Peter 1:19–21; Hebrews 4:12.

II. God

I believe there is one living and true God, eternal, sovereign, holy, righteous, loving, merciful, just, and perfect in all His attributes.

God eternally exists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—three distinct Persons, yet one God.

The Father is God.

The Son is God.

The Holy Spirit is God.

God created all things and sustains His creation according to His sovereign will and purpose.

He alone is worthy of worship, obedience, glory, and praise.

Scripture: Genesis 1:1; Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 6:1–5; Isaiah 43:10–11; Isaiah 45:5–6; Matthew 28:19; John 1:1–3; Acts 5:3–4; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Colossians 1:16–17; Revelation 4:11.

III. Jesus Christ

I believe Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God.

He is not a created being. He existed before His incarnation and fully shares the divine nature. As the eternal Word of God, He is the One through whom all things were created, and in Him all things hold together.

The eternal Son took on true humanity. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He became fully human without ceasing to be fully God—one Person, truly God and truly man.

He lived a sinless life, perfectly obeyed the Father, proclaimed the Kingdom of God, fulfilled the Scriptures, performed mighty works, and revealed the Father.

Jesus willingly gave His life on the cross for sinners. His death was real, sacrificial, substitutionary, and sufficient.

He was buried and bodily raised from the dead on the third day.

He ascended to the Father, reigns as Lord, intercedes for His people, and possesses all authority in heaven and on earth.

Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory.

He alone is Lord and Savior.

There is salvation in no other.

Scripture: Isaiah 7:14; Isaiah 53:4–12; Matthew 1:18–25; Matthew 28:18–20; John 1:1–3, 14; John 8:58; John 10:30; John 20:28; Acts 1:9–11; Acts 4:12; Romans 5:6–11; 1 Corinthians 15:3–8; Philippians 2:5–11; Colossians 1:15–20; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 4:14–15; Hebrews 7:25.

IV. The Holy Spirit

I believe the Holy Spirit is fully God and personally active in creation, revelation, conviction, regeneration, sanctification, spiritual gifting, and the life of the Church.

The Holy Spirit convicts concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment.

He gives new life to those who believe, indwells believers, produces spiritual fruit, equips the Church, distributes gifts according to His will, guides, strengthens, teaches, and progressively conforms God’s people to the character of Christ.

The Holy Spirit never contradicts the Word He inspired.

Every claimed revelation, spiritual experience, impression, prophecy, or manifestation must therefore be tested against Scripture.

Scripture: Genesis 1:2; John 3:5–8; John 14:16–17, 26; John 16:7–15; Acts 5:3–4; Romans 8:9–16, 26–27; 1 Corinthians 2:10–14; 1 Corinthians 12:4–11; Galatians 5:16–25; Ephesians 1:13–14; 2 Peter 1:20–21.

V. Humanity

I believe human beings were created by God in His image and therefore possess inherent dignity, worth, and accountability before Him.

Humanity was created for fellowship with God but rebelled against Him through sin.

Because of sin, humanity is fallen and separated from God and cannot reconcile itself to Him through morality, religion, ritual, personal merit, philosophy, or good works.

Every person is accountable before God and in need of redemption.

Scripture: Genesis 1:26–27; Genesis 2:7; Genesis 3:1–24; Psalm 8:3–6; Romans 1:18–25; Romans 3:9–23; Romans 5:12–19; Ephesians 2:1–3.

VI. Sin

I believe sin is rebellion against God and includes both sinful actions and humanity’s fallen condition.

Sin is more than weakness, ignorance, cultural conditioning, or psychological dysfunction.

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Sin brings judgment and death, and humanity cannot solve the problem of sin apart from the grace of God.

Scripture: Genesis 3:1–19; Psalm 51:5; Isaiah 53:6; Isaiah 59:1–2; Romans 3:10–23; Romans 5:12; Romans 6:23; James 1:14–15; 1 John 3:4.

VII. Salvation by Grace Through Faith

I believe salvation is entirely an act of God’s grace and is received through faith in Jesus Christ.

Human beings cannot earn salvation.

Forgiveness, reconciliation with God, justification, adoption, and eternal life are made possible through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Saving faith involves genuine trust in Christ and is accompanied by repentance—a turning from sin toward God.

Good works do not purchase salvation. Rather, obedience and spiritual fruit are the expected results of genuine faith.

I believe that when God saves a person, Christ’s atoning work is sufficient for the believer’s sins—past, present, and future.

Christ does not need to be sacrificed again when a Christian sins.

His sacrifice was offered once and is sufficient for all time.

This does not make sin insignificant and does not give the believer permission to live rebelliously. Grace is never a license to sin.

Rather, the believer who sins is called to confession, repentance, restoration of fellowship, and continued submission to the transforming work of the Holy Spirit.

Salvation belongs to God.

Scripture: John 3:16–18; John 5:24; John 10:27–30; Romans 3:21–28; Romans 5:1–11; Romans 6:1–2, 23; Romans 8:1, 31–39; Ephesians 2:1–10; Titus 3:3–7; Colossians 2:13–14; Hebrews 7:25; Hebrews 9:24–28; Hebrews 10:10–14; 1 Peter 1:3–5; 1 John 1:8–2:2.

Colossians 2:13 is especially significant because Paul says God has graciously forgiven believers “all our transgressions.” Hebrews then describes Christ’s sacrifice as once-for-all and effective “for all time.”

VIII. Justification and Sanctification

I believe Scripture makes an essential distinction between justification 

and sanctification.

Justification

Justification occurs when a sinner is saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

God declares the believer righteous on the basis of Christ and His completed work, not because the believer has achieved personal righteousness.

Justification is not a gradual process of becoming acceptable to God.

It is a decisive change in the believer’s standing before God.

Therefore, having been justified through faith, the believer stands in peace with God.

The believer does not move in and out of justification every time he or she sins.

Our righteousness before God rests in Christ rather than in our ability to maintain sinless performance.

Scripture: Romans 3:23–28; Romans 4:1–8, 22–25; Romans 5:1, 9; Romans 8:1, 30–34; 1 Corinthians 6:11; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 2:16; Philippians 3:8–9; Titus 3:5–7.

Romans 5:1 speaks of believers as “having been justified by faith” and consequently possessing peace with God. Romans 8:1 then declares that those in Christ are under “no condemnation.”

Christians Still Sin

I do not believe salvation produces immediate sinless perfection.

Christians remain capable of sin after conversion.

Scripture explicitly warns believers against sin precisely because believers can still sin.

The presence of continuing sin does not mean that justification failed. Instead, it demonstrates our continuing dependence upon Christ and the necessity of the Holy Spirit’s sanctifying work.

The Christian should never become comfortable with sin. We confess it, repent of it, fight against it, and increasingly put the practices of the flesh to death through the Spirit.

But our failures do not require Christ to be crucified again.

Jesus Christ remains our Advocate.

Scripture: Romans 7:15–25; Romans 8:12–14; Galatians 5:16–17; Philippians 3:12–14; James 3:2; 1 John 1:8–10; 1 John 2:1–2.

John’s language is exceptionally clear. Christians who claim to have no sin deceive themselves, yet John immediately says that if a believer sins, “we have an Advocate with the Father.”

Sanctification

Sanctification is the continuing work of God in the believer through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.

While justification changes our standing before God, sanctification progressively changes the way we live.

The Holy Spirit works within believers to conform us increasingly to the image of Jesus Christ.

We are being transformed.

We learn obedience.

We put sin to death.

We produce spiritual fruit.

We grow in holiness.

We become more like Christ.

This work continues throughout the Christian life and will not reach its ultimate completion until God completes His work in us.

Therefore, justification and sanctification must never be confused, but neither should they be separated.

We are justified because of Christ, not because we have become sufficiently sanctified.

And those whom Christ justifies, the Holy Spirit begins transforming.

Scripture: Romans 6:1–14; Romans 8:9–14, 29; 1 Corinthians 6:11; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Galatians 5:16–25; Ephesians 4:20–24; Philippians 1:6; Philippians 2:12–13; Colossians 3:1–17; 1 Thessalonians 4:3–8; 1 Thessalonians 5:23–24; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; Hebrews 10:14; Hebrews 12:10–14; 1 Peter 1:14–16.

Second Corinthians 3:18 describes believers as “being transformed into the same image from glory to glory” by the Spirit, and Philippians 1:6 describes God continuing the good work He began until the day of Christ.

Hebrews 10:14 may state the distinction most beautifully:

A completed work in Christ exists alongside an ongoing work of sanctification.

Christ has “perfected for all time” those who are presently “being sanctified.”

Editorial Theology of THE WORD, MADE CLEAR

Justification is the believer’s settled standing before God in Christ; sanctification is the Holy Spirit’s continuing work within that justified believer. We are not justified because sanctification has made us good enough. We are sanctified because, having been saved by grace and justified in Christ, God has given us His Spirit and is conforming us to the image of His Son.

IX. Baptism

I believe baptism is an explicit command of Jesus Christ and a normative act of obedience for His disciples.

Jesus commanded His followers to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Baptism therefore should not be reduced to an optional religious custom that a follower of Christ may simply disregard.

It is an act of obedience to Jesus and publicly identifies the believer with Christ, His death, burial, and resurrection, and with the community of His people.

At the same time, I do not believe the physical act of baptism earns salvation or possesses saving power apart from Jesus Christ.

Salvation rests upon God’s grace and the finished work of Christ.

Nevertheless, because baptism is commanded by Jesus, genuine discipleship should respond to that command in obedience.

When Scripture speaks about baptism, those passages should be allowed to speak with their full force. They should not be weakened merely to fit a predetermined denominational formula, nor should they be made to say more than the biblical text itself teaches.

Scripture: Matthew 3:13–17; Matthew 28:18–20; Acts 2:37–41; Acts 8:12, 35–39; Acts 10:44–48; Acts 16:30–34; Romans 6:3–5; Colossians 2:12; 1 Peter 3:21.

X. The Church

I believe the Church consists of all who genuinely belong to Jesus Christ and is visibly expressed through local congregations of believers.

Jesus Christ is the Head of His Church.

The local church exists to worship God, proclaim the Gospel, teach Scripture, make disciples, practice baptism and the Lord’s Supper, care for believers, exercise biblical discipline, serve others, and participate in Christ’s mission to the world.

No denomination, congregation, institution, pastor, elder, teacher, or other human authority possesses authority equal to or greater than Christ and His Word.

Scripture: Matthew 16:18; Matthew 18:15–20; Acts 2:41–47; 1 Corinthians 12:12–27; Ephesians 1:22–23; Ephesians 4:11–16; Colossians 1:18; 1 Timothy 3:1–15; Hebrews 10:24–25; 1 Peter 5:1–4.

XI. The Lord’s Supper

I believe Jesus commanded His followers to observe the Lord’s Supper in remembrance of Him.

The bread and cup proclaim His sacrificial death and remind believers of the new covenant established through His blood.

The Lord’s Supper should be observed reverently, with gratitude, self-examination, unity, and remembrance of Christ until He comes.

Its significance rests in Jesus Christ and the saving work to which the elements point.

Scripture: Matthew 26:26–29; Mark 14:22–25; Luke 22:14–20; Acts 2:42; 1 Corinthians 10:16–17; 1 Corinthians 11:23–29.

XII. Christian Discipleship

I believe Jesus does not call people merely to intellectual agreement but to follow Him.

A disciple of Jesus is called to repentance, faith, obedience, holiness, love, service, sacrifice, perseverance, and participation in Christ’s mission.

Obedience does not earn salvation.

Obedience is the proper response of a person who belongs to Christ.

The Christian life is therefore neither legalism nor lawlessness. It is a life transformed by grace and lived under the lordship of Jesus Christ.

LSB Scripture: Matthew 4:19–20; Matthew 7:21–27; Matthew 16:24–26; Matthew 28:19–20; John 8:31–32; John 14:15; John 15:1–10; Romans 12:1–2; Ephesians 2:8–10; Titus 2:11–14; James 1:22–25.

XIII. Marriage, Sexuality, and Human Dignity

I believe God created humanity male and female and established marriage as the covenant union of one man and one woman.

Sexual intimacy is God’s gift within that covenant.

Every human being is created in the image of God and therefore must be treated with dignity, compassion, patience, and love.

Christian conviction must never become an excuse for hatred, cruelty, contempt, or humiliation.

At the same time, compassion does not require Christians to redefine what Scripture teaches concerning creation, marriage, sexuality, sin, or holiness.

Where contemporary culture and biblical teaching conflict, I believe Christians are called to remain faithful to Scripture while treating every person with genuine love and respect.

Scripture: Genesis 1:26–28; Genesis 2:18–25; Matthew 5:27–32; Matthew 19:4–6; Romans 1:24–27; 1 Corinthians 6:9–20; Ephesians 4:15, 29–32; Ephesians 5:22–33; Colossians 3:12–14; 1 Peter 3:8–9.

XIV. The Kingdom of God

I believe the Kingdom of God entered history decisively through Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the promised Messiah and King.

His Kingdom is already present wherever His rule is acknowledged, yet its complete fulfillment awaits His return.

Christians therefore live between the inauguration and consummation of the Kingdom—proclaiming the Gospel, making disciples, pursuing righteousness, showing mercy, serving others, and awaiting the return of the King.

Scripture: Daniel 2:44; Daniel 7:13–14; Matthew 3:2; Matthew 4:17; Matthew 6:9–10, 33; Matthew 12:28; Matthew 13:1–52; Luke 17:20–21; John 18:36–37; 1 Corinthians 15:24–28; Revelation 11:15.

XV. Death, Resurrection, Judgment, and Eternity

I believe physical death does not end human accountability before God.

Jesus Christ will return.

The dead will be raised.

God will judge humanity with perfect righteousness.

Those who belong to Christ will enter eternal life with God.

Scripture also teaches the reality of final judgment and eternal punishment.

These truths should neither be sensationalized nor softened simply because they are difficult.

The Christian hope rests in the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ and God’s promise ultimately to defeat sin, death, and evil.

Scripture: Daniel 12:2; Matthew 24:29–31; Matthew 25:31–46; John 5:28–29; John 11:25–26; Acts 17:30–31; 1 Corinthians 15:20–58; 2 Corinthians 5:10; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18; Hebrews 9:27–28; Revelation 20:11–15; Revelation 21:1–5.

XVI. The Great Commission

I believe Jesus Christ commanded His followers to make disciples of all nations.

The Gospel is for every people, language, tribe, and nation.

Christian mission should therefore proclaim Christ faithfully while respecting the language, culture, and dignity of the people being served.

The Gospel must not be confused with American culture, denominational culture, partisan politics, or any other human identity.

Our responsibility is not to reproduce ourselves in other cultures.

Our responsibility is to proclaim Jesus Christ faithfully and communicate God’s Word so people can hear, understand, believe, and follow Him.

Scripture: Matthew 24:14; Matthew 28:18–20; Luke 24:46–49; Acts 1:8; Romans 10:9–17; 1 Corinthians 9:19–23; Revelation 5:9–10; Revelation 7:9–10.

XVII. Scripture, Interpretation, and Theological Humility

I believe Christians should approach Scripture with both conviction and humility.

There are doctrines on which Scripture speaks clearly and on which Christians should stand firmly.

There are also passages concerning which sincere, Bible-believing Christians may reach different conclusions.

I therefore seek to distinguish carefully between:

What Scripture explicitly states.

What Scripture strongly implies.

What I believe is the best theological conclusion drawn from Scripture.

A theological inference may be strong and defensible without being presented as though the biblical author explicitly stated it.

My Christian ‘heritage’ is important to me, but it does not possess authority over Scripture.

Where careful examination of the biblical text—including its Greek or Hebrew wording, grammar, context, and relationship to the rest of Scripture—leads me to a conclusion differing from a commonly held denominational interpretation, I believe I am obligated to follow the text while remaining charitable toward brothers and sisters who understand the passage differently.

My goal is not theological novelty.

My goal is faithfulness.

Scripture: Proverbs 18:13, 17; Acts 17:11; Romans 14:1–13; 1 Corinthians 4:6; 1 Thessalonians 5:21–22; 2 Timothy 2:15; 2 Timothy 3:16–17; Titus 3:9; James 1:19; 2 Peter 3:15–18.

XVIII. Christ and Psalm 22

I believe Jesus’ cry from the cross—

“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

—is a deliberate invocation of Psalm 22.

Jesus was experiencing genuine suffering and anguish, and His words should never be stripped of that reality.

At the same time, I do not believe His statement should be reduced simply to the conclusion that Jesus believed He had been abandoned by God.

The biblical writings did not originally contain the modern chapter-and-verse numbering familiar to Christians today. Quoting the opening words of a recognized passage would identify and call attention to the larger passage of text.

Jesus spoke the opening words of Psalm 22 while events around the cross strikingly reflected the imagery of that psalm.

Psalm 22 describes mockery.

It describes people shaking their heads.

It records the challenge that Yahweh should rescue the sufferer because He delights in him.

It describes garments being divided and lots being cast for clothing.

These images are reflected directly in the Gospel accounts of the crucifixion.

Jesus was therefore not quoting Psalm 22 into a vacuum.

Chief priests, scribes, elders, and others knowledgeable in Israel’s Scriptures were present as He was crucified. Some of those religious leaders mocked Him using language that closely parallels the very psalm Jesus invoked.

I believe it is therefore reasonable to understand Jesus’ quotation not only as a genuine cry directed toward the Father but also as a deliberate public scriptural testimony spoken within the hearing of people who knew those Scriptures.

The Gospel text does not tell us that every hearer recognized what Jesus was doing, and I will not present an inference as though Scripture explicitly states it.

But the theological and literary connection is profound:

Jesus invoked Psalm 22 while the imagery of Psalm 22 was unfolding before their eyes.

And Psalm 22 does not end in abandonment.

It moves from anguish and apparent defeat toward deliverance, vindication, proclamation, worship, and ultimately the nations turning to Yahweh.

The psalm begins with suffering.

It ends with victory.

Therefore, Jesus’ quotation from the cross should be understood within the movement of the entire psalm.

Even in His suffering, Jesus interpreted what was happening through Scripture.

Scripture: Psalm 22:1–31, especially vv. 1, 6–8, 16–18, 22–31; Matthew 27:35–46; Mark 15:24–34; Luke 23:33–49; John 19:23–24.

XIX. Final Authority

I believe Jesus Christ is Lord.

Scripture is God’s authoritative written Word.

The Gospel is God’s message of salvation.

The Church belongs to Christ.

And every doctrine, tradition, interpretation, ministry, denomination, and personal conviction—including my own—must remain subject to the Word of God.

I do not claim infallibility for my interpretation.

I claim an obligation to study faithfully, test carefully, remain teachable, and follow the biblical text wherever it leads.

Scripture: Isaiah 8:20; Matthew 4:4; Matthew 7:24–27; Matthew 28:18; John 8:31–32; John 17:17; Acts 17:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:21; 2 Timothy 2:15; 2 Timothy 3:16–17.

Understand first.

Interpret carefully.

Hold conviction with humility.

Verify everything against Scripture.

And where Scripture speaks, let Scripture have the final word.

- James Childers