Before I tell you what I believe, let me first make a statement about what I oppose. Although I support the church that I currently attend, I do not consider my beliefs to be denominational. I’m not opposed to denominations, but I am opposed to their “over-emphasis” of doctrinal issues that lead to division in the “body of Christ” – that group of people who truly want to follow God. I adamantly oppose the “over-emphasis” on teaching and practices in some churches on glossolalia, abstinence, water baptism, sanctification, eschatology, missions, traditional liturgical practices, and inflexible repetitious activities at each meeting. All of these have their place, and for Christian denominations to keep their identity, emphasis in a particular area is necessary. But an over-emphasis in any one of these areas tends to “divide” rather than “build up” the body of believers.

Many of my beliefs are very similar to those described in a statement of faith by a group of non-denominational believers in California in the USA. I have revised them here to match my personal beliefs.

I believe that we were created in the image of God – that we have a mind, a body and a spirit – that this image corresponds fully with teaching in scripture about God (the Father, whom no one has seen nor will ever see), his Son (Jesus, the physical revelation of the Father to us on earth, whom we who believe will eventually see face to face), and the Holy Spirit (the Power through which God works).

I believe that Jesus Christ should be the Lord – the Master – of my life. My greatest “personal” desire is to know Christ and be conformed into His image by the power of the Holy Spirit.

I believe that the only true basis of Christian fellowship is His unconditional selfless love, which is greater than any differences we possess and without which we have no right to claim ourselves Christians.

I believe that God’s love demonstrated in our lives is the supreme manifestation that we truly believe in and follow Him. I also believe that God’s love evident in obedient believers is the primary means used by the Holy Spirit to draw others toward Christ.

I believe that the Holy Spirit, that unseen Person spoken about by Christ when he left his earth, empowers us to behave as God desires – as God wills.

I believe that our understanding of God and the worship of God should be intelligent and that faith based solely on emotions or feelings is of little value. I believe that a “leap of faith” is totally unnecessary to trust in a living God and that it is entirely possible to come to believe in God’s existence and His Lordship based on researching – and understanding – the Word of God.

There is a plethora of other literature that can lead us in the right direction, but I believe that the bible contains and is God’s words to us – the primary means by which He communicates to us – and that it provides His clear instructions on how we should live. In His Word, God tells us “how we should behave”, but He does not tell us “what to do”. That is my understanding of God’s will for our lives - how we behave and interact with others. (I’m glad He leaves life’s decisions to us, because if He were to tell us every step to take, we would only be puppets on a string – and it would be a very frustrating thing to always be trying to figure out exactly what God wants us to do.)

It has taken me a lifetime to learn that the bible – God’s Word – is filled with words of wisdom that are often attributed to other great leaders and religions of the world. Nearly every time that I hear something that sounds really wise, I can find it in the bible. Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam – you name it – are all filled with truths found in the bible. Even Mohammed, the great Islamic leader, copied thousands of words directly from the bible into the Koran. (A little-known fact is that Mohammed read the bible several times over, and during seizures, his visions were filled with biblical truths, which he later wrote down as HIS words from Allah. Sorry Mohammed, God wrote them first; you plagiarized.)

What do I believe about sin?

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