Statement of Faith

We have an unusually long Statement of Faith.  It is necessary because the more full-frontal assaults there are against the Christian faith, the more precise our position(s) must be.  The following Statement of faith is biblically sound, very orthodox, and yet fair enough to allow for differences of opinion on debatable issues yet still retain orthodoxy.

SCRIPTURE

We believe the Bible (the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments) is the Word of God, written.  As a "God-breathed" revelation, it is thus verbally inspired and completely without error (historically, scientifically, morally, and spiritually) and contradictions in its original writings.  It is the one and only infallible, authoritative, and trustworthy rule for faith and life. (2 Peter. 1:21, 2 Tim. 3:16).   While God the Holy Spirit supernaturally superintended the writing of the Bible, that writing nevertheless reflects the words and literary styles of its individual human authors.  Scripture reveals the being, nature, and character of God, the nature of God's creation, and especially His will for the salvation of human beings through Jesus Christ.  The Bible is therefore our supreme and final authority in all matters that it addresses.  It is to be taken as literally as possible except where obviously figurative. Genesis, for example, is literal, and Adam and Eve were actual people.

CREATION AND EVOLUTION 

We believe that the physical universe, the realm of nature, is the visible creation of God. It declares God's existence and gives a trustworthy revelation of God's character and purpose. In Scripture, God declares that through His creation all humanity recognizes His existence, power, glory, and wisdom. An honest study of nature -- its physical, biological, and social aspects -- can prove useful in a person's search for truth. Properly understood, God's Word (Scripture) and God's world (nature), as two revelations (one verbal, one physical) from the same God, will never contradict each other.   Within Christianity there is room for the interpretation of the creation days to be literal seven 24 hour periods, but also longer periods of time.  Nevertheless, Adam and Eve were real people, created by God just as Genesis says. We do not affirm macro evolution or theistic evolution (that God used evolution to bring humanity into existence) but deny them both.  Micro evolution, the modification of existing species with existing genetic information, is within the realm of Christian orthodoxy.  We did not evolve from other species into our present condition.  The general theory of evolution is unscriptural and counter-factual.

GOD

We believe in one infinitely perfect, eternal and personal God, the transcendent Creator and sovereign Sustainer of the universe.  This one God is Triune, existing eternally and simultaneously as three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  All three persons in the Godhead share equally and completely the one divine nature, and are therefore the same God, coequal in power, nature, and glory.  God is the only Supreme Being with no gods created before or after Him in all of existence, in all places, in all time (Isaiah 43:10; 44:6; 44:8; 1 Tim. 1:17).  He has always been God and was never anything else (Psalm 90:2).  He is Holy (Rev. 4:8), Eternal (Isaiah 57:15), Omnipotent (Jer. 32:17,27), Omnipresent (Psalm 137-12) and Omniscient (1 John 3:20).  He is Love (1 John 4:8, 16); Light (1 John 1:5); Spirit (John 4:24); Truth (Psalm 117:2) and Creator (Isaiah 40:12,22,26).  He is to be worshiped (Gen. 24:26; Ex. 4:31; 2 Chron. 29:28; 1 Cor. 14:25; Rev. 7:11).  He is to be served (Matt. 4:10;1 Cor. 6:19; Phil. 3:7; 1 Thess. 1:9; Heb. 9:14).  He is to be proclaimed (Matt. 28:19f.; John 14:15f.; Acts 1:8).

PERSON OF CHRIST

We believe that Jesus Christ is the Word (God) who became man.  He added human nature to His divine nature and is thus, both true God (the second Person of the Trinity) and true man (the Incarnate Son of God).  Being both human and divine, He has two natures.  Yet, He is one person not two.  He is not part God and part man.  He is presently a man, one person, with two natures where one is wholly God and the other wholly man. (Phil. 2:5-11; Col. 2:9; 1 Tim. 3:16; Heb. 1:5-13; John 1:1-3,14).  Jesus will eternally remain as a man and intercedes for us eternally as a high priest after the order of Melchezedek (Heb. 6:20; 7:45).  We also believe in the great events surrounding Jesus Christ's life and ministry, including: His eternal preexistence, His virgin birth, His attesting miracles, His sinless life, His sacrificial death on the cross, His glorious bodily resurrection from the dead, His ascension into heaven, and His present work in heaven as High Priest and Advocate. He will return in glory to resurrect and judge all mankind.

PERSON OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

We believe that the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity, is indeed a Divine Person, coequal with the Father and the Son. We also believe in the ministry of the Holy Spirit in salvation, a ministry which includes anointing and glorifying Christ, convicting men of their sin, bringing about the regeneration of lost sinners, and indwelling believers and empowering them for godly living and spiritual service.

THE HOLY TRINITY

We believe there is one God in whom there are three eternal, distinct, simultaneous persons -- the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit.  All three are the one God, coeternal and coequal – yet there is only one God, not three gods, and not one person who took three modes, offices, or forms. (Isaiah 44:6,8; 45:5; Gen. 1:26-27; 3:22; Matt. 3:17; 28:19; Luke 10:35; 2 Cor. 13:14).

THE VIRGIN BIRTH

We believe Jesus Christ was miraculously conceived and born of the Virgin Mary.  Mary ceased to be a virgin after the birth of Jesus (Luke 1:42).  Mary ceased to be a virgin after the birth of Jesus (Matt. 1:25).

MANKIND

We believe God created mankind in His image and likeness (having rational, moral, relational, and spiritual capacities) to fellowship with Him and give Him glory. Human beings are therefore the crown of God's creation (possessing inherent dignity and moral worth), and thus distinct in kind from all other life on earth. Adam and Eve, the first human beings, chose to rebel against God and go their own autonomous way. As a result, all of mankind became separated from God, the image of God in man distorted, and the sinful nature passed on to all their progeny. Because of original sin (which includes both corruption and guilt), unregenerate human beings are incapable of pleasing or commending themselves to God. The only remedy for mankind's pitiful predicament is redemption through faith in Jesus Christ.

REDEMPTION

We believe God has acted sovereignly to bridge the gap that separates people from Himself. He sent His Son, born of a virgin, attested by miracles and by a sinless life, to bear the full penalty for humanity's sin. Jesus Christ suffered and died in the place of sinners, thus satisfying the Father's just wrath against human sin, and effecting true reconciliation between God and mankind for those who believe. In the atoning death of Christ, both God's love and God's justice are fully manifested. The righteousness of Jesus Christ in perfectly fulfilling the law of God has been graciously credited to all believers. Redemption is solely a work of God's grace, received exclusively through faith in Jesus Christ, and never by works of human merit.

JUSTIFICATION 

We believe justification is a judicial act of God's grace wherein He acquits a person of all sin and accepts that person as righteous in His sight because of the imputed righteousness of Christ. Justification is strictly a work of God's grace, apprehended through faith alone, and solely on the account of Christ.

RESURRECTION 

We believe Jesus Christ rose bodily from the dead after being in the grave for three days, conquering sin, death, and all the powers of Satan.  He was raised in a glorified, physical body (still retaining his crucifixion wounds).  He ascended bodily into heaven, sits at the right hand of the Father, and rules heaven and earth (John 2:19; 1 Cor. 15; Luke 24:39).  Likewise, we Christians will be raised bodily from the dead and spend eternity with the Lord.  The resurrection is God's historical affirmation and vindication of Jesus Christ's unique identity, mission, and message.  Historical evidence of the resurrection is manifest in Christ's empty tomb, His many resurrection appearances, and in the emergence of the Christian church.  Jesus Christ now resides at the right hand of the Father, and lives to indwell all who recognize their sinfulness, who repent, and who turn their lives over to His authority.

MAN’S CONDITION

We believe man is fallen, corrupt, and wicked.  Man believes in God by God's grace through faith (John 6:28-29; 15:5; Phil. 1:29), is unable to come close to God through his own efforts (John 6:44; Rom. 3:10-12), nor can he understand the spiritual things of God on his own (1 Cor. 2:14; Rom. 8:7), nor can he earn salvation by his attempt at good works (Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 4:1-6), nor once saved does he maintain his salvation by his works (Gal. 3:1-3).  Eternal punishment in hell and separation from the blessed presence of God are the consequences of the unregenerate person's sinfulness who has not trusted in the redemptive sacrificial work of Christ on the cross (Eph. 2:1-3; Rom. 6:23).

LEGAL SUBSTITUTIONARY ATONEMENT

We believe that God the Father so loved us that He sent His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. Jesus, the Word, became man, bore our sins in His body on the cross (1 Peter. 2:24), and died in our place, suffering the consequences of the breaking the Law that was due us (Isaiah 53:4-6).  He became sin on our behalf (2 Cor. 5:21).  His sacrifice was a legal substitution for us (1 John 2:2; John 19:30).  It was legal since sin is breaking God's Law (1 John 3:4) and substitutionary since Christ took our punishment (Isaiah 53:4-6).  As a result, God's justice was satisfied and Christian believers are released from eternal punishment (1 Pet. 3:18; Matt. 1:21; 25:46; Rom. 5; 1 John 2:2).

DIVINE ELECTION

We believe election is God's choosing us for salvation (2 Thess. 2:13).  God's election is carried out in his act of predestination.  "From all eternity God chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will." (Eph. 1:4-5)

SALVATION

We believe salvation is being saved from the righteous judgment of God upon the sinner.  Salvation is obtained by grace alone, through faith alone, in the work of Christ alone (John 3:16) and not by out good works (Rom. 3:20; Eph. 2:8-9).  We are chosen for salvation by God (2 Thess. 2:13).

JUSTIFICATION BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH ALONE

Justification is being declared legally righteous by God.  This justification is received by faith alone (Rom. 4:1-6), in the work of Christ fulfilling the Law in his earthly ministry (1 Pet. 2:22), and his removing of sin by his sacrifice.  Justification is a gift from God (Rom. 3:24) and is received apart from the works of the Law (Rom. 3:28; Gal. 2:21).

REGENERATION

Upon belief a sinner is regenerated; that is, he is changed into a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17) and is then able to resist his sin and seek to increase in sanctification before the Lord.  Those thus regenerated do not seek to abide in sin, though they do fall into it, but war against it and repent of sin before the Lord.

ETERNAL SECURITY

We believe Christ has done all that is needed for our salvation and he says that those who have eternal life will never perish.  "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand" (John 10:27-28). Those who appeared to be Christian but fell away never were Christians to begin with (1 John 2:19). Eternal security does not mean that we have a license to sin (Rom. 5:21-6:2) and those who state thus do not understand God's ability to regenerate the sinner and turn his heart to repentance.  Because of the diversity of opinion on this issue, we do not condemn or pass judgment upon those who believe it is possible to lose one's salvation.  However, iLoveAtheists.org opposes the position that a person's security before God is maintained through his good works since this would be works righteousness.

SANCTIFICATION

We believe sanctification is the process by which the Holy Spirit makes us more like Christ in all that we do, think, and desire and increases our ability to repent from sin -- by God's grace, (1 Thess. 4:7; Eph. 2:10; 1 Tim. 4:4; 1 Peter. 3:15; 2 Tim. 2:25).  This process continues all of the Christian's life and is the result of salvation, not a cause of it, nor a contributing factor to it.  Furthermore, the effort of sanctification does not maintain the believer's salvation.

THE CHURCH 

We believe the church is the spiritual body of Jesus Christ (its Founder, Head, and Shepherd) and that it encompasses all true believers at all times and places.  The function of the church is to carry out the Lord's expressed will through the power of the Holy Spirit.  One of the central purposes of the church is to preach the Word of God, the Gospel (in both word and life) – the Good News that humankind can find salvation from sin through faith in Jesus Christ.  The church is where baptism and the Lord's Supper (communion) are administered, where believers are discipled and disciplined, and where believers serve to build up one another (Matt. 16:18). There is no one true earthly ecclesiastical body that is 'the true church’.  Rather, the True Church consists of all true believers wherever they might be.  All people who have placed their faith (confident trust) in Jesus Christ for salvation belong to the church and are, thus, the people of God. This community of believers is made up of people who are neither perfect nor sinless, but by grace their lives are coming more and more under the control of the Holy Spirit, expressing His love, joy, peace, and other Christ-like qualities.

CHURCH OFFICERS

We believe God calls qualified Christians to be ordained and to serve Jesus Christ in special leadership capacities, i.e. Elders, Deacons, Ministers of the Word, and Evangelists.  The office(s) of pastor and elder is limited to qualified men only who are called by God, recognized by the body, and who meet the biblical standard of eldership.  Women are not to be pastors nor elders and are not to hold positions of authority in the Christian Church where that authority is exercised over men (1 Tim. 2:11-15; 3:11-13; Titus 1).

BAPTISM 

We believe baptism is an important action of obedience for a Christian and signifies a person's identification with Christ.  It is not necessary for salvation.  It is an outward manifestation of an inward reality of trust in the sacrifice for Christ, of conversion, and of identification with Christ.  The act of water baptism does not save anyone.  We are made right before God by faith, not by faith and baptism (Rom. 3:28-30; 4:3,5; 5:1; Gal. 2:16, 21; Phil. 3:9; see also Acts 10:44-48).

FUTURE THINGS

We believe the Lord Jesus Christ will return to this earth, personally, bodily, and visibly to establish his glorious reign in a kingdom that will never end. As the sovereign Lord, He will resurrect and judge all humanity.  Those who have received His offer of life through the Gospel will go to eternal blessings in heaven and then forever be with the Lord (1 Thess. 4:16-5:2); those who have rejected it, to eternal conscious torment in hell.  We look forward to the blessed hope, Christ's Second Coming in glory.  Because of the diverse opinions among Christians regarding the rapture, we consider pre-trib rapture, mid-trib rapture, and post-trib rapture to be within the scope of Christian orthodoxy.

MILLENNIUM

We believe amillennialism, premillennialism, and post millennialism to be within the scope of Christian orthodoxy regarding the millennium.

SPIRITUAL REALM

We believe there is a spiritual realm of angels and demons. Angels serve God and carry out his will. Demons are fallen angels (2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6) who war against God and who will ultimately face eternal punishment (Matt. 25:41; 2 Per. 2:4). Christians cannot be demon possessed.

ETERNAL JUDGMENT

We believe all who are not justified by faith in Christ and the blood of Christ will face eternal, conscious, and agonizing judgment away from the presence of God (Matt. 8:12; Luke 16:19-31; Rev. 20:14-15; 21:8).

EVANGELISM

We believe that part of the purpose of iLoveAtheists.org is to carry out the work of evangelism which means that we must teach the gospel of Jesus Christ to all people, in every nation (Matt. 28:19-20).  Also, we are to refute false doctrines, false religions, and whatever else might contradict the word of God but we are to do this without insult (1 Pet. 3:15) if per chance God would grant them repentance (2 Tim. 2:25).

KINGDOM WORK

We believe that part of being a Christian means to participate in expanding the Kingdom of God.  Every Christian is to work for this end according to the giftings given him by the Lord (Matt. 28:18-20; Rom. 12).  Not all are pastors, or evangelists, or teachers (Rom. 12), but each Christian is expected to do his part to promote the gospel whether it be by prayer and/or tithing, and/or teaching, and/or bearing and training children and/or evangelism.

MORALITY

We believe that lying, bearing false witness, adultery, wife-swapping, pornography, fornication, coveting, homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, pedophilia, bestiality, necrophilia, cross dressing and trans-genderism are all sinful practices, against scriptural revelation, are contrary to proper living, and are not acceptable to Christians as normal or approved behaviors.  Still, we do not hate those who practice these things but pray for their deliverance.

MARRIAGE

We believe marriage is between one man and one woman.

HERESY 

We believe heresy is any doctrine that deviates from the historical, orthodox, and biblical position of the Christian Church, throughout Church history, as judged from a Protestant perspective.  There are heresies that are damnable (denying the Deity of Christ, denying Christ's physical resurrection, denying justification by grace through faith). There are heresies that are not damnable (advocating women pastors; practicing polygamy, divorce for convenience sake, etc.) There are also teachings within Christianity that are debatable where as differences of opinion are not heresy (eating or not eating meat, worship on Saturday or Sunday, etc.) See Rom. 14:1-12.

LIVING

We believe, where possible, Christians are to live in peace with all men, suffering wrongs, false accusations, and misrepresentations with charity.  However, Christians are free to defend themselves (Luke 22:36) and promote the truth of Christianity by correcting false teachings and refuting error (2 Tim. 2:25; 1 Pet. 3:15).  They are free to use the political system and its laws in order to promote a more godly and moral society.  Christians are to live in the world as examples of godliness and are not to participate in the sinful passions of the world.

THE GREAT COMMISSION

We believe Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation. And since Christ has commissioned His people, the church, to go into all the world to disciple, to baptize, and to teach everyone everywhere to obey His Word, we desire, by His grace, to play our part in reaching the world with the Gospel of Christ.