Personal Creed

This is a paper I had to write for my Bible IV class at school. I thought it would fit well with the content of this blog, and might be of some interest, as well as give people an idea of what I believe.

I believe that I am a poor and miserable sinner. I am devoid of any redeeming qualities, and I deserve God's eternal and temporary punishment. I believe that I have lived to further my own will, instead of living in God's. I also believe that God has loved me so much that he would give his own son as a ransom for me. I believe that Christ payed my way to heaven, so that I might enjoy the Father more and more every day. Christ has renewed my heart and changed my direction towards God's will. I believe that my life will be successful only if I love God and others above all other things.

I believe that God is omnipresent, omnipotent, and all-knowing. I believe in the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They are one God, not three gods. I believe that God has revealed himself to humankind through the Holy and Perfect Scriptures. I believe that God once viewed me as dirty and despicable, but by God's unending love and mercy, he views me as a valuable child.

I believe that because of God's love and mercy toward me (shown most by the death of his Son, Jesus Christ on Calvary), I will not taste death. Instead, I will enjoy a new life in heaven with the Father. I believe that Jesus endured the punishment that I deserve so that I might enjoy this place. I believe that heaven is the place that God has created for us to live with him. A place that is without sin, where all people will function as we were created to function.

I believe that suffering and evil in the world are results of sin which we brought into the world, not God. God uses suffering for his own ends, as is clear in Scripture, but he does not cause people to suffer in the sense that he initiates the suffering. When God does use suffering and evil, it is to train and discipline his people to follow his will.

I believe that truth is found primarily in the son of God, Christ Jesus who said: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” Before Christ, God spoke truth to his people through his prophets, and their stories and words are recorded in the Old Testament. The New Testament testifies about Christ, the Son of God who is truth. Therefore, I believe that truth is found first in the Holy Scriptures. God speaks to us daily through our reading of Scriptures, and that is where the only true and unadulterated truth is found. Next, I believe that experience is the second best way to find truth, but experience, as all other sources that claim to be truth should, is tested to Scripture first.

I believe that the Lord has given me the gifts that enable me to serve his Church, and in the style of St. Augustine, I will “Love the Lord, and do as you please.” I pray that God will lead me in knowledge, truth, and love, to the serving of his people in the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. I hope to preach the Word of God to those around me, and share the love of Christ. During the next four years, I pray that God will give me the strength to prepare for an intensive study of his Word and Will, so that I might be ready to become a shepherd of his sheep, in the name of the Lamb.

I believe “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few, therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into his harvest.” I pray that God would send his Holy Spirit upon me to help me live and serve the Father as a laborer in the harvest. I pray that I would forever uphold God's message of Love and redemption.

Mostly, this won't be of interest to most, but there you have it anyway!

In Christ,

JP