Personal Theology
Recent conversations I have had with our friend Sasha have caused me to start thinking about matters of theology and what I believe. One evening I decided that writing down my thoughts would be beneficial. This post is the result of those thoughts.
I believe that God exists in three parts, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and that each of these parts have always been in existence. I believe that Jesus Christ, who was fully man and fully God was sent by God the Father as a mere baby to live a perfect, sinless life which ended in a tragic, yet wonderful death which paid the price for the sins, the shortcomings of all mankind. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) Christ died for all of mankind so that He would be reunited with us and be able to live with Him eternally. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) This is not to say that all will be made to believe, for scripture says that Christ shall stand at the door and knock and whoever invites Him in He shall be with them and them with Him (Romans 3:20). God has given each of us free will to choose to follow Him or to reject Him. In choosing to follow Him one must reject their past life of disobedience and recognize that Christ died for them and each one of their wrongdoings, past, present and future. In doing this one will be led down a path that leads toward temptations, trails, blessings and rewards, all while following, or attempting to follow in Christ’s footsteps. Once on this path, the ultimate goal is Christ-likeness.
I believe that God exists in three parts, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and that each of these parts have always been in existence. I believe that Jesus Christ, who was fully man and fully God was sent by God the Father as a mere baby to live a perfect, sinless life which ended in a tragic, yet wonderful death which paid the price for the sins, the shortcomings of all mankind. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) Christ died for all of mankind so that He would be reunited with us and be able to live with Him eternally. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) This is not to say that all will be made to believe, for scripture says that Christ shall stand at the door and knock and whoever invites Him in He shall be with them and them with Him (Romans 3:20). God has given each of us free will to choose to follow Him or to reject Him. In choosing to follow Him one must reject their past life of disobedience and recognize that Christ died for them and each one of their wrongdoings, past, present and future. In doing this one will be led down a path that leads toward temptations, trails, blessings and rewards, all while following, or attempting to follow in Christ’s footsteps. Once on this path, the ultimate goal is Christ-likeness.
posted by Sarah C | 4:11 AM
1 Comments:
14But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened." 15But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.
But do this with gentleness and respect, 16keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be
ashamed of their slander.
1 Peter 3:14-16
What an excellent exercise - one we should all take the time to do, and one that should probably be repeated periodically in search of the markers of growth in our walk. I would encourage two further challenges along these lines...
1) Re-write it in more simplistic terms, as if you were speaking to someone who has never heard of God, Christ, etc.
2) Do a little research of the main target groups around you (which you might have already done, so if this is repetitive, please forgive me.) Re-write (or create) several versions of your personal faith statement within the context of their present beliefs, traditions, superstitions, etc. How might you present the same Truth in culturally and even religiously sensitive terms.
For example, you begin with the Trinity. For a Muslim - either religious or cultural - this would be an immediate problem (blasphemy, from their understanding), and you would immediately lose your audience. This might also be true of Russian Orthodox, but you'd need to look into that one to be sure (don't take my wword for it.) While the trinity is certainly important, ask yourself if it is an essential core belief for someone to come to Christ initially, or it is a more complex concept the understanding of which somes as we grow and mature in Him?
I'd be interested to see what you come up with, so feel free to email me directly (if you don't feel like posting them here.)
Keep up the fantastic work! I eagersly await your reports and find them encouraging and thought provoking. Thanks for taking the time to write them.
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