My Testimony

This blog is about me, and so I am obligated to tell about the one thing on which my entire life must center--my faith. My faith is not merely an identifying characteristic about me, like my race or hair color. It isn't something I inherited from my parents, or belong to because of where I'm from. It isn't a faith that only exists on Sundays or when I go to church. My faith is every bit of who I am-because without the Object of my faith, I would be nothing.

There are many different branches of Protestant Christianity, but many of the differences are over minor issues. I am not part of any denomination, because I believe that the church should not be divided over unimportant things.

However, there are some aspects of my faith that are uncompromiseable. This is not a very popular idea in today's world, but if I back down on one issue I know is right, my faith is meaningless. I believe what I know to be true, and will not lie in order to be tolerant or politically correct.

Here are the things that I cannot waver on.

God is loving, all-powerful, all-knowing, has existed since the beginning of time, and is a single entity (not nature, or the minds of men). He created the world in six days, and continues to work in the world. He is completely holy and cannot abide in the presence of evil. Yet he loves all men and desires to make them holy so they can experience His presence.

All men hav sinned. Sin is not just acting unnaturally evil. Sin is doing anything contrary to the will of God. This includes doing something seemingly good for the wrong reason, and even includes thoughts not pleasing to God.

Our sin has separated us from God. God cannot allow sin into heaven, because then He would have to leave. The only place where God is not present is Hell, so a sinner must go to Hell rather than God's presence. The only way a man can go to heaven is to live a life free of sin, which is impossible for humans, because of our sin nature.

Jesus Christ is the only Son of God. He has always existed, yet at an actual point in history He came to earth as a human, born of a virgin woman named Mary. Mary was a human who was chosen to be blessed with His birth, not because she was worthy, but because God is gracious.

Jesus lived among men, was accused or heresy for claiming to be God, and was killed by crucifixion. Because He had led a perfect life and committed no sin worthy of death, His death paid the penalty all sinners must pay. Any man who accepts Jesus' payment for his sin will have this sin removed and his debt cancelled. When he dies, he will go to heaven. Nothing else is required, though the Christian is encouraged to serve God in order to bring others to Christ and for rewards in heaven.

Three days after being crucified, Jesus rose from the dead. His life, death, and resurrection were real events in history and have been recorded as such. After appearing to men Jesus ascended into heaven, where He is now preparing a place for all who have accepted Him.

God is three Persons in One--A Trinity of character that we can never fully understand. The third part of the Trinity is the Holy Spirit, who comes into our hearts when we accept Jesus and enables us to live for God.

Finally, God's Word has been faihfully preserved in the Bible. Men who were eyewitnesses of its events were inspired by the Holy Spirit, meaning everything they wrote is true and applicable to all periods of time. The Bible takes authority over all else--including the church or any church leader. If anyone contradicts or adds to the Bible in what he says, the Bible must take precedence.

This testimony turned out longer than I expected, and not every detail is necessary for one to have true belief. But here is the heart of the matter--Jesus is the Son of God and has paid for our sins with death--we need only to accept this gift to inherit eternal life. There is no other way to heaven, but God will accept all who come this way.