And beside this, giving all diligence,
add to your faith virtue; and to
your virtue knowledge; and to
knowledge temperance, and to
temperance patience; and to patience
godliness; and to godliness brotherly
kindness; and to brotherly kindness,
charity.
2Peter 2:5-7
I took Friday off to travel to visit my family at a family reunion and it was great, great to see my two aunts and cousin that I have not seen for a long time, as well as others who I haven't seen for a time as well. It is good to take time to be with family and friends. Hope you get this time as well.
Faith: what is it? What is Authentic Christian Faith? Faith carries that a person has confidence or trust in a person or thing: i.e., tires on a car, properly prepared food at a restaurant, etc., or belief that is not based on proof. Faith can mean to believe in God, or in the doctrines or teachings of a religion, to believe in a code of ethics or standards of merit. That is faith, but Authentic Christian Faith is not the faith of so many religion, they all speak of faith. What is the doctrine(s) of Authentic Christian Faith held by men and women from the beginning of Christianity? Authentic Christian Faith is to believe that there is One Almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, true Trinity, true Unity. Not three separate beings, or that the Holy Spirit is nothing more than God's power, as taught by Jehovah Witness, not God at times is the Father, or at times the Son, or at times as the Holy Spirit, as taught by the Modalists (the Apostolic Church is such a Modalist). Jesus is not inferior to Mohamed of Islam and God is not an anthropomorphic being with a body, and Jesus is not a created being, as Jehovah witness, Islam, and other religions would have you believe, no the genuine Trinity wherein none is born of himself, none proceeds from himself, but one from another! That is to say, the Son is begotten of The Father, the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. Scripture makes it clear that without doubt that there is one who has begotten, another who has been begotten, another who proceeds from both. There is then, genuine Unity, not that there is one Spirit of the Father, another of the Son, but one of Both! Furthermore, the Holy Spirit does not proceed from the Father into the Son, then from the Son to diffuse the gift of charity into the hearts of believers; but at once from both. There is not one Godhead of the Father, another of the Son, another of the Holy Spirit, but one Godhead of the three; and for that reason truly one God. If this was not so, if one was one thing the other another, then there would not be One God. Therefore, there is one Godhead of the three, one eternal, one majesty, one mightiness, one will, one activity, one affection, one glory. There is not one thing then another, one person and another person, therefore the Trinity, therefore, since there is distinction, one person and another person and yet there is Unity between all three person of the Trinity, we must never mistake this fact: the Son is not Himself the Father, nor is He who is the Father Himself the Son or the Holy Spirit, there is true unity, genuine Trinity; yet this is true as what the Son is, the Father is, and what the Father and the Holy Spirit are, the Son is, a genuine Trinity.
Too many Churches and Christians have forgotten the Creeds, even some pastors and teachers will not use the Creeds and this is a mistake for in the Creeds is found the basis, the foundation of Authentic Christian Faith, therefore I will write the Creeds and today it will be the Nicene Creed (325-381 A.D.), learn it, repeat regularly for when you do, you are reaffirming your faith. I will number each statement although numbering was not in the original:
1. We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
2. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father.
3. Through Him all things were made.
4. For us and for our salvation He came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit He became incarnate from the virgin Mary, and was made man.
5. For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate: He suffered death and was buried.
6. On the third day He rose again in accordance with the Scriptures;
7. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
8. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and His kingdom will have no end.
9. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
10. With the Father and the Son He is worshiped and glorified.
11. He has spoken through the prophets.
12. We believe in one holy catholic (universal, my addition for clarity) and apostolic Church.
13. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
14. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of world to come. Amen.
Authentic Christian Faith is built upon the pure, unchangeable word of God, therefore, our faith is built, not upon some empirical evidence other than that Jesus came to earth, lived a sinless life, died, not as a sinner, but as an innocent man, and rose again as testified by more than 500 people at His ascension. Furthermore, we have God's promises that have never been broken, therefore our faith is not blind faith.
I the LORD have called thee
in righteousness, and will
hold thine hand, and will keep thee,
and give thee for a covenant
of the people, for a light to the Gentiles
Isaiah 42:6
Put your faith in Jesus Christ
Richard L. Crumb
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