Basics

I believe in one God, eternally existing in three facets or natures at once: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  God is both singular and multiple.  I believe in the truth and accuracy of the original writings of the Old Testament (Tanakh) and the New Testament (Bri’t Chadashah) Scriptures.  They were inspired directly by God (YHVH, YHWH, Yahveh or Yahweh).  Our heavenly Father is the supreme and final Authority in faith and in life.

I believe that Jesus Christ (Yeshua Ha'Mashiach)

• has existed from eternity past, appearing in various preincarnate manifestations (such as the Angel of the Lord);
• was begotten, in a temporary mortal body, by the Holy Spirit;
• was born of Mary, a Jewish virgin;
• was crucified, shed His blood, and died for our sins on Passover;
• lay in a tomb for portions of three days and three nights during the Feast of Unleavened Bread;
• was resurrected from death on the Feast of Firstfruits and ascended back into heaven forty days later;
• sent the Holy Spirit, ten days after He ascended to heaven, to indwell believers on Shavuot = Pentecost; and
• was and is the one, true Christ (Messiah), who will return to Jerusalem to rule and reign as King over the whole world.

In the beginning, the Word was with God and the Word was God (John 1:1)—not “a god” as one Bible version states—and the Word (God) became flesh (Jesus) and dwelled (or tabernacled) among us (1:14).  I believe that Jesus was and is fully God (see Was Jesus God?), in human form and likeness.  God appeared in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16)—that is, in the body of Jesus.  Referring to Jesus the Son, the Father called Him God (Hebrews 1:8).

While Jesus walked the earth He was in nature, and in the form of, God; He was made in human likeness and was in appearance as a man who, with incomprehensible humility, died on a cross (Philippians 2:5-8).  Essentially, Jesus became one of us so that, in time, we could be like Him.

The essence of sin is pridefully substituting ourselves for God and doing things our own way, rather than obeying God’s laws and commandments.  On the contrary, the essence of redemption is accepting God’s authority, letting Him free us from our bondage to sin, and allowing Him to control our lives, now and forevermore.  In the form of Jesus, on the cross, He took upon Himself the sins of mankind by paying the ultimate price for mankind’s disobedience, defiance and insubordination to Him.

The eternal God is “the first and the last” (Isaiah 44:6) because He always has existed, and always will exist, “from everlasting to everlasting” (Psalm 90:2).  The risen, glorified Jesus appeared to the apostle John, who wrote the book of Revelation.  Jesus told John that He was “the First and the Last” (Revelation 1:17, 2:8), as well as “the Alpha and the Omega” and “the Beginning and the End” (1:8, 21:6, 22:13).  These were foundational claims, by Jesus, to be God.

I believe in the resurrection of the crucified body of Jesus, our Lord and Savior, and in His bodily ascension into heaven after forty days (Acts 1:3,9-11).  Jesus is in heaven, at the right hand of God the Father; and all angels, authorities and powers submit to Him (1 Peter 3:22).  He presently is in service to God the Father as the High Priest, Mediator, and Advocate of those who believe in Him.  Together, They are the unified Father and Son.

I believe that Romans 10:9,10—confessing Jesus Christ as Lord and believing that He was raised from the dead—is the foundation for eternal salvation.  It is by God’s grace through our faith, not by our “good works,” that we are saved (Ephesians 2:8,9).  Moreover, if good works and deeds do not follow our faith, then our faith is of little value and, essentially, is dead (James 2:14,17,20,24,26).

It is vitally important to follow and obey God’s eternal Commandments, Precepts, and Instructions, as well as to have an ongoing relationship and communion with Him.  By doing so, we have the greatest likelihood of receiving blessings and protection from God in our lives.  Whoever claims to live in God must walk as Jesus did (1 John 2:6,7).

I believe that the first man, Adam, was created in the “image” of God; however, Adam and Eve sinned.  Because they sinned, they incurred upon mankind, as a whole, not only physical death but also spiritual death, which is separation from God.  As such, all people are born in the “image” of Adam and Eve.  Thus, we must be spiritually “reborn” from above to begin our journey of being restored into the original “image” of God.

I believe that whereas the first man—Adam—was imperfect, the “second man”—the Lord Jesus Christ—was/is perfect (see first and last Adam).  Jesus came the first time to die for our sins, the righteous for the unrighteous (1 Peter 3:18), according to the Scriptures.  Because of His representative and substitutionary sacrifice, all who believe in Him will be justified on the basis of His shed blood.  He will come a second time, as the Rider on a white horse, to save Israel and to rule and reign in Jerusalem during the Millennium—until this one-dimensional time-line, as we know it, comes to an end.

I was baptized in a Baptist Church when I was young.  I believe that it is very important for a person to be baptized, by water immersion, in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19), as an outward expression of his/her belief and faith in the Triune God.  Furthermore, the person should be old enough to make the choice to be baptized and to understand why he/she is being baptized. 

However, I do not believe that water baptism is an essential and indispensable requirement for eternal salvation.  For instance, a person who truly and sincerely has accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, believes that Jesus was raised from the dead and understands that Jesus’ blood was shed for the remission, absolution and forgiveness of sins, will be saved even if that person dies before being baptized.

For decades, I have not attached myself to any particular denomination.  Too many kids are raised in churches where they are told that the main thing they must do is to focus on and adhere to the doctrines, dogmas and creeds of their church.  However, people who are not encouraged to read the Bible and not taught how to love and obey God/Jesus—the solid foundations on which their faith should be built—are more likely to stop going to church and to fall away from their faith later in life.

I believe that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).  Those who claim to be without sin deceive themselves and make God out to be a liar (1 John 1:8,10).  We all were born with a predisposition to act in certain ways and to indulge in certain types of sins and transgressions.

Yet, we all can choose to be born as children of God (John 1:12,13), into a new life, where we are able to overcome the sinful drives of our flesh and to obey and please God.  All who receive, by faith, Jesus Christ (Yeshua Ha'Mashiach) as their Lord and Savior are “born again” of the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh), who gives new birth to our spirits (3:3-7).

By being born again, we accept Jesus’ shed blood as the only purification from our sins (1 John 1:7), understanding that we have been redeemed from our empty and sinful ways of life by the blood of Christ (1 Peter 1:18,19).  Then, with the help of the Holy Spirit, we are able to overcome our old sin natures and enter into new lives in Christ.

As such, we no longer are children of Adam; rather, we are delivered from our deadly, sinful natures and have become living, productive children of God.  However, all who do not receive, by faith, Jesus Christ (Yeshua Ha'Mashiach), as Lord and Savior, are destined for eternal destruction and separation from the presence of God (2 Thessalonians 1:8,9).  Besides the name of Jesus, there is no other name under heaven by which we can be saved (Acts 4:12).