Statement of Faith

Be right with God
I don’t know of any better way to start a statement of faith for a teacher’s Web site than to begin with the words of James 3:13-18

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.

Before you take your first steps towards teaching in your church, understand that behavior and teaching must go hand in hand.  There is no such thing as a wise teacher who behaves out of selfish ambition. 
When James asked, “Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?” he was talking about those who desired to teach but did not live according to the wisdom of God.  Unless you confess your sins and become reconciled to God, the “wisdom” you teach will only cause “disorder and every evil practice.”  Being ungodly is counterproductive toward spiritual teaching.

Before you teach, be right with God and with others.  David understood this when he pled with God

Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.
(Psalms 51:12-13)

I know that some of you will be afraid of admitting your faults thinking that somehow it will disqualify you from teaching, but the Bible teaches us the exact opposite—those who are humble and confess their sins will become qualified to teach.  Don’t let anyone fool you.  To be cleansed from unrighteousness forms you into a tool useful in the hands of God.  Paul wrote

In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.
(2 Timothy 2:10-21, emphasis mine)

If you feel that the Lord is calling you to teach, but you have sins in your life that must be dealt with, confess them both to God and the ones you have sinned against, then get ready for God to use you in a powerful way!

Doctrine of Salvation
We believe that salvation is a free gift purchased for us by the blood of Jesus Christ.  Salvation does not just lead to the forgiveness of sins—it supernaturally transforms those who believe into people who by their nature obey God.  John wrote

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
(1 John 1:9)

Notice that John doesn’t stop at “will forgive us” but goes on to add “and purify us from all unrighteousness.”   It’s true that one of the first things we notice when we are saved is that our guilt is erased.  We no longer feel as though God is counting our sins against us.  Paul speaks “that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them.” (2 Corinthians 5:19)  This peace we feel is a fruit of the Spirit.  But there is more to salvation than just forgiveness of sins.  Another aspect of salvation is that our tendency towards wickedness passes away.  That is what John meant when he wrote that Got will “purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)  John goes on to write in the same letter

No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.
(1 John 3:9-10, emphasis mine)

Saved people cannot remain in sin.  It doesn’t mean that they don’t struggle with sin, but within them is the inability to go on sinning.  The Greek in this passage gives the idea of “taking up residence” and “staying put” with sin—Christians cannot do it.  The words “he cannot,” literally means just that—Christians are incapable of remaining in their sins.  God will eventually drive them away from their former way of life because he has changed their nature in such a way that they cannot bear being in disobedience.  In fact, we grieve over our former way of life and long for perfection.  Sure we still struggle with sin, but it is not our nature to remain in it.  An analogy I use to describe salvation to kids is like this

An unsaved person is like a man swimming in pig poo [yes, I actually say that] but thinks he’s swimming in chocolate milk.  He yells out, “Wee, look at me!  I’m swimming in chocolate milk!”  The reason why he doesn’t know that he’s in pig poo is because he hasn’t received his sense of smell.  In the meantime, he keeps getting sick, but because he can’t smell the poo he’s in, he doesn’t know that the “chocolate milk” is making him feel sick.  He blames the way he feels on everything else but the poo.

The Gospel message is like another man who walks up to the man in the poo and says, “Dude, the reason why you feel so sick is because of the poo you’re in.”  The person who gets saved is like the man in the poo who hears this message and believes it.  Immediately he receives his sense of smell and realizes what it is that he’s been swimming in.  And because of his new-found sense of smell, he can’t help but want to get away from the poo.  He can’t remain in the poo because he can no longer tolerate its smell.  That’s what a saved man is like.

A saved man struggling with sin is like a man who has his sense of smell, but from a distance sees a pool of poo and is tempted to think, “Maybe if I jump in it, it will be like swimming in chocolate milk.”  But as soon as he jumps in, he smells it and realizes that he doesn’t want to be there.  He cannot remain in the poo because his sense of smell keeps him away from it.

Yes, I have found that potty talk is an effective tool in teaching!  They’re kids we’re teaching after all.  I realize that this is an imperfect analogy, but some of the concepts of salvation are clearly taught by this story.  You don’t have to use it.

The source of our new “sense of smell” (if you will), is the Holy Spirit within us.  Those who have the Spirit begin to walk in the ways of Jesus, because any other way of life just plain stinks!  Long ago before Jesus became a man, Ezekiel spoke of God’s plan to put his Spirit within us

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
(Ezekiel 36:26-27, emphasis mine)

The bible doesn’t teach that when you’re saved, God forgives you and then leaves you to your own means to figure out what you’re going to do with the rest of your life.  God equips us and moves us by means of his Spirit. Without the Spirit, you can’t obey God.  Paul wrote

The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; flesh is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so.  Those controlled by flesh cannot please God.  You, however, are controlled not by the flesh but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.
(Romans 8:6-9, emphasis mine)

Simply put, if you don’t have the Spirit, you can’t obey God.  Those without the Spirit do not belong to Christ!  The good news is that when you’re saved through faith in Christ, you automatically receive the Holy Spirit who equips and moves you to walk in obedience to God.  It gives a whole new meaning to the chant, “We’ve got Spirit, how about you?”  You have passed from being a poo-pouncing pagan who is by nature an enemy of God to a person who can’t help but walk in his ways!  Ah, the sweet smell of salvation! 

Security of the Believer
We believe in the eternal security of the believer who puts their faith in Christ. We do not to deny the fact that some people who claim to be Christians fall away. How does a person with our view justify saying that once a person is saved they remain saved?  First of all, John clearly explains that those who fall away never belonged to Christ.

For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.
(1 John 2:19b)

If you belong to Christ, your nature is changed so that you remain in him and he in you.  John puts it this way

No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.
(1 John 3:9)

It is impossible to say, "I knew of someone who was once saved who later abandoned the faith," because John tells us that such a person never belonged to Christ in the first place.  Such a person may yet be saved, but it is not possible that they were once saved and then lost that salvation.  The Bible does not leave believers wondering if they're going to end up being saved once they put their trust in Jesus Christ. Rather, great affirmation is given to those who believe.  Jesus said

And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but that I shall raise them up at the last day.
(John 6:39, emphasis mine)

Jesus claims that he will never lose you.  But some may argue that although Jesus may never lose us, we are capable of losing Jesus.  We again point back to 1 John 2:19 which shows that such people were never saved to begin with. To say that someone can lose their salvation goes against other verses as well.  Jesus said

I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned.
(John 5:24, emphasis mine)

The one who believes "has" eternal life. Jesus never says, "Those who believe in me might have eternal life so long as they don't blow it," but rather that they already have it! And as we have recently pointed out, those who are saved can't "blow it" because they can't remain in sin (1 John 3:9). 

Our security is further bolstered by other language in the Bible. The gift of the Holy Spirit is our “seal” and assurance (Ephesians 1:13-14) that the salvation we receive remains with us.  The word for seal is the same word we find in Revelation 6 where a scroll is sealed by God and "no one can open it." In Revelation 7, 144,000 ethnic Jews receive a "seal" that preserves their life and makes them untouchable. The idea in Ephesians 1:13-14 is literally that once you are saved, there is an unbreakable seal (the Holy Spirit) preserving you until the day of your final salvation. Finally, the relationship between us and God is said to be inseparable.  Paul wrote

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 
(Romans 8:38-39)

When Paul writes, "neither the present nor the future," it seems likely he had in mind the future choices you have yet to make. Not even your own future actions will alter your eternal outcome. We're not saying that you can get saved and then sin all you want, rather those who are saved are spiritually and miraculously changed so that they can't help but want to follow the Lord.

But what about all the warnings in the Bible to persevere? While the Bible is full of warnings to persevere and obey, and although those who are saved must persevere in righteousness, it is also true that they will persevere.  If the Gospel is preached only from the perspective that you must persevere without the message of spiritual renewal that comes with salvation and the understanding that God will move us to obey (Ezekiel 36:26-27), it becomes a works righteousness message base on our own efforts that must be rejected. It is God who works through us causing us to do and to desire what is according to his good purposes (Philippians 2:13). It is most certainly not our efforts that save us.  The glory of the Gospel message is that though we were fallen in our desires and our actions, God washed away both our guilt and our sinful nature.  He does so in a way where he alone gains all the glory. When we fall before his feet and he says, "Well done my good and faithful servant," we will only be able to say, "Lord, the only good I did was what you did through me."