My Personal Statement of Faith

My Personal Statement of Faith

By June Tompkins

I believe in a Sovereign and Triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who takes the initiative in reaching out to us in covenantal love, in which he binds himself to us and us to him to fulfill specific promises: covenants with Noah, Abraham, Moses, David and, ultimately, through the life of Jesus Christ. God the Father, the first person of the Trinity, created the universe and all things seen and unseen. He created human beings in his own image, and he wants his children to love him and one another, living in peace with our neighbors near and far and striving for world harmony. Sadly, our nature is such that we are prone to act sinfully, thinking first of ourselves and not of others. I would define sin as that which we do which is not in accordance with God’s will. No one of us can claim to be without sin.

Because of the heavenly Father’s love for his children, Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, came to live among us and die upon a cross for all humankind, meriting for us the forgiveness from God that could be obtained in no other way. I believe that new life, Salvation, begins in the hearts of those who believe in and receive Jesus Christ, continuing into eternity. The knowledge and the acceptance of Christ which leads toward the fulfillment of life comes from God. Our personal redemption is not due to any goodness of our own. We find Christ because he finds us. We do not believe until he gives us faith.

I believe that the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, leads us into a new way of life which is in conformity to the will of God, building us like living stones into a spiritual dwelling. Jesus gave his disciples the gift of the Holy Spirit when he, having finished his mission on earth, gave us our mission to carry on his work. The Holy Spirit continues to nourish our growth through the means of Grace: Worship and Prayer, the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, and the study of the Word of God.

Baptism signifies and seals God’s promise to be a Father to his own and their children. In Baptism we participate in Jesus’ death and resurrection, dying to what separates us from God and being raised to newness of life in Christ. The waters of Baptism remind us of the waters of Creation, the Flood, the Exodus and Jesus’ Baptism. This sacrament visibly represents the coming of the Holy Spirit upon a child of God.

In the Lord’s Supper, which was instituted by Christ in the last meal he shared with his disciples before his arrest, we commemorate Jesus’ death for our salvation, showing forth his death until he shall return, but we also celebrate his living presence among us through the Holy Spirit, sharing our good times and bad and guiding us as we carry on his work of reconciling the world to him. The bread and wine, representing his body and blood, spiritually nourish us. It is a fellowship meal, and, sharing it, we are united through our faith with all believers.

I believe that the Bible is God’s “special revelation,” conveying a knowledge of God we would not be able to attain in any other way or through any other means. The Old and New Testaments complement each other, and they tell the story of how much God loves us and wants us to align our will with his, accomplishing all he wants us to achieve with the life we have been given. Through the history of Israel, the Law given through Moses, the cry of the prophets for justice and mercy, the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the witness of the early Church, we learn of God’s gracious will. I believe that the Confessions of our church are reliable guides for understanding the Scriptures.

I believe that through the resurrection of Jesus Christ those who believe are promised eternal life. What that life will be like we cannot say, but we have Christ’s assurance that in his Father’s house there are many mansions. We will come into the nearer presence of God. In this hope I do not presume to limit God’s mercy.

The Church faces many challenges today, but I feel confident that we can meet these challenges if we let the Holy Spirit direct us. We must reach out more to those around us, ministering to the needy wherever they may be, especially those often forgotten by society, like the poor, the homeless and those behind prison walls. We should always remember that it is not our ministry we are engaged in but that of Jesus Christ.