Statement of Faith

Intrinsic to its name and what it stands for, In the Mirror of God represents and teaches classical orthodox Christian beliefs and values based solely on the teachings of Scripture.

• Regarding God: I believe there is one true God, who eternally exists in three distinct persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—all of whom are equal in deity, power, and glory. I believe God not only created the entire universe but also upholds, sustains, governs, and sovereignly directs all that exists according to His plans and purposes. (Isaiah 44:6-7, 45:5, Psalm 90:2, Revelation 1:8, Genesis 1:1, Colossians 1:16-17, Psalm 115:3, Daniel 4:35, Isaiah 46:9-10, Psalm 33:11, Romans 8:28, Acts 17:24-28, Matthew 28:19)
• Regarding Jesus: I believe that Jesus Christ, before His incarnation, existed in the exact form of God. He took upon Himself the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of man. He was supernaturally conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a perfectly sinless life in which he taught and performed miraculous works as recorded in Scripture. He was put to death by crucifixion, through which He offered a perfect atonement for sin, appeasing the wrath of God. His substitutionary sacrifice redeemed us from the curse of the law, that we may have His righteousness counted toward us. Three days after His death, God raised His physical body from the dead, and the Lord Jesus showed Himself to be alive to His disciples, appearing to them in the space of forty days. After this, He ascended into heaven to the right hand of the Father, where He continues to be head over all things. (Matthew 1:18-25, John 1:1-18, Colossians 2:9, Romans 5:8, 8:34, 1 Corinthians 15:1-7, Philippians 2:5-11, Colossians 1:15-23, Galatians 3:10-14, Ephesians 1:7, 1 Peter 2:21-25, 1 John 2:1-2, Isaiah 53:4-6, 2 Corinthians 5:21)
• Regarding the Holy Spirit: I believe in the deity of the Holy Spirit as a person distinct from the Father and Son, possessing all of the divine attributes. The Holy Spirit regenerates, forever indwells and graciously equips all true Christians for godly living and service, enabling them to love God and others. The Holy Spirit exalts Christ and convicts of sin, instructs, guides, prompts, and empowers believers in worship, evangelism, and service. (John 14:26, 16:13, Acts 1:8, 9:31, 13:52, 20:28, Romans 8:14-16, 26, 1 Corinthians 2:10, 12:13, Galatians 5:16-17, Ephesians 1:13, 2 Timothy 1:7, Titus 3:5, Hebrews 2:4)
• Regarding the Bible: I believe the Bible consists of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments and is the inspired Word of God, without error in its original manuscripts. It is the supernaturally given revelation from God Himself concerning His being, nature, character, will, and purposes. It is the supreme and final authority for all we are to believe and how we are to live. (2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:20-21, Isaiah 55:11, Psalm 119:105, John 6:63, Hebrews 4:12, Psalm 33:6, Proverbs 30:5-6, Isaiah 40:8, Matthew 24:35, Psalm 119:160)
• Regarding Sin: I believe sin is any and everything that doesn’t meet God’s holy standards as established by His righteousness.  Adam and Eve, the first human beings, rebelled against God, which led to all humanity being born with a sinful nature, thus alienated from God – subject to the power of the evil one, incapable of pleasing or commending themselves to God, darkened in their understanding, hardened in heart, morally and spiritually dead. The only remedy for mankind’s sinful predicament is redemption through faith in Jesus Christ. (Genesis 1:27, Genesis 3:1-24, Romans 5:12, Psalm 51:5, John 6:28-29, 8:44, Romans 3:10-12, 23, 8:7, 1 Corinthians 2:14, Jeremiah 17:9-10)
• Regarding Salvation: I believe no ordinance, ritual, good deed, work, or any other activity on the part of man is required or accepted in order to be saved. All mankind remains lost apart from spiritual regeneration. They cannot see or enter the Kingdom of God until they are born again of the Holy Spirit. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. When a person exercises saving faith in Christ, he immediately passes out of spiritual death and into spiritual life with a new heart imparted. Being justified freely by grace, he is accepted and loved before the Father, made one with Christ forever, and receives eternal life as a child of God. (John 1:12–13, 6:37–44, 10:25–30; Acts 16:30–31; Romans 3:20-28, 8:1–17, 31–39, 10:8–10; Ephesians 2:8–10; Titus 3:3–7)
• Regarding the Church: I believe The Church is the universal body of Christ consisting of the host of the regenerate who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. The Church is the bride of Christ, whom He loves and for which He gave Himself. The Church is a key instrument through which God is fulfilling His redemptive purposes throughout the earth. The Church is called to preach the gospel to all nations, love others as Christ loved the Church, and minister to the needs of others through sacrificial giving and practical service as an expression of the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Matthew 28:18-20, Ephesians 5:25-27, 2 Corinthians 11:2, John 13:34-35, 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, Matthew 5:11-16, 43-48, 6:1-4; Acts 2:40-47; Ephesians 4:11–16; Hebrews 10:23–25; 1 Pet. 2:9–10, 4:8-11, 1 John 3:16-18)
• Regarding Satan: I believe that Satan, originally the angel Lucifer, rebelled against God, taking a multitude of angels with him. He was cast out of heaven and is at work with his demonic hosts to establish his counter-kingdom of darkness, evil, and unrest on earth. He is a being of great deception who can exert vast power only so far as God allows him to do so. Satan will ultimately be judged, condemned, and cast forever into the lake of fire, where he will be tormented throughout eternity. (Matthew 25:41; John 8:44, 1 Peter 5:8, 2 Corinthians 4:4, Ephesians 6:10–13; 2 Pet. 2:4-9; Jude 6; Rev. 12:7–9, 20:10, Acts 5:3, 1 Timothy 4:1, 2 Corinthians 11:3, 13-15, Matthew 4:1-11)
• Regarding the Afterlife: I believe in the eternal life of the saved and the eternal punishment of the lost. At death, the spirits of those who are saved will depart to be with Christ, and at the second coming of Christ, their bodies will be raised and transformed into the likeness of His glory. Those who persistently reject Jesus as Lord in this present life shall be raised from the dead, judged for their rebellion against God, and punished throughout eternity in torment and isolation from God. The Lord Jesus is coming again to this earth, personally, bodily, and visibly, to consummate history and the eternal plan of God. (1 John 3:2, 1 Corinthians 15:35-58; Matthew 8:12, Luke 16:19-31, Revelation 20:14-15; Isaiah 65:17, Revelation 21:1-8)

Regarding the Right to Life, Gender, Sexuality, and Marriage

• Regarding the Right to Life: I believe that God created mankind in His image. Therefore, as his image-bearers, we all have transcendent, intrinsic worth. Scripture is clear that life as an image-bearer is established and begins at the point of conception. I believe the unjustified destruction of any human being from conception to natural death is wrong. (Genesis 1:26-27, Psalm 139:13-16, Jeremiah 1:4-5, Luke 1:39-45, Job 31:15, Proverbs 6:16-19, Jeremiah 19:5, Exodus 21:22-24)
• Regarding Gender: I believe that God wonderfully created each person as a male or female. Together, these two distinct, complementary genders reflect the image of God. God’s design is not flawed, and it is not by mistake that we are shaped and function the way we do according to His purposes. Any rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of God’s creative work and design and a rejection of the image of God He created them to be. (Genesis 1:26-27, 2:7, Psalm 139:13-16, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Colossians 1:16, Revelation 4:11)
• Regarding Marriage: I believe the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one genetic man and one genetic woman in a single, exclusive union as outlined in Scripture. Biblical marriage is the only acceptable context for a sexual relationship, as God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married. (Genesis 2:18-25, Matthew 19:4-6, 1 Corinthians 7:2-5, Hebrews 13:4)
• Regarding Sexuality: I believe that sex is a gift from God that is designed to be enjoyed within the bounds of marriage according to Scripture. I believe that any form of sexual immorality (adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, rape, pedophilia, orgies, pornography, etc.) is sinful and offensive to God. Christians who submit to the authority and Lordship of Jesus Christ should acknowledge that our bodies belong to God and we have a responsibility to live according to His moral standards for sexuality as ordained in His Word. (1 Thessalonians 4:3-5, Ephesians 5:3, 1 Corinthians 6:18-20, Matthew 5:27-28, 15:19-20, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, 10:1-13, Galatians 5:16-21, Romans 1:24-32)