Statement of Beliefs
There’s a lot happening in this chapter. Jesus sends out the twelve, Herod gets confused, the five thousand are fed, Peter correctly responses to the question “Who do you say that I am?”, Jesus predicts His death, the Transfiguration, the healing of the demon-possessed boy, Jesus predicts his death again, the disciple’s learn about being the greatest, minister’s outside the inner twelve, the opposition of a Samaritan village and the cost of following Jesus. *Breathe*
Well, to me one thing that has always stood out in this chapter was Jesus asking his disciples the famous question, “Who do people say that I am?” (Luke 9:18) Why do you think He said that? Do you think He was only asking to get Peter to correctly answer the question? If so, was He asking for Peter’s benefit or for the twelve? Those are tough questions and I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know the answer to all those questions. And after thinking about it, I’m not going to provide those answers in this text. What I will do, however, is tell you that it’s important to write down your person statement of beliefs. A personal creed, if you will.
A statement of beliefs is important to have since it should be a written list of the core beliefs of your faith. The apostles saw the importance of such a document and hence came up with the Apostle’s Creed. The statements you write down shouldn’t be just what your church has written on their national website or what’s copied down from the back of a bulletin unless you really and truly believe it. After you write them down you should then critically evaluate the statements made in light of scripture. Does anything written contradict what’s said in the Bible? Is anything written based on something a preacher said on TV or in the pulpit without proving it’s truthfulness from the Bible? A critical mind is, well, critical to the process.
Here are some of my beliefs. I believe in the deity of Jesus Christ; in His virgin birth; in His sinless life; in His miracles; in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood; in His ascension to the right hand of the Father; and in His personal return in power and glory. I believe that the Bible is the only inspired, infallible and authoritative Word of God. I believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
I believe that baptism in water by immersion is a direct commandment of our Lord for believer’s identification with Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. Although water baptism is not essential for salvation, it is a powerful demonstration of a living faith. I believe that salvation is not by good works, but by God’s grace through faith alone, in the perfect and sufficient work of Christ on the cross, by which we obtain right standing with God, forgiveness of sins and eternal life.
See, that’s not so hard. By writing down what you truly believe you can “always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.” (1 Peter 3:15)
So, who do you say the He is?
