Much of what I believe can be found in the day-to-day posts of the blog, however I will quickly run through a number of the basic beliefs that are the foundation everything on Ancient Abandon.  This is not a conclusive list, it is a brief overview.  If anything is unclear or you have further questions, feel free to send me your questions and I will be sure to answer them to the best of my ability.

In this Section:

• Statement of Faith

• Regarding the Heart of Man

• Regarding Those who Can/Will Be Saved (Election)

Statement of Faith

I believe in One God who eternally exists as three distinct persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit. Man was created in the image and likeness of God with the purpose of stewarding God’s creation and having a close relationship with Him. However through Man’s sin we are separated from God, suffering physical and spiritual death, and condemned to Hell. Nothing we can do can rectify this so God came into human history as the man, Jesus Christ because He loves us.

I believe that Jesus came to earth to dwell with us. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, lived life as both fully human and fully God. He set aside his divinity and was tempted in every way we are but was without sin. His sinlessness allowed Him to be the propitiation for our sins. He was rejected by many of the people He came to save, was crucified, died, and was buried. On the third day he rose from the dead (resurrection). He interacted with hundreds of people before ascending alive into Heaven. He will come again, in the same way He left, in power and glory.

Jesus, alone, is the only way to be reunited with God and His sacrifice saves us from spiritual death and Hell. In the end we will all be resurrected from death as Jesus was and we will stand before Him for judgment.

Regarding the Heart of Man

I believe that the heart of man is place of spiritual struggle. We are all born sinful, fallen from where we were meant to be and our natural proclivity is to seek our own individual good. However, I also believe that the majority of people desire good, not only for themselves, but also for those around them. We are all made in the likeness of God who has blessed us with a conscious that guides the moral understanding of all people, whether we accept and believe the Gospel or not.

Regarding Those Who Can/Will Be Saved (Election)

I believe that those who can/will be saved are those whose faith has been placed in the atoning death and resurrection of Jesus.  That being said, I believe in BOTH conditional and unconditional election.  Conditional election (that man must make a decision to follow and serve Jesus [i.e. free will]) as well as unconditional election (that God alone chooses to save and draw certain individuals to Himself [predestination]), are both biblical concepts and are not mutually exclusive.  For more on this read Election and the Mystery of the Nazirite Vow on my old blog.

More to come!