Beliefs
What do you believe? That's a great question and it's a fair one! It's good to know who you're studying with, isn't it?
What does Ben believe?
I believe the following...
- The Bible is God's holy inspired word that was divinely revealed to mankind through His prophets! It is to be the source for all Christian beliefs and teachings (See 2 Timothy 3:16,17; 2 Peter 1:19-21).
- Mankind is sinful and fallen. We are lost without God's help. All of us have sinned (Romans 3:23). Only Jesus can save us.
- I believe in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
- I believe in the communion service (Lord's supper) and in Christian fellowship.
- I believe in baptism.
- I believe that we should cultivate a relationship with God by personal daily prayer and Bible study.
- Jesus Christ is the divine son of God, both God and man, who came into this world to save sinners from their sins (John 1:1-3, 14; Matthew 1:21). God loves all people and sent Jesus to save us (John 3:16).
- Jesus paid fully the price for all our sins by dying on the cross of Calvary and He offers us eternal life freely through His blood (Romans 6:23).
- We are saved by grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ. Salvation is NOT by our works. Nobody can earn salvation (Ephesians 2:8,9).
- God/Jesus wants us to keep His commandments because we love Him. He desires for us to and empowers us by His grace to become more like Him each day by learning to live righteously as He did (See Titus 2:11-14; Matthew 1:21; 5:19; John 14:15).
- Jesus was resurrected on the Sunday morning after His crucifixion and now He is in Heaven today ministering for us (Matthew 28; Hebrews 4:14-16; 8:1,2)
- Jesus Christ is coming again to gather His people from this old earth (John 14:1-3). He will make a new heavens and a new earth and will do away with sin and suffering forever (Rev. 21:1-4).
What church are you with? Or what is this about?
- Hope for This Hour is a mission program designed to bring people closer to Jesus through a study of God's word, especially the prophecies! The point of our lessons is not about a particular church, but about Christ and His word! I believe that God has sincere people in many churches (though we could probably agree that not every church has it all right). As Christians it is our duty to be like the Barean people (Acts 17:11) who heard with a fair mind, then searched and studied God's word to get all the answers for their lives. In the end, we should be better Bible students and better Christians!
- I like to encourage an environment of studying together in an open and friendly atmosphere where people from all faiths are welcome. We should simply agree that the Bible is to be our textbook and Jesus, the Divine Son of God, is to be uplifted at the center. We should all be free to make up our minds about what the Bible says and to follow what Jesus Christ personally convicts us of by His Spirit.