Statement Of My Faith

A. The Scriptures.

I believe in the full and complete verbal inspiration of the Scriptures, both of the Old and New Testaments. By this I understand that the Holy Spirit not only inspired the thoughts of the writers, but also formulated the very word structure into which the thoughts were cast with the result that the original documents were inerrant as to fact and infallible as to truth (I Corinthians 2:13, II Timothy 3:16-17, II Peter 1:20-21).

B. The Godhead.

I believe in the Holy Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I believe that the Godhead is eternal in being, identical in nature, equal in power and glory. (Deuteronomy 6:4, II Corinthians 13:14).

C. Man's Creation and Fall.

I believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God but through Adam's sin became alienated from God, acquired a sin nature, and came under the judicial sentence of death (Genesis 1:25-27, Romans 3:22-23, Ephesians 2-12).

D. The Person and Work of Jesus Christ.

I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man. I also believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the Cross as a propitiatory and substitutionary sacrifice, and that our redemption is made sure to us by His resurrection from the dead in the identical, though glorified body in which He was crucified (John 1:1-2, Luke 1:35, Romans 3:24-25, I Peter 1:3-5). 

I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is now in Heaven exalted at the right hand of God, where as High Priest for His people, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor and Advocate (Hebrews 9:24, 7:25; Romans 8:34; I John 2:1-2). 

I strongly lean towards a belief in the pre-tribulation, pre-millenial return of our Lord Jesus Christ for all true believers and in His Kingdom reign upon the earth. I say strongly lean because as I continue my studies I will admit that I am open to looking at all the evidence for all sides of eschatology, and I could still be convinced otherwise if the evidence is irrefutable. (Revelations 3:10; 1Thessalonians 4:13-18; Zechariah 14:4-11).

However, I also believe that my salvation does not depend upon what my belief of how the end times will come about, and Christ said only His Father (God) knows the time. (Matthew 24:26).

E. The Holy Spirit.

I believe that the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead, in the present age indwells all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, baptizes them into the Body of Christ and seals them into the day of redemption, and I believe that every believer is commanded of God to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9; I Corinthians 12:12-14; Ephesians 1:13-14, 5:14-20). 

I believe that the true outward manifestation of the Spirit in the believer's life is through his walk and witness (Romans 8:14; Galatians 5:22-26; Acts 1:8).

I believe that the Gifts of the Spirit are irrevocable. God has not changed His mind concerning spiritual gifts. I do think that there are many who claim to have certain gifts that they do not have and thus they are tempting God with their charade. That being said I think it is a matter that we can debate but not divide over. (Romans 11:29; 1Timothy 4:14)

I also do not believe that speaking in tongues is a sign of being filled with the Holy Spirit, and that more Christians should be asking and praying for the gift of prophecy (ability to teach) and discernment instead of tongues (1Corinthians ch 12). 

F. Salvation.

I believe that salvation is the gift of God offered to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and that this faith is manifested in works pleasing to God (Ephesians 2:18-20; Titus 2:11-14). 

I believe that all true believers once saved shall be kept saved forever (Romans 8:1, 38-39; John 10:27-30; I Corinthians 1:4-8).

G. Baptism.

I believe that baptism is an outward sign of ones conversion and faith, and while I am not saved because I was baptized, Christ did command his followers to baptize believers in the name of the Father, the Son, and the holy Spirit. (luke 23:39-43; Matthew 28:18-20)

So if you claim to be a follower of Christ, then you will want the world to know it, and like Christ was, you too will want to be baptized. (Matthew 13:13-17; John 14:15; John 13:15).

H. The Church (Body of Christ)

I believe that the church (Body of Christ) is a spiritual organism made of all born-again persons in this age, irrespective of their affiliation with Christian organizations (Ephesians 1:22-23, 5:25-27; I Corinthians 12:12-14). 

Two ordinances have been committed to the local church - baptism and the Lord's Supper (Communion). Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water into the name of the triune God. The Lord's Supper was instituted by Christ for commemoration of His atoning death. These two ordinances are to be observed until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:16-20; Luke 22:19-20; Acts 2:41, 10:47-48; I Corinthians 11:23-29).

I. Evil.

Evil is anything that falls short of the perfection of The perfect GOD.

 

I. Who Created Evil.

I believe evil is a by product of freewill. When any entity, other than the perfect ever-loving GOD, has a choice between good and evil there is a chance that evil could be chosen. Like darkness is created when anything blocks the light, so too can evil happen when one turns from the light by leaning upon their own understanding. I admit that this is of my own belief, and do not claim, all must agree. It is a matter for discussion and not for argument. Yet, when one looks at all the facts, I believe one will come to the name conclusion as I have. Here is a commentary I wrote explaining why I believe this, ( Who Created Evil? ).

J. Satan.

I believe that Satan is a person, the first to rebel, and the enemy of God and man (Isaiah 14:12-15; John 8:44; II Corinthians 4:4; I Peter 5:8; Revelation 12:10). 

I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ triumphed over Satan at the Cross. Satan is destined to eternal punishment in the lake of fire and brimstone (Colossians 2:15: I John 3:8; Revelation 12:11, 20:10). 

K. The Final State.

I believe that the condition and retribution of the lost and the salvation and blessedness of the saved are conscious and everlasting (Mark 9:43-48; Revelation 20:14, 22:3-5 & 11).

A Life Changing Road trip

(My wife in 2005)
I wrote the account of the accident for my fb page in 2014 
by Chuck Ness

27 years ago, almost to the exact second, on October 26, 1987, mine and my wife's life changed forever. Well considering how so many have have either unfriended me, or ignore the things I post, I thought I would still offer the following, which is an account I wrote about that, "Life Changing Road Trip".

Many have asked about the circumstances that led to my wife becoming a T-6 paraplegic. The short version we usually give is that we were passengers in the back seat of a car that plunged 30 to 50 ft down an embankment of a small country road in Montana. That is the short to the point answer we usually give to anyone we don't know all that well. A few years ago I decided to write a more in depth account of the accident, so what follows is the account of the day our lives changed forever.

A Train Ride From My Past

A reflection On My Past

I first wrote this account in 2010 when I was still writing for the Chico
Enterprise Record. I did edit some of it to reflect more accurately the years
since the events took place, but otherwise it is as I originally wrote it.

Chuck Ness

Have you ever wondered how people get from point A to point B? I don't mean in a physical mileage way, but rather an emotional, phycological, and spiritual way. We all take in our surroundings and make decisions based upon the way we see things happening, and the way we feel. Then we get to a certain point in our life when we take an inventory of how we are doing. Sometimes we're relatively satisfied, other times we're disappointed, but do we ever really reflect upon the decisions we made that ultimately got us to point B?