Chaurcey Boyd's Christian Creed
This is a Christian Creed I developed for my personal and ministry use.
By Christian creed I mean a statement of beliefs rooted in the Bible that I aim to guide my attitude and actions everyday everywhere in everything.
There are historical church creeds to include what are known as the Apostle's creed and the Nicene Creed.
My Christian Creed share some elements with those creeds but mine represent my personal focus and understanding.
My Christian Creed deals with key biblical concepts to include but not limited to salvation, faith, grace, mercy, praise, worship, obedience, and encouragement.
Introduction and the Father
I believe in one God,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.
For as the first verse of the Bible says:
in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth (Genesis 1:1)
God who presents himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
at various times for various purposes (Matthew 3:16-17; Hebrews 1:8-9).
God who hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son,
whom he hath appointed heir of all things,
by whom also he made the worlds; (Hebrews 1:2)
My belief is rooted in faith in that truth.
And faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God,
not the word of man. (Romans 10:17)
So that I would rather obey God rather than man (Acts 5:29).
So then I must be more of a friend to God than to family, friends, and others.
I believe in the Father.
I believe in the only begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
I believe in the Holy Spirit AKA the Holy Ghost.
The Father, who sent the Son (Romans 8:3).
The Father, who gave the Son (John 3:16).
All because of his great love, grace, and mercy
For each and everyone of us.
The Son
The Son, one with the Father,
came down from heaven,
conceived of the Holy Spirit,
born into human form
of a virgin named Mary,
legally but not biologically
the seed or offspring of a man named Joseph of the house of David,
Mary also probably of the house of David.
All that the scripture be fulfilled,
all according to God's salvation plan.
The Son, lived a perfect sinless qualifying life;
The Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.
He was falsely accused of sin, arrested,
and crucified unto actual physical death
on the cross called Calvary under Pontius Pilate.
He suffered and shed his blood for remission of sins.
All this was done for us and for our salvation.
The Son, the third day resurrected, according to the Scriptures.
He presented himself to over 500 folks over a 40-day period.
Then he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
And so he, the Son, provides an example of our hope; we who are in Christ Jesus;
That though we go to the grave, we too shall be resurrected.
We too shall ascend into heaven for eternal life of joy and peace.
The Son, he will come again with glory
to judge the living and the dead.
His kingdom will never end.
And so it is that I look forward to his return,
and to eternal life in the world to come.
The Holy Spirit and Baptism
The Holy Spirit, the Spirt of Truth, the Comforter;
Sent by both the Father and the Son.
He spoke through the prophets in a major way
as recorded in the Old Testament under the Old Covenant.
He spoke through the apostles in a major way
as recorded in the New Testament under the New Covenant.
Having been baptized with the Holy Spirit, he, the Spirit of Truth, leads and guide us into all truth,
keeping us holy and safe, in our surrendering to him.
I believe water baptism is the easiest one time commandment
that all can and should obey as soon as able.
I believe water baptism is a public outward sign of inner repentance,
rooted in faith in Jesus Christ, a faith demonstrated through laboring to obey
God's commandment in surrender to the Holy Spirit
expressing godly sorrow unto further committment to faith and such laboring.
Of this, both Jesus and the apostles attest to as documented in the Holy Bible
I believe in baptism of the Holy Spirit
in which God gifts believers with various
ministries and capabilities for his own glory and purpose.
I believe this baptism of the Holy Spirit is in addition
to the receipt of the Holy Spirit
as demonstrated by the apostles receiving the Holy Spirit
before the day of Pentecost (John 20:22)
with a baptism taking place on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4).
I do not believe this baptism necessarily involves speaking in tongues.
For tongues are a gift given to some for a specific
occasion and purpose by God then and possibly now.
I believe baptism of the Holy Spirit involves other spiritual gifts
that God gives and people by faith receives as he pleases for his glory and purpose.
For the scriptures say:
Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.
And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. (1 Cor 12:4-7)
The Church
I believe in one holy universal worldwide church that Jesus is building,
the church of the living God, the ground and pillar of the truth,
consisting of believers of all nationalities, races or skin colors, ethnicities, and both genders.
I believe in multiple local and regional expressions of the one univeral church.
I believe that I as a member of God’s church
am to participate in holy convocation within my
household and outside my household on a regular basis,
ideally at least weekly but as often as expedient.
I believe I am to engage in natural work at most six days a week
resting on the seventh day on a regular basis yet recognizing that
occasional exceptions are sometimes appropriate.
For I understand this is good for my spiritual health, mental health,
physical health, and family/household health.
Salvation, Good Works, and Judgement
I believe I am saved by grace through faith into God’s church,
not of myself, not of works, less I should be able to boast.
For salvation is a gift of God through Christ Jesus.
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness for everyone who believes.
That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit.
That we walk by faith and not by sight laboring that we might be accepted of him
For we must all appear before the judgement of Christ;
that every one may receive the things done in his body,
according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
I believe that whatever that judgement entails
I would rather be judged for having done good rather than evil.
So then, I believe as Jesus says, that I, as one of his saved
disciples under the New Covenant, am to do good works
to glorify my Heavenly Father.
This means I am to labor to obey the commandments,
The laws of God under Christ as given in the Holy Bible.
I believe the first great commandment is love for God
I beleive the second great commandment is love for others as I love myself (Matthew 22:34-40)
I believe the Jesus gave the new commandment to love others has he has loved us
thus demonstrating we are his disciples (John 13:34-35).
I believe greater love has no man than this: that a man lay down his life for his friends.
I believe this laying down of life rarely involves death but often involves humility, care, concern, and consideration
a kind of putting others before oneself always exercising wisdom rejecting foolishness.
I believe the Ten Commandments instruct God's people in basic matters of love and character.
For the first five focuses on love for God.
The other five focuses on love for others as we love ourselves.
These are the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17).
I believe these Ten Commandments are part of but not all of what
Jesus speaks of when saying his disciples are to be the
salt of the earth and light of the world having good character
and doing good works (Matthew 5:13-16)
I believe what constitutes good works under the New Covenant
is defined from Genesis to Revelation such that the New
Testament informs and determines my understanding
and application of the Old Testament.
For as the scripture teaches we serve
in the newness of the spirit of the law
not in the oldness of the letter (Rom 7:6; 2 Cor 3:3-7).
Closing
I believe in one God.
I believe in the Father.
I believe in the Son Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
I believe in the Holy Spirit.
As the last verse of the Bible says: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
***End of Order of Service***
