The Everyday Faith Steps:

• Born-again / Saved
• Water Baptized
• Holy Spirit Activated
• Healed + Set Free
• In Community
• Contributing
• Personal Growth
• Reproducing

Faith Scripture:

II Corinthians 5:7: For we walk by faith, not by sight.

The Apostles' Creed:

I believe in God, the Father almighty,

creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,

Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died and was buried;

He descended into hell;

on the third day He rose again from the dead;

He ascended to heaven,

and is seated at the right hand of God the Father;

From there He will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy church,

The communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins,

The resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.

Amen.

The Apostles' Creed dates back to the 2nd century and was formalized into what we read today around 710AD.

What is a Creed?

A creed is a concise, formal statement of the shared core beliefs of a religious community. The English word comes from the Latin credo, meaning “I believe”. In Christianity, creeds summarize essential doctrines drawn from Scripture. They are used for public confession of faith, baptismal rites, instruction of new believers, liturgy/worship, and as a standard of orthodoxy to distinguish true teaching from error. They are secondary to Scripture. It is a “rule that is ruled” by the Bible rather than an equal authority.

A Creed is a set of beliefs that shapes behavior and identity.

• The Creed answers what it means to be a Christ Follower.
• The Creed informs our communal identity.
• The Creed helps clarify who God is.
• The Creed does not replace Scripture, but it binds the church to Scripture's saving pattern and guards it against distortions.

Why is it important?

To safeguard orthodoxy against early heresies, especially Gnosticism, which denied the goodness of the material creation, the true incarnation, and the physical suffering/death of Christ. Gnosticism is an ancient collection of religious and philosophical movements that taught salvation comes through secret or esoteric spiritual knowledge (gnosis) rather than faith or church authority. Nearly every phrase affirms what Gnostics rejected: God as Creator of heaven and earth, the real birth of Jesus from the Virgin Mary, his suffering under Pontius Pilate, crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection, etc.

Part 1: Credo – "I believe." Set the stage for establishing orthodoxy and Doctrine.

Part 2: Orthodoxy – This establishes the Orthodoxy of the Trinity. Orthodoxy - The word comes from the Greek word orthos, meaning "right" or "straight," and doxa, meaning "belief."

I believe in God, the Father almighty,

creator of Heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,

Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

Part 3: This section of the Apostles' Creed establishes the Doctrine of Jesus and his Finished Work.

Doctrine comes from the Latin word doctrina; A core set of spiritual or theological beliefs taught by a church or faith.

Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died, and was buried;

He descended into hell;

on the third day He rose again from the dead;

He ascended to Heaven,

and is seated at the right hand of God the Father;

God the Son - Jesus Christ:

Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, is the eternal Word made flesh, supernaturally conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary. He is perfect in nature, teaching, and obedience. He is fully God and fully man. He was always with God and is God. Through Him all things came into being and were created. He was before all things, and in Him all things hold together by the Word of His power. He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation, and in Him dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily. He is the only Savior for the sins of the world, and having shed His blood, He died a vicarious death on Calvary's cross for all mankind. By His death in our place, He revealed divine love and upheld divine justice, removing our guilt and reconciling us to God. Having redeemed us from sin, the third day He rose bodily from the grave, victorious over death and the powers of darkness. For a period of 40 days He appeared to more than 500 witnesses, performing many convincing proofs of His resurrection. He ascended into Heaven where, at God’s right hand, He intercedes for His people and rules as Lord over all. He is the Head of His body, the church, and should be adored, loved, served, and obeyed by all. (TWBC Statement of Faith)

Salvation

Salvation, the free gift of God, is provided by grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone, for the glory of God alone. Anyone turning from sin in repentance and looking to Christ and His substitutionary death receives the gift of eternal life and is declared righteous by God as a free gift. The righteousness of Christ is imputed to him. He is justified and fully accepted by God. Through Christ's atonement for sin, an individual is reconciled to God as Father and becomes His child. The believer is forgiven the debt of his sin and, through the miracle of regeneration, liberated from the law of sin and death into freedom of God's Spirit. Salvation is a true encounter with God Himself, and at that moment the believer inherits all the benefits of the Kingdom forever. (TWBC Statement of Faith)

The Gospel

Jesus Christ is the Gospel. The good news is revealed in His birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension. Christ’s crucifixion is the heart of the Gospel, His resurrection is the power of the Gospel, and His ascension is the glory of the Gospel. Christ’s death is a substitutionary and propitiatory sacrifice to God for our sins. It satisfies the demands of God’s holy justice and appeases His holy wrath. It also demonstrates His never-ending love and reveals His amazing grace. We always remember the cross, and because of the cross we can live in the glory of the Father. Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and man. There is no other name by which men are able to be saved. (TWBC Statement of Faith)

Born Again

John 3:3-7

3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’

Born again, 'saved,' born from above: spiritually transformed, renewed.

· An event

· Your spiritual recreation/redemption/righteousness

· When you receive your citizenship in the Kingdom

I Corinthians 7:23

“You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men.”

Born Again starts when you realize you were "bought with a price." It is the beginning! The starting line!

II Corinthians 5:17

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Ephesians 2:8-9

“8For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

What is Grace? - All from Him, all for us. (“God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense" Mark Allen)

How does Grace work in my life? It works in the form of Empowered Obedience.

Salvation

Philippians 2:12-13

9 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 9 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Notice it plainly says, “work out” and not “work for.”

Some things have to be worked out of me, and some things have to be worked into me, even though the price has already been paid for me.

Salvation - (Literal Bible) A Lifestyle

deliverance, preservation, safety, salvation: deliverance from the molestation of enemies, victory Luke 1:71; preservation (of physical life), safety, Acts 27:34; Hebrews 11:7.

In an ethical sense, that which conduces to the soul's safety or salvation:

-A lifestyle…the benefits are not automatic.

-Your rights as a citizen of the Kingdom.

-Sanctification allows you to experience the benefits of salvation.

John 3:16 “16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only [begotten] Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

The English word "believes" is a weak translation of the Greek word pisteuō.

Pisteuō – carries the implication of a soldier committing his life to his king even in the face of death and will lay down his life for him. It is betting your whole life on Him.

Pisteuō moves from a prayer of information to a prayer of transformation.

Pisteuō is faith and belief that changes you into the likeness of Him.

Pisteuō Changes You!

II Corinthians 3:17-18 “17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

Born Again is an EVENT - Salvation is a LIFESTYLE!