My Personal Statement of Faith

I believe there is, has been, and only ever will be one God. God exists in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Each member of the Trinity is fully God, but together they exist as only one God.  God is the Creator of everything that exists, including humanity, the universe, matter, and time.  I believe He is all-powerful, all-knowing, and eternal.  I believe He loves every human being and desires to be in relationship with everyone.  I believe that God is completely good and that there is no evil in Him, and that He is the only thing deserving of worship.

I believe Jesus is God’s only Son. I believe He is uncreated, but instead existing eternally alongside the Father and the Holy Spirit.  I believe the Son, following the wishes of His Father, decided to be Incarnate on Earth, becoming fully man while still being fully God.  I believe He was born a human baby, to a virgin mother through the Holy Spirit, and grew up on Earth and led a ministry where He preached the good news of the Kingdom of God, taught, healed many sick and demon-possessed people, performed many miracles, and gave an example for how we are to live, living a completely sinless life.  I believe He knew He would be killed and brought back to life, but chose that path in order to save humanity and to honor His Father.  I believe He was arrested, tried, crucified until He died, was buried, and resurrected, after which He was seen by many people and then ascended into Heaven.  I believe He is still alive, in Heaven with the Father, and awaiting His second return to Earth.

I believe the Holy Spirit is the third member of the Trinity and fully God. I believe the Holy Spirit is given to every believer, and helps strengthen, teach, and guide them.  I believe that for times in history, the Holy Spirit would indwell in some people temporarily, but that starting at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit lives within Christians permanently.

I believe the Bible, as found in the original manuscripts, is divinely inspired and inerrant in everything it affirms. I believe God guided human authors to write the 66 books of the Bible, and that within them there are no contradictions.  I do not believe God dictated word-for-word what the authors should write down, but that his influence completely permeates what the authors wrote and he used their own unique personalities and backgrounds to fully accomplish what He set out to do in the Bible.  I believe God has protected the Bible since it was first written and kept it from any major errors during its preservation and copying, and that the earliest manuscripts we have now are very close to the original, God-inspired texts.  While I believe the Bible itself is true and inerrant, I believe human interpretation is fallible and open to misunderstanding of the Scripture.  I believe correct interpretation of the Scripture requires an understanding of context, genre, personality of the author, and divine guidance. I do not believe any one translation can claim the inerrancy that the original documents can.  I believe that the Bible is a historical document that makes true claims of actual historical events.  I believe the Bible is meant to be taken seriously and authoritatively and is the most reliable source of divine revelation we have.  All other forms of revelation must be tested by the revelation God has given us through the Bible.  I believe the purpose of the Bible is to instruct and encourage its readers, and to reveal God to them.

I believe that God created the world and everything in it and His primary purpose for that was for His own glory and good pleasure. I believe He created man in His own image, giving humans qualities like His own, such as creativity, compassion, justice, and love.  I believe He is intimately concerned for each individual.  I believe God created human beings very good, but gave them the ability to choose to disobey Him, and man, exercising that choice, chose to reject God’s instructions and sinned.  I believe that first act of disobedience brought sin and death into the world and created a separation between man and God that man cannot bridge alone.  I believe that each person is born inheriting this sinful condition, and that apart from God, each person is filled with selfishness, pride, and evil.  I believe every human is responsible for their own sin, and that that sin separates them from God, because God is Holy.  I believe that apart from God, humans will continue to make sinful choices until they die, and that upon death will be held accountable for their sin.  I believe that no human being, except Christ himself, has ever managed to live a sinless life, and that every person will fall to the temptation of sin at some point in their life.

I believe that every human needs salvation in order to spend eternity with God. Without salvation from their sins, they will spend eternity in Hell.  I believe that God Himself provided the only means for that salvation, and that is through Jesus alone.  I believe no person is capable of saving themselves or attaining salvation through any means other than through Jesus.  I believe Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross paid the debt that sin in our lives created, a debt that must paid if we are to be able to be with God.  I believe His death was necessary for God to be able to forgive our sin.  If we are to attain salvation and accept the gift of forgiveness and eternity in communion with God, we must accept Jesus as our Savior, put our faith in Him, repent of our sins, ask forgiveness, and desire to live our lives for God instead of for ourselves.  Our faith must be in Jesus for our salvation, not in anything or anyone else.  I believe that we are saved only by God’s Grace that He extends to us, and our faith is in response to God’s Grace.  I believe that once a person gives their live to Jesus and is saved, that they are adopted as heirs and children in the family of God.

I believe that Heaven and Hell are real and eternal. I believe Heaven is a place where God will dwell forever, along with the angels and every Christian believer.  It is a place of unending happiness, contentment, and joy, where everything is done in worship to God and for His glory.  I believe Hell is a place of eternal pain and punishment for everyone that does not believe in Christ or receive His forgiveness.  I believe in Hell there will be complete separation from God, and unbelievers will share their torment with the Devil and his fallen angels.  I believe that once you die and are sent to one of these two places, there is nothing that will change your destination.

I believe in the reality of the spiritual world. I believe that God can and does perform miracles that are supernatural.  I believe that human beings have a soul and a spirit.  I believe that there are angels and demons that exist on earth unseen but influence the world around us, angels who do the work of God and demons who try to thwart it.  I believe that God supplies Christians with supernatural power beyond themselves, and that at certain times, in certain situations, will allow Christians to exercise that power to perform miracles, heal, and prophesy.

I believe that the church is God’s family of believers on Earth, and that Jesus is its head. I believe the church is fully capable of error as is every human being, but that God has allowed it to survive and change over time despite its failings.  I believe the church provides a necessary community for the Christian, and that just as God exists in community, whenever possible, the Christian believer should strive to be a part of the community of believers.  I believe the church exists to organize, instruct, encourage, and help believers and non-believers, and that one of its greatest responsibilities it to preach the gospel to all people in order that some may turn from their sin and be saved by Jesus.

I believe in the eternal security of all true believers.  I believe that once God has forgiven your sins, that all sins, past, present, and future will be forgiven, and that nothing can separate you from His love.

I believe that Jesus will return a second time to Earth, and then there will be the Final Judgment, where God will once and for all separate those He has saved from those who rejected His gift of Grace.  I believe the time of His second coming is a mystery and that no one will be able to predict when it will be, but that every believer must remain vigilant and ready for the Lord’s coming.

I believe that God has called Christians to love every person, no matter who the person is or what they have done. With God, there is no prejudice.  I believer that Christians are to strive to be loving, righteous, compassionate, and humble, along with all the fruit of the Spirit.  A Christian is not saved by these things and their salvation does not depend on their personal righteousness, however a Christian should always been striving to be more like God.

I believe that God has given his people certain sacraments. I believe God created marriage to be an example of our relationship with Him, and that marriage is between a man and a woman as God created it to be.  I believe that Christians should be in the habit of joining together and sharing Communion with each other, in remembrance of what Jesus has done for the church.  I believe that a Christian believer should have a public baptism to symbolize their death to sin and rebirth to new life and publically proclaim their allegiance to Christ, but that baptism is not necessary for salvation.

I believe that Christ’s life on earth along with his death and resurrection, brought on a new era on Earth, and that things are fundamentally different than before Christ’s arrival.  Whereas before God’s people were under the Old Covenant and the Law, now believers are under the New Covenant and Grace.  Christians are not required to fulfill the Old Covenant law and their salvation is not through following rules, but by accepting Grace.  I believe that Christians should no longer live under the burden of the Law, but rather experience the freedom of Christ.  This freedom should not be used to sin, however.  It should be used to boldly live a life of righteous in thanks and obedience to God.  Also, the era of “an Eye for an eye” ended with Christ, and under the New Covenant, Christians are called to love their enemies and do good to them.  Violence, hatred, and fear have no place in the Christian life or heart.  Instead, Christians should have special concern for the poor, the oppressed, and the unloved.

I believe that prayer is a way for Christians to communicate with God. I believe that God listens to every prayer, and understands completely the heart of the person that prays.  I believe that God is eager to act on our prayers and has promised that our prayers will not go unanswered.  I believe that prayer is a vital part of the Christian life.

I have completed my list of 100 things that I want to do in my life.  Some of them are simple and trivial, and others are difficult and expensive.  But all of them would be so much fun and I hope I get a chance to do them all.  Here’s the list:

100 Things To Do Before I Die

Do:
Go skydiving
Ride something bigger than a horse
Fly in a helicopter
Go up in a hot air balloon
Sell a photograph I took
Fly an airplane
Watch a shuttle launch
Experience weightlessness
Sleep in an igloo
Read the Bible from cover to cover
Earn a Bachelor’s degree
Watch all 100 AFI movies
See a movie I made in a theater
Take a photo good enough to blow up
Tie a cherry stem in a knot with my tongue
Experience a natural disaster
Donate blood
Run a marathon
Publish a book
Get married
Have a child
Write the story of my life
Start my own business
Go bungee jumping
Train my own dog
Take a cross-state motorcycle ride
Save a life
Lead someone to Christ
Go to an NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB game
Perform at an Open Mic night (stand-up/slam/storytelling)
Build a tree house
Help build a house
Participate in a protest
Carve my name in a tree I planted
Plan an elaborate practical joke
Do a triathlon
Climb a mountain
Build a fire from scratch
Go on a blind date
Street perform and make $100
Shake the hand of a President
Attend the Inauguration of a President
See a hypnotist show
Pack my bags and set off for a random location with no itinerary or plans
Graffiti somewhere outside
Sleep under the stars
Go hang gliding
Beat Super Mario Brothers 2
Do something that a million people see
Play Duck, Duck, Goose with real animals

Learn:
Learn to play piano
Learn several worship songs on the guitar
Do a standing backflip
Memorize the prison epistles
Learn to whistle with my fingers
Learn one amazing magic trick
Learn to scuba dive

Goal:
Be debt free
Accept Jesus as my personal Savior
Keep my virginity until marriage (so far accomplished, but I’m not married yet)
Be in excellent physical shape

Travel:
Backpack across Europe
Snorkel in the Great Barrier Reef
See the Mona Lisa
Visit the Sistine Chapel
Visit the Sydney Opera House
Visit the Acropolis of Athens
Visit every state in the USA
Hike down the Grand Canyon
Gamble in Las Vegas
Visit New York City
Attend a Broadway show on Broadway
Hike part of the Appalachian Trail
See the Northern Lights
Hitchhike
Travel to each continent
Hike in Nepal
Visit Israel
Visit India
Visit South Africa
Visit Ireland
Visit Rio de Janeiro for Carnival
Visit the Pyramids
Visit Stonehenge
Visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa
Visit the Hagia Sophia
Visit the Panama Canal
Visit the Forbidden City
Visit the Amazon River
Drive on the Autobahn
Run with the bulls in Pamplona
Go on an African Safari
Visit all of the modern Wonders of the World (Taj Mahal, Chichen Itza, Christ the Redeemer, Colosseum, Great Wall of China, Machu Picchu, Petra)
Go on a cruise
Get baptized in the Jordan
Travel up the Nile in Egypt
Swim in every ocean
Swim in the Dead Sea
Spend a week at sea
Drive in another country
Visit an active volcano

Also, yesterday my friend Sam and I went and took some picture behind Publix.  He’s had this idea for a picture of a massive brawl for a while, and we decided to try to make it happen.  Here’s what we ended up with.

Hey there Internet.  I saw you sitting over there all by yourself and I thought I’d come over and introduce myself.  My name’s Zach and I like to party.

By the way, so that there’s no confusion, by “party,” I mean shoot and edit videos and do photography.  So, do you want to go out sometime?  Maybe create a WordPress and get our own domain name?

If so, check yes.