Statement of Faith

Stand to Reason represents classical Christianity—orthodox Christian beliefs that have been affirmed since the first Christians.

1. The Bible, consisting of all the books of the Old and New Testament, is the Word of God, a supernaturally given revelation from God Himself, concerning Himself, His being, nature, character, will and purposes; and concerning man, his nature, need and duty and destiny. The Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are without error or misstatement in their moral and spiritual teaching and record of historical facts. They are without error or defect of any kind in the autographs. (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21)
2. There is one God, eternally existing and manifesting Himself to us in three Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Isaiah 44:6-8; 45:5; Genesis 1:26-27; 3:22; Matthew 28:19; Luke 9:35; 2 Corinthians 13:14)
3. Our Lord Jesus was supernaturally conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin, Mary, a lineal descendant of David. (Luke 1:26-37) He lived and taught and performed mighty works, wonders and signs exactly as recorded in the New Testament. He was put to death by crucifixion under Pontius Pilate. (Luke 23) God raised from the dead the body that had been nailed to the cross. The Lord Jesus, after His crucifixion, showed Himself to be alive to His disciples, appearing to them in the space of forty days. After this the Lord Jesus ascended into heaven, and the Father made Him to be head over all things, including the Church. (Luke 24; John 2:19; 1 Corinthians 15)
4. The Lord Jesus, before His incarnation, existed in the exact form of God, and of His own choice, laid aside His divine glory and took upon Himself the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men. He is a divine person possessed of all the attributes of deity and should be worshipped as God by angels and men. (John 1:1; Philippians 2:5-11) “In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” (Colossians 2:9)
5. By His death on the cross, the Lord Jesus made a perfect atonement for sin, by which the wrath of God against sinners is appeased and a ground furnished upon which God can deal in mercy with sinners. He redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse in our place. He Who Himself was absolutely without sin had our sin counted to Him that we might have His righteousness, the righteousness of God, counted to us. (1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 2:2; 3:4, Isaiah 53:4-6; 2 Corinthians 5:21; John 19:30)
6. The Lord Jesus is coming again to this earth, personally, bodily, and visibly. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Hebrews 9:28; Revelation 1:7)
7. The Holy Spirit is a person distinct from the Father and the Son, and possesses all of the divine attributes. He is God. (Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 3:16-18)
8. Man was created in the image of God, after his likeness, and therefore has transcendent, intrinsic worth. (Genesis 1:27) The unjustified destruction of any human being from conception to natural death (e.g., through abortion, embryonic stem cell research, cloning, doctor-assisted suicide, etc.) is wrong. (Exodus 21:22)
9. The whole human race fell in the fall of the first Adam. All men, apart from spiritual regeneration, are lost, darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, hardened in heart, morally and spiritually dead through their trespasses and sins. They cannot see nor enter the Kingdom of God until they are born again of the Holy Spirit. (John 6:28-29; 8:44; 15:5; Philippians 1:29; Romans 3:10-12; 8:7; John 1:13; 1 Corinthians 2:14; Ephesians 2:8-9)
10. Men are justified on the simple and single ground of the shed blood of Christ and upon the simple and single condition of faith in Him Who shed His blood, and are born again by the quickening, renewing, cleansing work of the Holy Spirit, through the instrumentality of the Word of God. These alone become children of God and receive eternal life. At death their spirits depart to be with Christ in conscious blessedness, and at the second coming of Christ their bodies shall be raised, transformed into the likeness of the body of His glory. (John 3:16; Romans 3:20-28; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 4:1-6; Galatians 2:21)
11. All those who persistently reject Jesus Christ in this present life shall be raised from the dead, judged according to their deeds, and punished for their moral crimes and rebellion against God. Throughout eternity they will exist in a state of conscious isolation from God, in endless torment and anguish. (Matthew 8:12; Luke 16:19-31; Revelation 20:14-15; 21:8)
12. The Church consists of the host of the regenerate, wherever they may be found. It is the body and bride of Christ, which Christ loves and for which He has given Himself. (Ephesians 5:25-27; Revelation 21:2; 2 Corinthians 11:2)
13. There is a personal devil, a being of great cunning who can exert vast power only so far as God allows him to do so. He shall ultimately be judged and condemned, tormented day and night forever. (2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6; Matthew 25:41)
14. We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life and to perform good works that are the necessary evidence of their genuine faith in Christ. Persistent, egregious sin (e.g., lying, stealing, witchcraft, active practice of sexual sin, including fornication, adultery, and homosexuality) is inconsistent with biblical teaching. (Exodus 20; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 5:3-6; Romans 1:18-32)
15. Biblical marriage consists only of a faithful, heterosexual union between one genetic male and one genetic female, and biblical marriage is the only legitimate and acceptable context for a sexual relationship. (Genesis 2:22-24; Matthew 19:4-6; Hebrews 13:4-7)