10.1 - An Augmented Creed for the Era of Cloning and Liberal Pro-Gay Theology
A contemporary Christian statement of faith in light of the sexual liberation and cloning eras should include: (we believe…)
(1) The Bible to be the inspired Word of God, the final authority in all matters of faith and practice.
(2) In one God, Creator of all, Sovereign, Eternal and existing in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
(3) In the deity of Jesus Christ, that Jesus is God’s eternal Son who allowed Himself to be born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, atoned for our sins through His death on the cross, and bodily arose from the dead. He triumphantly ascended into heaven and carries out a mediation ministry on our behalf and one day He will personally return to the earth to establish His glorious Kingdom.
(4) In the deity and personality of the Holy Spirit who convinces people of sin, righteousness and judgment; who regenerates, sanctifies, illuminates and comforts those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
(5) Men and women were created in God’s image but through disobedience have become dead in sin, and remain utterly dependent on the mercy of God. Salvation is ours by the grace of God appropriated through faith in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ for sin. By faith we are forgiven our sins and reborn in the Holy Spirit who enables us to live creative, victorious lives. When our Lord returns, we will all be raised, the just and unjust, and be judged for eternal reward or retribution.
(6) The church is the living body of Jesus Christ and composed of those who have received Him as Lord and Savior.
(7) The church lives to: celebrate the life of God, cultivate personal growth in Christ, care for one another in the Spirit of Christ and communicate the Good News of the Lord Jesus Christ to the world.
(8) In the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
(9) Human life begins at conception (fertilization) and is a gift of God. Human cloning is not a divine gift but is a reflection of man’s desire to become the Creator. All human life, regardless of age and functionality, has God-given intrinsic worth and an inherent right to life. Abortion is only tolerable in the last resort to save the mother’s life.
(10)God has designed humans to be male or female, anatomically matched for heterosexual pair bonding and procreative union. God intends sexual activity to be exclusively preserved for the marital partner and monogamously contained within the marriage covenant. Marriage is meant to be the life-long union of one man and one woman. God hates divorce.
(11)God intends marriage to be the societal foundation for bearing and rearing children. The Biblical family model consists of responsible heterosexual parents, biologically connected to their children.
(12)Homosexuals live in a false reality before God, falling short of God’s intended heterosexual design and purpose for humanity. God does not elect homosexuals to adopt the lifestyle they choose. God’s judgment lies in leaving homosexuals where they want to be and giving them over – heart, body, passions and mind - to this untrue reality.
(13)Homosexuals and heterosexuals will not inherit the Kingdom of God unless they are born again of the Spirit. The Christian witness of ex-gays, ex-lesbians and born again heterosexuals to the saving grace of Jesus Christ is continuing testimony to God’s sovereign authority and His loving plan for our redemption from the wages of contravening His Law.