Statement of Faith

Introduction…

I grew up in a Christian family and attended church my entire life. However, the basis of my view of Christianity was only that Jesus died on the cross so that I could go to heaven. I never grasped the power or sacrifice that is behind the Gospel and I found my Christian walk was based more on moralism than the actual understanding of the Gospel itself.

At the age of 24, I married my wife and we moved to Pennsylvania. We searched for churches in the surrounding area and came across New Hope Christian Fellowship, where for the first time my ears where opened and I began to take on a deeper understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There isn’t a particular moment that I can point to where it “clicked”. It was more of just a gradual/natural process where I began to more fully understand the power of the cross and the sacrifice of Christ for our sinful race. I was baptized in October of 2011 and have since been trying to live everyday for the Glory of God.

What I believe…

I believe that man is totally depraved in that of himself and he is utterly unable to remedy his lost condition. (Eph. 2:1-12) Looking over my own life it was easy to understand that based on my own righteousness I deserved to be condemned to hell forever. I am sinful by nature and unable to save myself in order to achieve salvation.

I believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose atoning blood was shed on the cross for the forgiveness of sins. (John 1:12) It is only through the grace of God that salvation can be achieved. It is through his mercy that anyone is to be saved. He poured out the wrath that mankind deserved on his Son in order to defeat sin and offer eternal life through his grace alone. An eternal life that I know I do not deserve, which allows me to savor and appreciate his grace even more.

I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men. (John 1:1–2) While reading through the Old Testament and learning about the Sovereignty of God as Yahweh (I am) I began to appreciate God as the omnipresent and omnipotent, supernatural creator that he is.

When I was reading through John 8:58, where Jesus is telling the Pharisees that “before Abraham was, I am”, I started to realize that Jesus was not some “whipping boy” sent from God, but that he was of the same Sovereign God that was discussed as “I am” in the Old Testament. And that he lowered himself into this sinful world in order to defeat sin and defeat death as the “God-man.”

I believe in one God existing eternally in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Matthew 3:16, 17) The doctrine of the Trinity means that there is one God who eternally exists as three distinct Persons (the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). Each Person is fully God and there is only one God.

I believe that both the Old and New Testaments constitute the Divinely Inspired Word of God in the original languages and manuscripts. (2 Timothy 3:16) The Bible is 100% the word of God. There are no errors or disagreements within it and it is ideal for teaching, and leaning about the righteousness of God. It also acts as a manual for the human race in order to help mankind live the way God intended for them to live.

Putting my faith into action…

In March of 2011, my small group at New Hope Christian Fellowship worked through Tim Keller’s book Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters and it has been one of the most eye opening experiences during my Christian walk. I learned that not only is the heart of man an absolute idol factory, but also that I had a number of idols growing rapidly in my own life which were keeping me from getting closer to God.

My job as a new media writer was going great. I was entering my fourth year working for the company, making good money and my popularity as a writer was growing quickly. I was given the opportunity because of my work to be published on larger platforms such as Yahoo!, The Huffington Post, Sports Illustrated and many others. Also, my popularity on twitter was growing significantly as well. I went over 16,000 followers last year and I was getting a real feeling of self worth and happiness the more popular I became. Ultimately, this is where a lot of my satisfaction in life was coming from.

In January of 2012, I received a job offer from a larger company, with a bigger platform, more benefits and more pay. It was the kind of opportunity I would have jumped at a year before in order to continue my road to “fame and success” in the new media/internet industry. However, after beginning to understand the meaning of the Gospel, the satisfaction that takes place in knowing Christ and being able to boast in Christ, and not in my own strengths, I knew it was time to move on. I quickly talked things over with my wife and we came to the conclusion that it was best for me to leave the new media industry and start a new career where I could work with young adults and have a chance to help cultivate and serve others.

I am so thankful to God for showing me my own faults and idols in my life, as I now want to do all I can to help bring Glory to his name in whatever avenue he wants me in.

His humbled servant,

W.H. Carston