Statement
of Faith for Thomas M. Bier October
12, 2009
I. The
Gospel: I believe
that the Old and New Testaments reveal the focal point of history as the
gospel: the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In Christ
Jesus, God demonstrates his love and grace to the world to reconcile all things
to himself. God gave the world a public demonstration of the extent of his love
and grace through the sinless and authoritative life of His Son, Jesus Christ to
liberate humans from the power of sin and death.
II. Jesus
Christ and the New Covenant:
I believe that Jesus’ resurrection from the dead seals Jesus’ identity as Lord
of all, Son of God and Son of Man, and guarantees the resurrection of the dead
for all who put their faith in Him. As well, the resurrection ushers in a new
age under a new covenant and fulfills the old covenant with Israel. Under the
new covenant, the law given to Israel and all it’s promises are fulfilled by
faith in Jesus Christ. Those who put their faith in the gospel are the church
of Jesus Christ, his body, and are predestined witnesses of the new covenant to
proclaim the good news of God’s grace and love to the world.
III. The
Trinity: I believe
that Jesus is the Word of God seated at the right hand of the Father and
interceding for his Church. The written word, The Bible, reveals the actions of
God in history, his character and truth. The Bible reveals the person of Jesus
Christ as eternal and incarnate. However, without the gift of the Holy Spirit,
often referred to as Christ’s Spirit, given to those who believe, the knowledge
of the truth of the cross of Christ is foolishness. God is revealed as three
persons in one. God, The Holy Spirit, washes and cleanses, regenerates and
gifts people to live by faith and in confidence that nothing can separate them
from them from the love of God in Christ Jesus, to help in prayer and to build
up the body of Christ for mission.
IV. The
Mission of God’s People:
I believe that God continues to intervene in the world and in people’s lives.
The power of God is revealed through asking for His wisdom, the inspiration or
filling of the Holy Spirit and gifts given to God’s people to build up the
Church. The Church is God’s collective grouping around the world and throughout
history to carry the message of the gospel, that is, of Christ’s death, burial
and resurrection. Smaller bodies in localities are not “The Church”, but local
communities of believers gathered for the common purpose of mission and
ministry of “The Church”, Christ’s body, to the world.
V. Personal
Response: I believe
that God has intervened in my life, personally, and my response is both
thankfulness and a devotion to carrying out His purpose for His Church. I am
devoted to proclaiming Jesus as Lord, to discovering the fullness of the truth
of His glory, to helping others to know what that means, and to showing God’s
love to hurting people. From a young age I desired a leadership position in His
Church, and have been given the gift of serving others as a Minister of Word
and Sacrament for twenty years in that ministry position.