Statement of Faith

As a Christian blogger, I feel it is important to be transparent about what I believe. I have studied and know these things to be true and I stand by them. This statement of faith is available for you to make an informed decision about whether this blog’s content works for you. All scripture quotes are from the English Standard Version (ESV) Bible. See Bible Copyright Permissions here.

• I believe that God is the creator of all things, that he is King, and he will reign forever. (Genesis 1-2, Revelation 11:15)

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” – Genesis 1:1

• I believe in the eternal existence of God as three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (John 1:1-5, 14)

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” – John 1:1-5

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” – John 1:14

• I believe that the Bible is the inspired, infallible, authoritative word of God and the resource we should go to for everything. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” – 2 Timothy 3:16-17

• I believe in the deity of Jesus and the redemptive work of his death on the cross, his literal resurrection, and his ascension back into heaven to prepare a home for believers. The only way to heaven is through Jesus. (John 19:30, Matthew 28:5-6, Luke 24, John 14:1-7)

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'” – John 14:6

• I believe that salvation cannot be earned, but results entirely from the grace and mercy of God, who calls us to obedience and personal accountability. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” – Ephesians 2:8-9

• I believe that an initial relationship with Christ is built through trusting faith, which manifests itself in baptism through immersion in water, whereby we contact the saving blood of Christ and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38, Romans 6, 1 Peter 3:21)

“And Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” – Acts 2:38

“Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” – 1 Peter 3:21

• I believe every soul will be resurrected to face divine judgement, resulting in either eternal life or eternal death. (Philippians 2:9-11)

“Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” – Philippians 2:9-11

• I believe in sharing with other Christians in remembrance of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus through the Lord’s Supper every first day of the week. (Matthew 26:24-30, Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 11:23-29)

“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” – 1 Corinthians 11:26

• I believe that Christ is the sole head of the church, and that the Holy Spirit ushered in a new age and the birth of the church at the day of Pentecost. (Matthew 16:18, Acts 2)

[Upon Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God in verse 16] “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” – Matthew 16:18

• I believe women have their role in evangelism and mission work, but only men are permitted to preach or hold leadership roles in church congregations. (1 Timothy 2:12, 3:1-13)

“I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.” – 1 Timothy 2:12

• I believe that as a woman, my job is to teach and encourage other women in their spiritual walks, and my target audience in all my content is women, not men. Men are welcome to read, but this content is directed toward women and teaching children. (Titus 2:3-5)

“Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.” – Titus 2:3-5

If you would like to study further on any of the above topics, feel free to search the blog! If you don’t find what you’re looking for, you can contact me at thecozytreeshop(at)gmail(dot)com and I will do my best to direct you to a good study resource.

Some good sources for further study (note: I can’t say I necessarily endorse every single thing on their sites since that would be impossible to crawl through, but they are overall reputable organizations!):

• World Video Bible School – a great resource for in-depth studies on various topics and questions regarding different facets of Christianity.

• Apologetics Press – a great resource for studying Christian apologetics, the study of evidence defending the credibility of our faith.

God bless,