What We Believe …

This is a brief summary of what the editor and founder of Heart of Flesh Literary Journal believes. We find these tenets to be essential to the Christian faith, and therefore they shape the mission and foundation upon which Heart of Flesh is built.

It is not required to share these beliefs in order to have your creative work accepted by Heart of Flesh, nor is this an exhaustive list of all our beliefs, this is merely a statement of faith for the journal (for inquiring minds) to prevent confusion as to what our editor considers the basic tenets of Christianity and the Christian faith. We believe definitions are important when discussing important terms, such as “Christianity,” and so we consider this our summarization of beliefs that define what we mean by the Christian faith.

Image: Tetelestai by Jeff Johnson, Issue 10

  • We believe in one God, who has revealed Himself in three distinct Persons — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is the maker of heaven and earth, of all things seen and unseen (Col 1:16).
  • We believe in the deity of Jesus Christ, who is God incarnate, the only begotten Son of God, and one in being with the Father; through Him all things were made (Jn 10:30).
  • For us and for our salvation, we believe Jesus came down from heaven, and by the power of the Holy Spirit was conceived of the virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake, He was crucified under Pontius Pilate. He suffered, died, and was buried, and rose again on the third day in fulfillment of the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father as our High Priest (Heb 5:9-10) and Advocate (Rm 8:34). He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and His kingdom will have no end.
  • We believe in the deity of the Holy Spirit, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, and who has spoken through the prophets. We believe He regenerates sinners (Titus 3:5) and indwells believers (Rm 8:9), and is the agent by whom Christ baptizes believers into His Body (1 Cor 12:13).
  • We believe all humans are uniquely made in the image and likeness of God (Gn 1:26), but because of sin and our sinful nature we all fall short of the glory of God (Rm 3:23) and are unable to remedy our fallen state on our own.
  • We believe that salvation is a gift of God’s grace alone, through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross, and is not earned by good works (Eph 2:8-9). We believe Christ died in our place and bore our sins in His own Body, and by rising from the dead demonstrated victory over sin and death (1 Peter 2:24).
  • We believe that the Bible, in its original manuscripts, is the Holy Spirit-inspired and inerrant Word of God (2 Tim 3:16-17).

*This list is adapted from the Nicene Creed and other statements of faith.