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Our Statement
of Faith
1. The
Scriptures
We believe that "All
Scripture is given by God," by which we understand that the
books which form the canon of the Old and New Testaments as
originally given are plenarily inspired and free from all error in
the whole and in the part. These books constitute the written Word
of God, the only infallible rule of faith and practice.
2nd
Timothy 3:15-17
Since you were a child you have known the Holy Scriptures which
are able to make you wise. And that wisdom leads to salvation
through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by God and
is useful for teaching, for showing people what is wrong in
their lives, for correcting faults, and for teaching how to live
right. Using the Scriptures, the person who serves God will be
capable, having all that is needed to do every good work.
1st
Thessalonians 2:13
Also, we always
thank God because when you heard his message from us, you
accepted it as the word of God, not the words of humans. And it
really is God's message which works in you who believe.
2nd Peter 1:21
No prophecy ever
came from what a person wanted to say, but people led by the
Holy Spirit spoke words from God.
2. The Godhead
We believe the one true God has
revealed himself as the eternally self-existent "I AM," the Creator
of heaven and earth and the Redeemer of mankind. He has further
revealed himself as embodying the principles of relationship and
association as the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, as Triune God.
Deuteronomy 6:4
Listen, people of Israel! The LORD
our God is the only LORD.
Isaiah 43:10-11
The LORD says, "You are my witnesses
and the servant I chose. I chose you so you would know and
believe me, so you would understand that I am the true God.
There was no God before me, and there will be no God after me. I
myself am the LORD; I am the only Savior.
Matthew 28:19
So go and make followers of all people in
the world. Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son
and the Holy Spirit.
Luke 3:22
...and the Holy Spirit came down on him in
the form of a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "You
are my Son, whom I love, and I am very pleased with you."
3. The Fall of Man
We believe that man was created in
the image and after the likeness of God, that he fell by a voluntary
revolt, and as a consequence lost his spiritual life and became
subject to the power of Satan. We also believe that his condition of
spiritual death has been transmitted to the entire human race,
Christ Jesus alone being excepted; and hence that every child of
Adam is born into the world with a nature that is inherently
corrupt, and which cannot be spiritually changed by mere information
apart from divine grace.
Genesis 1:26-27
Then God said, "Let us make human
beings in our image and likeness. And let them rule over the
fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the tame animals,
over all the earth, and over all the small crawling animals on
the earth." So God created human beings in his image. In the
image of God he created them. He created them male and female.
Genesis 2:17
"but you must not eat the fruit from
the tree which gives the knowledge of good and evil. If you ever
eat fruit from that tree, you will die!"
Genesis 3:6
The woman saw that the tree was
beautiful, that its fruit was good to eat, and that it would
make her wise. So she took some of its fruit and ate it. She
also gave some of the fruit to her husband, and he ate it.
Romans 5:12-19
Sin was in the world before the law
of Moses, but sin is not counted against us as breaking a
command when there is no law. But from the time of Adam to the
time of Moses, everyone had to die, even those who had not
sinned by breaking a command, as Adam had. Adam was like the One
who was coming in the future. But God's free gift is not like
Adam's sin.
Many people
died because of the sin of that one man. But the grace from God
was much greater; many people received God's gift of life by the
grace of the one man, Jesus Christ. After Adam sinned once, he
was judged guilty. But the gift of God is different. God's free
gift came after many sins, and it makes people right with God.
One man sinned, and so death ruled all people because of that
one man. But now those people who accept God's full grace and
the great gift of being made right with him will surely have
true life and rule through the one man, Jesus Christ.
So as one
sin of Adam brought the punishment of death to all people, one
good act that Christ did makes all people right with God. And
that brings true life for all. One man disobeyed God, and many
became sinners. In the same way, one man obeyed God, and many
will be made right.
4. The Lord Jesus
Christ
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ
is the Son of God, born of a virgin, that He performed miracles,
that He lived a sinless life, that He redeemed us by His death and
resurrection, that He descended into hell, that He ascended to the
right hand of the Father, and that He will personally return in
power and glory.
Matthew 1:21-23
She will give birth to a son, and
you will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from
their sins. "All this happened to bring about what the Lord had
said through the prophet: "The virgin will be pregnant. She will
have a son, and they will name him Immanuel, "which means "God
is with us."
Hebrews 7:26
Jesus is the kind of high priest we
need. He is holy, sinless, pure, not influenced by sinners, and
he is raised above the heavens.
Acts 2:22
"People of
Israel, listen to these words: Jesus from Nazareth was a very
special man. God clearly showed this to you by the miracles,
wonders, and signs he did through Jesus. You all know this,
because it happened right here among you.
1st
Corinthians 15:3
I passed on to you what I received, of
which this was most important: that Christ died for our sins, as
the Scriptures say;
Matthew 28:6
He is not here. He has risen from the
dead as he said he would. Come and see the place where his body
was.
Ephesians 4:9-10
When it says, "He went up," what
does it mean? It means that he first came down to the earth. So
Jesus came down, and he is the same One who went up above all
the sky. Christ did that to fill everything with his presence.
1st
Thessalonians 4:16
The Lord himself will come down from heaven
with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel, and with
the trumpet call of God. And those who have died believing in
Christ will rise first.
5. The Salvation of
Man
We believe that, owing to universal
spiritual death through sin, no one can enter the Kingdom of God
unless born again. We also believe that our redemption has been
accomplished soley by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, who died
as our substitute, and that the new birth comes only through faith
in Christ, and that repentance is a vital part of believing.
Luke 24:47
...and that a change of hearts and lives
and forgiveness of sins would be preached in his name to all
nations, starting at Jerusalem.
John 3:3
Jesus answered,
"I tell you the
truth, unless one is born again, he cannot be in God's kingdom."
Romans 10:13-15
... as the Scripture says, "Anyone
who calls on the Lord will be saved." But before people can ask
the Lord for help, they must believe in him; and before they can
believe in him, they must hear about him; and for them to hear
about the Lord, someone must tell them; and before someone can
go and tell them, that person must be sent. It is written, "How
beautiful is the person who comes to bring good news."
Ephesians 2:8
I mean that you have been saved by
grace through believing. You did not save yourselves; it was a
gift from God.
Titus 2:11
That is the way we should live, because
God's grace that can save everyone has come.
Titus 3:5-7
...he saved us because of his mercy. It
was not because of good deeds we did to be right with him. He
saved us through the washing that made us new people through the
Holy Spirit. God poured out richly upon us that Holy Spirit
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Being made right with God by
his grace, we could have the hope of receiving the life that
never ends.
6. The Baptism in
the Holy Spirit
We believe that all believers are
entitled to and should expect and earnestly seek the promise of the
Father — the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, according to the command of
our Lord Jesus Christ. This was the normal experience of all in the
early Christian church. With it comes the enduement of power for
life and service, the bestowment of the gifts and their uses in the
work of the ministry. The baptism of believers in the Holy Ghost is
witnessed by the initial physical sign of speaking with other
tongues as the Spirit of God gives them utterance.
Acts 1:4-5
Once when he was eating with them, he
told them not to leave Jerusalem. He said, "Wait here to receive
the promise from the Father which I told you about. John
baptized people with water, but in a few days you will be
baptized with the Holy Spirit."
John 20:22
After he said
this, he breathed on them and said,
"Receive the Holy Spirit."
Luke 24:49
"I will send you what my Father has
promised, but you must stay in Jerusalem until you have received
that power from heaven."
Acts 1:4-8
Once when he was eating with them, he told them not to leave
Jerusalem. He said, "Wait here to receive
the promise from the Father which I told you about. John
baptized people with water, but in a few days you will be
baptized with the Holy Spirit."
When the apostles were all together, they asked Jesus, "Lord,
are you now going to give the kingdom back to Israel?" Jesus
said to them, "The Father is the only One
who has the authority to decide dates and times. These things
are not for you to know. But when the Holy Spirit comes to you,
you will receive power. You will be my witnesses -- in
Jerusalem, in all of Judea, in Samaria, and in every part of the
world."
1st
Corinthians 12:1-31
Now, brothers and sisters, I want you to
understand about spiritual gifts. You know the way you lived
before you were believers. You let yourselves be influenced and
led away to worship idols -- things that could not speak. So I
want you to understand that no one who is speaking with the help
of God's Spirit says, "Jesus be cursed." And no one can say,
"Jesus is Lord," without the help of the Holy Spirit. There are
different kinds of gifts, but they are all from the same Spirit.
There are different ways to serve but the same Lord to serve.
And there are different ways that God works through people but
the same God. God works in all of us in everything we do.
Something from the Spirit can be seen in each person, for the
common good.
The Spirit
gives one person the ability to speak with wisdom, and the same
Spirit gives another the ability to speak with knowledge. The
same Spirit gives faith to one person. And, to another, that one
Spirit gives gifts of healing. The Spirit gives to another
person the power to do miracles, to another the ability to
prophesy. And he gives to another the ability to know the
difference between good and evil spirits. The Spirit gives one
person the ability to speak in different kinds of languages and
to another the ability to interpret those languages. One Spirit,
the same Spirit, does all these things, and the Spirit decides
what to give each person.
A person's
body is only one thing, but it has many parts. Though there are
many parts to a body, all those parts make only one body. Christ
is like that also. Some of us are Jews, and some are Greeks.
Some of us are slaves, and some are free. But we were all
baptized into one body through one Spirit. And we were all made
to share in the one Spirit.
The human
body has many parts. The foot might say, "Because I am not a
hand, I am not part of the body." But saying this would not stop
the foot from being a part of the body. The ear might say,
"Because I am not an eye, I am not part of the body." But saying
this would not stop the ear from being a part of the body. If
the whole body were an eye, it would not be able to hear. If the
whole body were an ear, it would not be able to smell. If each
part of the body were the same part, there would be no body. But
truly God put all the parts, each one of them, in the body as he
wanted them. So then there are many parts, but only one body.
The eye
cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot
say to the foot, "I don't need you!" No! Those parts of the body
that seem to be the weaker are really necessary. And the parts
of the body we think are less deserving are the parts to which
we give the most honor. We give special respect to the parts we
want to hide. The more respectable parts of our body need no
special care. But God put the body together and gave more honor
to the parts that need it so our body would not be divided. God
wanted the different parts to care the same for each other. If
one part of the body suffers, all the other parts suffer with
it. Or if one part of our body is honored, all the other parts
share its honor.
Together
you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of
that body. In the church God has given a place first to
apostles, second to prophets, and third to teachers. Then God
has given a place to those who do miracles, those who have gifts
of healing, those who can help others, those who are able to
govern, and those who can speak in different languages. Not all
are apostles. Not all are prophets. Not all are teachers. Not
all do miracles. Not all have gifts of healing. Not all speak in
different languages. Not all interpret those languages. But you
should truly want to have the greater gifts.
Acts 2:4
They were all filled with the Holy Spirit,
and they began to speak different languages by the power the
Holy Spirit was giving them.
7. Divine Healing
We believe that deliverance from
sickness is provided for in the propitiatory work of Jesus Christ,
and that divine healing is the will of God for all believers.
Isaiah 53:4-5
But he took our suffering on him and
felt our pain for us. We saw his suffering and thought God was
punishing him. But he was wounded for the wrong we did; he was
crushed for the evil we did. The punishment, which made us well,
was given to him, and we are healed because of his wounds.
Matthew 8:16
That evening people brought to Jesus
many who had demons. Jesus spoke and the demons left them, and
he healed all the sick.
James 5:14-16
Anyone who is sick should call the
church's elders. They should pray for and pour oil on the person
in the name of the Lord. And the prayer that is said with faith
will make the sick person well; the Lord will heal that person.
And if the person has sinned, the sins will be forgiven. Confess
your sins to each other and pray for each other so God can heal
you. When a believing person prays, great things happen.
1st
Peter 2:24
Christ carried our sins in his body on the
cross so we would stop living for sin and start living for what
is right. And you are healed because of his wounds.
8. The Church
We believe the church, which is the
body of Christ, is called to the worship and service of God, the
observance of the sacraments or ordinances of water baptism and the
Lord’s Supper, and the practice of good works. The primary task of
the church in all ages is to teach all nations and to make
disciples, bring the Gospel to bear on every aspect of life and
thought.
Ephesians 1:23
. . . which is Christ's body. The
church is filled with Christ, and Christ fills everything in
every way.
John 4:23
The time is
coming when the true worshipers will worship the Father in
spirit and truth, and that time is here already. You see, the
Father too is actively seeking such people to worship him.
Colossians 3:24
Remember that you will receive your
reward from the Lord, which he promised to his people. You are
serving the Lord Christ.
Matthew 28:19-20
So go
and make followers of all people in the world. Baptize them in
the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach
them to obey everything that I have taught you, and I will be
with you always, even until the end of this age."
1st
Corinthians 11:26
Every time you eat
this bread and drink this cup you are telling others about the
Lord's death until he comes.
James 2:14-21
My brothers and sisters, if people
say they have faith, but do nothing, their faith is worth
nothing. Can faith like that save them? A brother or sister in
Christ might need clothes or food. If you say to that person,
"God be with you! I hope you stay warm and get plenty to eat,"
but you do not give what that person needs, your words are worth
nothing. In the same way, faith that is alone -- that does
nothing -- is dead.
Someone might say, "You have faith, but I
have deeds." Show me your faith without doing anything, and I
will show you my faith by what I do. You believe there is one
God. Good! But the demons believe that, too, and they tremble
with fear. You foolish person! Must you be shown that faith that
does nothing is worth nothing? Abraham, our ancestor, was made
right with God by what he did when he offered his son Isaac on
the altar.
9. The Consummation
We believe the consummation of all
things includes the visible, personal and glorious return of Jesus
Christ, the resurrection of the dead, the translation of those alive
in Christ, the judgment of the just and the unjust, and the
fulfillment of Christ’s kingdom in the new heavens and the new
earth. Satan with his hosts and all mankind outside Christ are
finally separated from the presence of God, enduring eternal
punishment. All who have been redeemed by Christ from the kingdom of
darkness to the kingdom of light will be in the presence of God
forever, giving Him unending praise and glory.
Matthew 24:27-30
When
the Son of Man comes, he will be seen by everyone, like
lightning flashing from the east to the west. Wherever the dead
body is, there the vultures will gather.
"Soon after
the trouble of those days, 'the sun will grow dark, and the moon
will not give its light. The stars will fall from the sky. And
the powers of the heavens will be shaken.'
"At that
time, the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. Then
all the peoples of the world will cry. They will see the Son of
Man coming on clouds in the sky with great power and glory.
1st
Corinthians 15:50-57
I tell you this, brothers and sisters:
Flesh and blood cannot have a part in the kingdom of God.
Something that will ruin cannot have a part in something that
never ruins. But look! I tell you this secret: We will not all
sleep in death, but we will all be changed. It will take only a
second -- as quickly as an eye blinks -- when the last trumpet
sounds. The trumpet will sound, and those who have died will be
raised to live forever, and we will all be changed. This body
that can be destroyed must clothe itself with something that can
never be destroyed. And this body that dies must clothe itself
with something that can never die. So this body that can be
destroyed will clothe itself with that which can never be
destroyed, and this body that dies will clothe itself with that
which can never die. When this happens, this Scripture will be
made true: "Death is destroyed forever in victory."
"Death,
where is your victory? Death, where is your pain?" Death's power
to hurt is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But we thank
God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1st
Thessalonians 4:16-17
The Lord himself will
come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the
archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. And those who have
died believing in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are
still alive will be gathered up with them in the clouds to meet
the Lord in the air. And we will be with the Lord forever.
Revelation 14:10-12
that one also will drink the
wine of God's anger, which is prepared with all its strength in
the cup of his anger. And that person will be put in pain with
burning sulfur before the holy angels and the Lamb. And the
smoke from their burning pain will rise forever and ever. There
will be no rest, day or night, for those who worship the beast
and his idol or who get the mark of his name." This means God's
holy people must be patient. They must obey God's commands and
keep their faith in Jesus.
Revelation 20:11-15
Then I saw a great white throne
and the One who was sitting on it. Earth and sky ran away from
him and disappeared. And I saw the dead, great and small,
standing before the throne. Then books were opened, and the book
of life was opened. The dead were judged by what they had done,
which was written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who
were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in
them. Each person was judged by what he had done. And Death and
Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the
second death. And anyone whose name was not found written in the
book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
Revelation 19:20
But the beast was captured and with
him the false prophet who did the miracles for the beast. The
false prophet had used these miracles to trick those who had the
mark of the beast and worshipped his idol. The false prophet and
the beast were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns
with sulfur.
Revelation 3:11-13
"I am coming soon. Continue
strong in your faith so no one will take away your crown. I will
make those who win the victory pillars in the temple of my God,
and they will never have to leave it. I will write on them the
name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new
Jerusalem, that comes down out of heaven from my God. I will
also write on them my new name. Everyone who has ears should
listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.
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