OUR BELIEFS
ABOUT GOD
We believe in one God. He is eternal, infinite, perfect, and the creator of all things. He manifested in three persons as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is referred to as the trinity. We are also created as a trinity, in His image, possessing a body, a soul and a spirit. (John 1:1-3; Isaiah 44:6-8; Matt. 28:19; Mark 12:29; Duet. 6:4; Isaiah 43:10).
God the Father has always been in Heaven, but he is everywhere all at once (omnipresent).
God the Son walked on the Earth and was fully God and fully man.
God the Holy Spirit embodied Jesus when we walked on the Earth. After Jesus was crucified, and raised from the dead, the Holy Spirit was left here on the Earth as a helper and comforter to all those who receive Jesus into their hearts.
We believe that the one true God is the God of the Jews, Yahweh. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
“This is the message that we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light, in him there is no darkness at all.” John 1:5
"We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him" (1 John 4:16).
ABOUT JESUS
1. Jesus Christ was God manifested in the flesh, truly God and truly man, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born to the virgin Mary. (Matthew 1:18, Luke 1:34, Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 9:6).
2. Jesus NEVER sinned in His lifetime (Hebrews 4:13, 7:26).
3. Jesus was sent here by God to become SIN for us (2 Corinthians 5:21).
4. Jesus cast out demons and healed the sick. He loved those that society rejected. Because of the miracles he performed and the fame that spread through the land, the religious leaders of His day became jealous and had him arrested and crucified.
5. Jesus died on a CROSS to forgive our sins (Luke 23:33, Isaiah 53:3-5, 1 Peter 3:18, Galatians 2:20).
6. Jesus rose from the GRAVE and was seen by many (He rose from the grave: John 11:25, Matthew 28:5-6, John 20:27-29, John 3:16-17. He was seen by many: Matt. 28:16-17, Mark 16:14, Luke 24:33-37, 1 Corinthians 15:3-7, John 21:14).
7. Jesus DEFEATED sin and death for us (Romans 6:8-10, Colossians 2:13-15, Revelation 1:18, Hebrews 2:14, 2 Timothy 1:10).
8. Jesus is now SEATED in Heaven at the right hand of God, making intercession for us (Romans 8:34, Acts 7:56, Ephesians 1:20, Isaiah 53:12).
9. Jesus is RETURNING to remove evil from the earth. Following the Great Tribulation, He shall return to earth after a thousand years (Rev. 5:10; 20:6). He will receive his people unto Himself and reign in New Jerusalem (His Return: Hebrews 9:28, Matthew 24 and 25, 1 Thess. 4:16-17, Revelation 1:7, 22:12. New Jerusalem: Revelation 21:2, 22:5, 2 Timothy 2:12).
ABOUT the HOLY SPIRIT
There are three that bear record in Heaven: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are One (God) (1 John 5:7). The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. After God spoke, "Let there be…," the Holy Spirit created all things. He is the manifest power of God. He is The Holy Spirit of God. Jesus spoke of the Holy Ghost as our Comforter who will never leave us or forsake us (John 14:16).
The Spirit comes to bring conviction to the hearts of men regarding sin, righteousness and judgment (John 16:8-11.) He reproves the world of sin because the world has not believed in Jesus. He reproves the world of righteousness as His Spirit leads us into all righteousness. And He will reprove the world of judgment because the prince of this world (satan) is already judged and defeated.
The Holy Spirit is also known as the Spirit of Truth, who shall guide us into all Truth. He will not speak of Himself, but whatsoever He shall hear, He shall speak it to us and show us all things (John 16:13). The Holy Spirit is the voice of God that still speaks to men today. The Holy Spirit always glorifies Jesus.
We believe in the baptism in the Holy Spirit. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is a gift from God, promised by Christ to all believers, distinct from, and subsequent to, the New Birth, (Acts 2:38,39; Acts 1:4-8; Acts 15:8,9) and that speaking with tongues is the initial physical evidence. (Acts 2:4; Acts10:44-46; Acts 19:6)
There are spiritual “gifts” or “manifestations” of the Holy Spirit that are in the body of Christ for the mutual good of all members. Gifts and manifestations were an everyday part of the early church’s life and ministry. God intended that these gifts not only be used in the early church, but in the church today as well. These gifts will be in operation until Jesus returns. The gifts did not end when the Apostles died, but rather, they increase as the church grows from generation to generation.
God’s purpose for the spiritual gifts are to manifest the grace, power, and love of Jesus among His people during public gatherings, in their homes, in their family and individual lives. Gifts confirm the Gospel as we preach Jesus with demonstration of the Holy Spirit's power. They also build up and strengthen the body of Christ to perfect believers in love so that they would have genuine faith out of a good conscience (1 Peter 3:21). These gifts and manifestations are also given to wage spiritual warfare against satan effectively so that God’s people shall live free from oppression (1 Corinthians 12:8-10,12:28, Ephesians 4:11, Romans 12:6-8).
ABOUT MAN
SANCTIFICATION - The Bible teaches that without holiness no man can see the Lord. We believe in the Doctrine of Sanctification as a definite, yet progressive work of grace, commencing at the time of regeneration and continuing until the consummation of salvation at Christ's return. (Heb. 12:14; 1 Thess. 5: 23; 2 Peter 3:18; 2 Cor. 3:18; Phil. 3:12-14; 1 Cor. 1:30).
We believe in a literal hell and eternal retribution - The one who physically dies in his sins without accepting Christ is hopelessly and eternally lost in the lake of fire and, therefore, has no further opportunity of hearing the Gospel or repenting. The lake of fire is
literal. The terms "eternal" and "everlasting," used in describing the duration of the punishment of the damned in the lake of fire carry the same thought and
meaning of endless existence as used in denoting the duration of joy and ecstasy of saints in the Presence of God. (Heb. 9:27; Rev. 19:20).
We believe that term “marriage” has only one meaning and that is marriage sanctioned by God which joins one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture. We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to only occur between a man and a woman who are married to each other. We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman.
We believe that any form of sexual immorality, such as adultery, fornication, homosexuality, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, pornography or any attempt to change one’s sex, or disagreement with one’s biological sex, is a sin.
A disciple of Jesus should receive His Word, keep it and obey it. Jesus said, “If you continue in My Word, then are you My disciples indeed” (John 8:31). A true disciple discerns that he or she is poor in spirit (lacking in spiritual wisdom) and begins to seek the Kingdom of God so that they may receive His Word to live by. They begin to ask, seek, and knock (Matt. 7:7). We must ask, seek and knock until the Spirit of Truth has come, and when He has come He will guide us into all Truth. For He shall not speak of Himself; but only what He hears from the Father; that shall He speak and teach them all things (John 16:13, John 14:26). A true disciple will hear the Word of God, keep it and obey it. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom (Col. 3:16).
ABOUT OUR PRACTICES
We believe in salvation only through the shed blood of Jesus. Man was created good but by voluntary transgression fell, and his ONLY hope of redemption is in Jesus Christ and his work on the cross (Rom. 3:23; Rom. 10:13-15; Eph. 2:8; John 3:3-8; 1 John 1:7-9). This allows us to enter into the family of God by an experience called the "New Birth" or being “Born Again” as Jesus taught Nicodemus in John chapter 3.
We believe water baptism is by immersion, and should be observed by all who truly repent & believe on Christ as he commanded. We do not believe that water baptism is necessary for salvation. We do not believe in infant baptism. (Matt. 28:19; Acts 10:47,48; Acts 2:38; 1 Pet. 3:21 Rom. 6:4,5) The following recommendation regarding the water baptismal formula is adopted; to wit: "On the confession of your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and by His authority, I baptize you in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. In Jesus Name.
We believe in the commemoration of the Lord’s Supper by the symbolic use of the bread and the juice of the vine (1 Cor. 11; 24, 25). Amen."
We believe in divine healing and prayer for the sick. Deliverance from sickness was provided in the atonement. Healing is for the physical ills of the human body and is wrought by the power of God through the prayer of faith, and by the laying on of hands. (Isaiah 53:4-5; Matt. 8:16,17; Mark 16:18; John 5: 14; James 5:14,15)