Statement of Faith

Statement of Faith
(Scripture quotations from the New Living Translation Bible)

 

1.     We believe in one God-Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and that He is the Creator of all things.

a.     I John 5.7 – “So we have these three witnesses in heaven—the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one. And we have three witnesses on earth.” (Italics portion in later manuscripts)

 

2.     We believe Jesus Christ is the only Son of God conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, that he was truly God and truly man, that he was crucified, he died and was buried, that he resurrected, ascended into heaven, and is now seated at the right hand of God the Father.

a.     Luke 1.34-35 – “³⁴ Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” ³⁵ The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.”

b.     Mark 15.24-26 – “²⁴ Then the soldiers nailed him to the cross. They divided his clothes and threw dice to decide who would get each piece. ²⁵ It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. ²⁶ A sign announced the charge against him. It read, “The King of the Jews.” 

c.     Matthew 27.59-60 – “⁵⁹ Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a long sheet of clean linen cloth. ⁶⁰ He placed it in his own new tomb, which had been carved out of the rock. Then he rolled a great stone across the entrance and left.”

d.     Matthew 28.5-7 – “⁵ Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. ⁶ He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying. ⁷ And now, go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. Remember what I have told you.”

e.     1 Peter 3.22 – “²² Now Christ has gone to heaven. He is seated in the place of honor next to God, and all the angels and authorities and powers accept his authority.”

 

3.     We believe Jesus will be King of kings and Lord of lords when he returns to earth in his glory.

a.     Ephesians 1.19-22 – “¹⁹ I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power ²⁰ that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. ²¹ Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. ²² God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church.

 

4.     We believe the Bible in its entirety to be the inspired Word of God and the infallible rule of faith and conduct.

a.     2 Timothy 3.16 – “¹⁶ All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.”

 

5.     We believe God proved how much he loves people by sacrificing his life for them.

a.     John 3.16 – “¹⁶ For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

b.     John 15.13 – “¹³ There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

c.     2 Peter 3.9 – “⁹ The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.”

 

6.     We believe in the two Greatest Commandments.

a.     Matthew 22.37-40 – “³⁷ Jesus replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself. ⁴⁰ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.’”

 

7.     We believe salvation is the free gift of God purchased through the shed blood of Jesus. His salvation is available upon request and by receiving His forgiveness of our sin.

a.     Acts 4.12 – “¹² There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”

 

8.     We believe it is essential to read God’s word and pray every day, to grow up into Christ who is the head of the church.

a.     Psalm 119.11 – “¹¹ I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”

b.     Ephesians 4.15 – “¹⁵ Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.”

 

9.     We believe in remembering the Lord’s death and resurrection by celebrating communion at gatherings of believers in Jesus.

a.     I Corinthians 11.23-26 – “²³ For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread ²⁴ and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ ²⁵ In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.’ ²⁶ For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.”

 

10.  We believe in divine healing, through faith in the Name of Jesus Christ, and that healing is included in the Redemption.

a.     Mark 16.17-18 – “¹⁷ These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages. ¹⁸ They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.”

 

11.  We believe in full immersion water baptism.

a.     Matthew 3.16-17 – “¹⁶ After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. ¹⁷ And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”

b.     Acts 2.38 – “³⁸ Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

 

12.  We believe in the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, in speaking with tongues as the Spirit of God gives utterance.

a.     John 1.32-33 – “³² Then John testified, “I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him. ³³ I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’” 

b.     Acts 2.4 – “⁴ And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.”

c.     Acts 19.2-5 – “² ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?’ he asked them. ‘No,’ they replied, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.’ ^3 ‘Then what baptism did you experience?’ he asked. And they replied, ‘The baptism of John.’ ⁴ Paul said, ‘John’s baptism called for repentance from sin. But John himself told the people to believe in the one who would come later, meaning Jesus.’ ⁵ As soon as they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.”

 

13.  We believe the gifts of the Spirit and the evidence of the fruit of the Spirit are available to every believer.

a.     Matthew 28.18-20 – “¹⁸ Jesus came and told his disciples, ‘I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.²⁰ Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ ”

b.     1 Corinthians 12.1-11 – “¹ Now, dear brothers and sisters, regarding your question about the special abilities the Spirit gives us. I don’t want you to misunderstand this. ² You know that when you were still pagans, you were led astray and swept along in worshiping speechless idols. ³ So I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus, and no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit. ⁴ There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all.⁵ There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. ⁶ God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us. ⁷ A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. ⁸ To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. ⁹ The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing.¹⁰ He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. ¹¹ It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.”

c.     Galatians 5.22-23 – “²² But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,²³ gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!”

 

14.  We believe in the Christian’s hope – the soon-coming, personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

a.     Revelation 22.12 – “¹² Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds. ¹³ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

 

15.  We believe in the first (Rapture) and second resurrections of the dead, the eternal happiness of the saved, and the eternal punishment of the lost.

a.     I Thessalonians 4.15-18 – “¹⁵ We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves.¹⁷ Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ So encourage each other with these words.”

b.     Revelation 21.6 – “⁶ Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years.”

c.     Revelation 20.14-15 – “¹⁴ Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. ¹⁵ And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.”

 

16.  We believe in the Great Commission of all believers.

a.     Matthew 10.7-8 – “⁷ Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. ⁸ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received!”

b.     Mark 16.15-16 – “¹⁵ And then he told them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. ¹⁶ Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned.’”