Confession of Faith
Confession of Faith
The Scriptures Inspired
The Bible is the inspired Word of God, revealing God’s identity and will to men, the infallible rule of faith and conduct, and is useful to teach us what is true and right (2 Tim. 3:15-17; Heb. 4:12; 1 Pet. 1:23-25; 2 Peter 1:19).
The One True God
The one and only God has made Himself known as the omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent Creator of the universe, earth and mankind, the eternally self-existent as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (Genesis 1:1; Exodus 3:14, Mark 12:29; Romans 1:18-20; Ps. 96:5; Isa. 43:10, 11; Ps. 100:1-3; Matthew 28:19).
Jesus Christ, the Son of God
Jesus Christ is the eternal and begotten Son of God, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of the same substance of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For humanity and our salvation He came down from heaven and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary and became man. For our sake he was crucified, suffered death and was buried. Three days after dying, He was resurrected from the dead and ascended into heaven now seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. (John 1:1-14; Phil. 2:6-11; Heb. 1:2; Luke 1:35; Luke 26:26-49; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Peter 3:22, 1 John 5:4; Isa. 53:5,)
Man’s Fall and Atonement
Man was created good and upright, for God said, “Let us make man in our image and after our likeness.” Man, by voluntary transgression, fell and was separated from God. As a result, God provided mankind’s exclusive hope and means of reconciliation in Jesus Christ, our Great High Priest, whose sacrifice of Himself was a blameless substitutionary atonement for the forgiveness of sin. (Gen. 1:26-31; Gen. 3:17; Matt. 16:18; John 1:1; John 14:16; Ro. 5:12-21; Hebrews 2:9; Heb. 4:14-15; Romans 3:25; Heb. 7:1-10:19; Rev. 5:6-14).
The Salvation of Man
Through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ alone, man is saved by the forgiveness of sins and washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, and being justified by grace, has become heir of God according to the gift and hope of eternal life (John 3:16; Titus 2:11, 3:5-7; Ro. 10:9-15; Luke 24:47; John 3:3; Ephesians 3:8).
Evidences of Salvation
The inward evidence to the believer of his/her salvation is the direct witness of the Spirit (Ro. 8:16) and a clear conscience toward God (1 Peter 3:21; Hebrews 10:22; Hebrews 9:13-14). The outward evidence to all humanity is a life of holiness, fellowship and love (1 Thess. 4:7; 1 John 1:6-2:11).
The Promise of the Father
All believers should ardently expect and earnestly seek the Promise of the Father, which is the baptism in the Holy Spirit (Joel 2:28; Acts 2:39). With Him comes the infilling of power to effectively testify of the truth of Jesus Christ to the world (John 15:17; Acts 1:4-8). The presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believers gives them a fullness of relationship with God (Romans 8:14-16; 2 Cor. 3:18); empowerment for Christian living (Gal 5:16-25) the bestowment of the gifts and their uses in the work of the ministry and upbuilding of the Church (1 Cor. 12:1-31).
Sanctification
Sanctification is the Spirit-led process of separating the believer from the influence of sin and world to wholly belonging to God that begins at new birth (1 Cor. 1:30). By the power of the Holy Spirit we strive to obey the command, “Be ye holy, for I am holy.” Sanctification is the will and work of God for all believers, and should be earnestly pursued by prayer, fasting and walking in obedience to God’s Word (Heb. 12:14; 1 Pet. 1:2-15, 16; 1 Thess. 5:23, 24; 1 John 2:6).
The Church
The Church is the family of God among whom His Presence dwells as Father through the Holy Spirit with divine appointment in the earth as the Pillar and Ground of truth. (1 Timothy 3:15) Each believer is an integral part of the church as members of the Body of Christ and living stones that make up the household of God, built on the Chief cornerstone of Jesus Christ, living by the inspired Word of the prophets and apostles and called to show forth the praises of Him who called them out of darkness and into His marvelous light. (1Cor. 12:12-31; Ephesians 4:7-16; 1 Peter 2:4-10; Ephesians 2:19-20)
Christian Ministry
Divinely called and Scripturally ordained ministry has been provided by our Lord for a four-fold purpose: (1) The evangelization of the world (2) The discipleship of people from all backgrounds (3) The edification of the believers in faith, hope and love (4) Caring for those in need. (Mark 16:15, 20; Matt. 28:19; 1 Thess. 1:3, 5:8-11; Matt. 25:31-46; Gal. 2:10, James 1:27).
The Unity of the Faith
The essential aspect of Christian faith is love. Jesus said, by this will all men know you are my disciples by the love you have for one another (John 13:35). Motivated by that love the church is called to make every effort to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace (Eph. 4:3). Jesus Christ Himself is our peace reconciling people from every demographic in His sacrifice on the cross and giving people from all backgrounds access to the Father by one Holy Spirit. (Eph. 2:14-18)
Sexuality
“We believe that God has established marriage as a lifelong, exclusive relationship between one man and one woman and that all intimate sexual activity outside the marriage relationship, whether heterosexual, homosexual, or otherwise, is immoral and therefore a sin that a person can repent of, be forgiven of and liberated from through Jesus Christ. (Gen. 2:24-25; Ex. 20:14, 17, 22:19; Lev. 18:22-23, 20:13, 15-16; Matt. 19:4-6, 9; Rom. 1:18-31; I Cor. 6:9-10, 15-20; I Tim. 1:8-11; Jude 7).
Gender
We believe that God created the human race male and female and that all conduct with the intent to adopt a gender other than one’s birth gender is immoral and therefore a sin that a person can repent of, be forgiven for and liberated from through Jesus Christ. (Gen. 1:27; Deut. 22:5).
Recreational Drugs
Recreational drugs present special problems to humanity because of their widepsread availability, harmful effects and growing social acceptance. We affirm the long-standing conviction of the holiness-pentecostal church tradition that abstinence from the recreational use of drugs such as alcohol, tobacco (nicotine), narcotics, marijuana, psychedelics and hallucinogens is a faithful witness to God's liberating power and redeeming love. As believers, our fulfillment and enjoyment of life is not chemically induced but instead provided by the one who said, "In His Presence is the fullness of joy." Even though Jesus turned the water into wine, He was never described in a drunken state in Scripture but was continually under the influence of the Holy Spirit in every sphere of life which should also be our pursuit. (Ephesians 5:18-6:18, Proverbs 20:1, 23:29-35).
Justice
The believers in Jesus Christ should do good by acting justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8). In doing so, they value the weightier matters of the Word of God of justice, mercy and faithfulness in their personal lives. (Matthew 23:23)
Deliverance
Freedom from sickness, anxiety, depression, addictions and demonic oppression is provided for in the atonement of Christ and is the privilege of all believers by faith (Isa. 53:4, 5; Matt. 8:16, 17; Matt. 10:8; Mark 16:17-18; John 5:14; Acts 10:38,; James 5:14-16).
The Blessed Hope
The resurrection of those who have fallen asleep in Christ and their translation to immortal bodies, together with those who are alive and remain unto the Lord, is imminent and is the blessed hope of the church. Those who have died believing in Jesus will be raised from the dead and we who are alive when He returns will join Him and forever be with the Lord (1 Thess. 4:16; Ro. 6:23; Titus 2:13; 1 Cor. 15:35-58).
Eternal Judgment
The devil and his angels, the beast and the false prophet, and whosoever is not found written in the Lamb’s Book of Life shall be consigned to everlasting punishment in the lake which burns fire and brimstone, which is the second death (Rev. 19:20; 20:10-15).
The New Heavens and New Earth
We, as promised in the Scriptures, look for a new heavens and a new earth wherein righteousness dwells at the return of Christ. Those who remain faithful to Jesus Christ, like Abraham, expect to belong to a heavenly eternal city whose builder and maker is God. At the return of Christ there will be no more death, dying, mourning or pain for those who believed in Him. Those who served His will during their earthly sojourn will be rewarded. (2 Pet. 3:13; Hebrews 11:10; Hebrews 12:22; Rev. 21:4,;Matthew 25:23).
Ordinances
Water Baptism
The ordinance of baptism by burial with Christ should be observed (as commanded in the Scriptures) by all that have repented of their sins and in their hearts have believed in Christ as their Savior and Lord. In doing so, they declare to the world that they have died with Christ and that they have also been released to walk with Him in the newness of life (Matt. 28:19; Ro. 6:4).
The ordinance of water baptism (Matt. 28:19) shall be administered by all established places of worship to all those who have repented of their sins and who have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ to the saving of their souls (Ro. 6:3-5; Col.2:12).
The Lord’s Supper
The Lord’s Supper, consisting of the elements, bread and fruit of the vine, is the symbol expressing our sharing in a memorial to His suffering and death, and a prophecy of His second coming, and is enjoined to all believers “until He comes” (John 6:48,51,53-57; Luke 22:19,20; 2 Pet. 1:4; 1 Cor. 11:25).
The ordinance of the Lord’s Supper shall be observed regularly by all established places of worship, as enjoined in the Scriptures (Luke 22:19, 20; 1Cor. 11:23-26).