STATEMENT OF FAITH
Our statement of faith and core doctrinal position is not unique
to our assembly or solely the fruit of exclusive organizational study.
Rather, our position is rooted in Scripture, borrowed from the historic
Church, and one with the modern Church who are Holiness in identity,
Sanctified in practice, Evangelical in beliefs, and Pentecostal in
experience.
We Believe:
God
There is one true and living God who matchlessly reigns in
majesty and glorious splendor! God, who is without beginning and ending,
is Creator of the heavens and the earth, Sustainer of life, Maker of
mankind and of all things which are seen and unseen. He is Holy in
all of His ways and Righteous in all of His works, Infinite in love,
Perfect in judgment and Unchanging in mercy. The all-seeing and all-knowing,
ubiquitous God exists eternally in three persons: Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit.
Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ, the second person of the Godhead, is Savior and Lord.
He is God’s Son incarnate, born of the Virgin Mary. He lived
a sinless life, and fulfilled all the Old Testament declared concerning
the Messiah and His coming. Jesus Christ, who was, and is, and
is to come, is unquestionably the Messiah for the Jew and Gentile.
He died for the sins of all, taking upon Himself, on behalf of
sinful persons, God’s judgment on sin redeeming all from
the curse of the law. In His physical body he literally rose
from the grave and after forty days ascended to Heaven. He is seated
at the right hand of the Father where He intercedes for us. He
is THE ONLY Way to God, and is King of kings and Lord of lords
forever and ever.
Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is God, the Comforter, and the Third Person of the
Godhead or Trinity. He was in the beginning with the Father and
the Son, was active in the Old and New Testaments, and is yet present
and active in the world. He was given to the Church in His fullness
on the day of Pentecost and lives within them who love Jesus Christ
and keep His commandments. He sanctifies the believers unto
Holiness and empowers them to be a witness unto Christ. He
is the Spirit of Christ, without which one does not belong to God.
By Him, Christ lives in His Church and the believer, the gospel
is proclaimed with power, and the Kingdom of God is manifested
in the world.
Scripture
The sixty-six book Holy Bible from Genesis to Revelation is THE Word
of God, Divinely inspired; The Truth, Immutable and without error
in all it affirms; and Authoritative in both the Old and New Testaments.
These Scriptures are the rule of faith and practice for the Church,
the Body of Christ. Although presented in historic and modern translations,
its original manuscripts are trustworthy and profitable for doctrine
and instruction in Righteousness. The Holy Spirit preserves God’s
Word in the Church today and by it speaks God’s truth to
people of every age.
Mankind
Human beings were created in the image of God. Humans fell from this
image through the sin of Adam and Eve which brought about Spiritual
death and eternal separation from God. God, in His Grace, reconciled
all men back to Himself through the atoning crucifixion, shed blood,
death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Through faith
in Jesus Christ and accepting Him as Savior and Lord, mankind is
cleansed and forgiven of all sins, born again by the Spirit of
God, restored to the image of God, and reconciled to fellowship
with Him.
The Church
The Church is the people of God, made up of all ethnic backgrounds,
and called out from the world’s systems and sin unto the
Kingdom of God. The Church glorifies God the Father, believes in
and exalts the Lord Jesus Christ, and has received the baptism,
continual filling, and leading of the Holy Spirit. The Church is
Christ’s body. It is Holy in its makeup, Righteous
in its ways, Biblical in its discipline, loving at its core, historic
in its doctrine, and visibly effective in the world. This community
of faith gathers regularly to hear the Word, receive the sacraments,
and live as disciples.
Sacraments
The sacraments are those sacred outward rituals instituted by Christ
our Lord, entrusted to the Church, where Grace is inwardly imparted
to the recipient. Because they were commanded by Christ to be observed,
they are intrinsic to our weekly worship, next to honoring the
Godhead and hearing the Word. In liturgy, the people and the clergy
joyfully rehearse, reflect, and receive this means of His Grace. The
two sacraments which were instituted by Jesus Christ are the Eucharist
or the Lord’s Supper and water baptism.
Salvation
Salvation, according to Scriptures, is a loving act of God’s
Grace unmerited by human effort. This faith experience comes because
the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been rightly preached, taught, or
divinely communicated to a seeking soul. Upon conviction of sin,
the seeker confesses belief in the Gospel presented, repents of sin
and surrenders to the Lordship of Jesus in and over their life. The
seeker is subsequently baptized in water and receives the gift of
the Holy Spirit.
Evidence of Salvation
The evidence of Salvation is a surrendered heart to Christ, progressively
and practically displayed by: a loving obedience to God and a love
for people; a passion for the Spiritual disciplines of prayer,
worship, and study of Scripture; a willful belonging to the local
Church and her fellowship, with full participation and support
of its ministries and congregation; an abandoning of the old life
of sin and embracing of the new life in Holiness, Sanctification, & Righteousness.
These characteristics are descriptive of the faith journey of the
believer, strengthening as the believer grows accordingly. This
evidence is fueled exclusively by the Holy Spirit’s baptism,
guided by Scripture, and cultivated by the ministry of the local
Church. In addition, those who are filled with the Holy Spirit,
after receiving Scriptural knowledge of the early Church’s
experience, will also speak with tongues as the Holy Spirit gives
utterance. However, tongues are not the primary evidence of Salvation.
A heart yielded to GOD through exclusive worship of Him, obedience
to the Scriptures, and a love for people is THE primary evidence
of Holiness and peace—without which no man shall see the
Lord.
Justification
God graciously justifies and regenerates all who trust in Jesus Christ,
after repentance and believing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This
justification makes one right with God, removing the guilt and
penalty of the sin condition inherited from original sin, and eradicates
the sins practiced by the repentant person. The Lord breaks the
powers of satan’s hold on the life of the repentant, and
liberates them from sin’s bondage in spirit, soul, and body.
Upon acceptance of this justification, believers become children
of God and begin to live in holiness through faith in Christ, the
Scriptures, and the sanctifying work of the Spirit.
Assurance of Believers
All believers are assured that they are children of God by the inward
witness of God’s Spirit with their spirits, by faith in the
gracious promises of God’s Word, and by the fruit of the
Spirit in their lives. This assurance is not a license to practice
sin or an exclusive guarantee of ultimate salvation aside from
persevering in one’s faith. The sons of God who have the
hope of living eternally with Christ purify themselves, even as
He is pure.
Baptism of the Holy Ghost
God commands all believers to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit,
where “baptism” signifies the initial possession or
abiding of the Spirit in one’s life. Thereafter, the Holy
Spirit continually “fills” the seeking believer to
empower, encourage and enlighten them for life, ministry, worship,
and witness. This necessary or mandatory baptism is the seal of
redemption, verifying persons have repented and possess genuine
faith in Jesus Christ and the Gospel. The Spirit’s empowerment
keeps the believer from the practice of sin and the tendency of
human rebellion toward God. He sheds abroad God’s love in
the heart causing the believer to love Christ and love one another.
He illumines one’s understanding of Scripture and reminds
the believer of the Words of Christ. It is possible that those
who are baptized with the Holy Ghost will have occasional faults,
flaws, sin, or mistakes. However, the Holy Spirit empowers the
believer to recognize error and overcome these things through prayer,
repentance, and the Blood of Jesus Christ. He causes the believer
to model God’s way as the standard of living, thereby breaking
the acceptance of the practice of sin. Believers must live daily
by faith in the forgiveness and cleansing provided for them in
Jesus Christ.
Gifts of the Spirit
The gifts of the Spirit, as outlined in Scripture, are given by the
will of God to members of the Body of Christ as He wills and not
according to the request or zeal of the individual. These gifts
are vibrant and valid for today’s Church and shall remain
until Christ’s return. The Scripture outlines nine gifts,
of which all are for ministry to the seeker and edification of
the believer. The flow of these gifts should be operative in the
Church and her ministries. The continuous exercise of these ministry
gifts are to be received only when the vessel with the gift is
faithfully connected to the local Church and verifiably a vessel
of Holiness.
Fivefold Ministry
The fivefold ministry gifts of Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor,
and Teacher were given by Christ to perfect the Church for the work
of the ministry and prepare her for His return. These historic gifts
are also contemporarily valid, and, are never an exclusive ministry
apart from the local Church and its accountability. They are both
descriptive of the types of ministry gifting a minister may possess
and are ministerial offices which GOD has set to build and edify
the Church. Those who are called to these offices are valid if the
non-novice has first been recognized and affirmed by the local Church
and her leadership. Their assignment is to assist the local Church
in carrying out Christ’s plan, according to the Spirit’s
leading which is always in accordance with the Scriptures.
Heterosexual Exclusive Marital Fidelity
Marriage is a covenant institution created by God, which joins together
a man and woman—who were naturally born as such in physiology
rendered on the day of birth—to become one flesh. The man
and woman are to follow Christ, love one another, grow together,
and have a prosperous life in one household until death separates.
The order of the marriage is the Scriptures, not society. Under
no circumstances theological, scientific, sociological, civic,
and educational, by personal prerogative, or by thwarted view of
Scripture should men or women of the same sex date, endorse physical
attraction, engage in a homosexual relationship or be married.
Return of Christ
In the personal return of Jesus Christ, as promised by Him and prophesied
in the Scriptures, He will come to catch away His bride, who without
spot or wrinkle, shall be “caught up” to meet Him when
the first trumpet sounds. In this, the dead in Christ shall rise,
putting off all corruption and mortality and shall meet Jesus first
before those who are alive when Christ returns. In the end, there
shall be a final judgment for all, the small and the great. Whoever’s
name is not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life shall be eternally
damned, and shall eternally burn in hell or the place of torment.
Those whose names are written shall be eternally saved, and will
enter into the Kingdom of Heaven eternally. The eternal destination
of the believer is predicated upon how one lives in the earth,
either for or against God’s will.
God’s Ultimate Victory
God’s ultimate victory over Satan shall culminate when the
devil and his angels are cast into a lake of fire and brimstone to
be tormented forever. The Saints throughout history shall eternally
live with the Lord and will live in perfect peace and joy in the
Kingdom of Heaven which was prepared for them who love Him.
