WHAT WE BELIEVE
1. HOLY BIBLE
The Holy Bible, and only the Bible, is the authoritative Word of God. It alone is the final authority in determining all doctrinal truths. In its original writing, it is inspired, infallible and inerrant. (See 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20, 21; Prov. 30:5; Rom. 16:25, 26.)
2. TRINITY
There is one God, eternally existent in three persons, Father, Sonand Holy Spirit. These three are coequal and coeternal. (See 1 John 5:7; Gen. 1:26; Matt. 3:16, 17; 28:19; Luke 1:35; Isa. 9:6; Heb. 3:7-11.)
3. JESUS CHRIST
Jesus Christ is God the Son, the second person of the Trinity. Jesus is fully God and fully man. He is the only man ever to have lived a sinless life. He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, performed miracles, died on the cross for mankind, atoning for our sins through the shedding of His blood. He arose from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures, ascended to the right hand of the Father, and will return again in power and glory. (See John 1:1, 14; 20:28; 1 Tim. 3:16; Isa. 9:6; Phil. 2:5, 6; 1 Tim. 2:5.)
4. VIRGIN BIRTH
Jesus Christ was conceived by God the Father, through the Holy Spirit (the third person of the Trinity), in the Virgin Mary’s womb. He alone is the Son of God. (See Matt. 1:18, 25; Luke 1:35; Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:18, 23-25; Luke 1:27-35.)
5. REDEMPTION
Man was created good and upright but by voluntary transgression, he fell. His only hope of redemption is in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. (See Gen. 1:26-31; 3:1-7; Rom. 5:12-21.)
6. REGENERATION
For anyone to know God, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential. (See John 6:44, 65.) SECTION 7. SALVATION
We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, His death, burial and resurrection. Salvation is a gift from God, not a result of our good works or of any human efforts. (See Eph. 2:8; Gal. 2:16; 3:8; Titus 3:5; Rom. 10:9, 10; Acts 16:31; Heb. 9:22.)
8. REPENTANCE
Repentance is a changing of the mind and the commitment to turn away from sin in every area of our lives and to follow Christ, which allows us to receive His redemption and to be regenerated by the Holy Spirit. Thus, through repentance, we receive forgiveness of sins, and salvation is appropriated. (See Acts 2:21; 3:19; Romans 12:1-2; 1 John 1:9.)
9. SANCTIFICATION
Sanctification is the ongoing process of yielding to God’s Word and His Spirit to complete the development of Christ’s character in us. It is through the present ministry of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God that the Christian is enabled to live a godly life. (See 1 Thess. 4:3; 5:23; 2 Cor. 3:18; 6:14-18; 2 Thess. 2:1-3; Rom. 8:29; 12:1,2; Heb. 2:11.)
10. JESUS’ BLOOD
The blood that Jesus Christ shed on the cross of Calvary was sinless and is totally sufficient to cleanse mankind of all sin. Jesus allowed Himself to be punished for both our sinfulness and our sins, enabling all those who believe to be freed from the penalty of sin, which is death. (See 1 John 1:7; Rev. 1:5; 5:9; Col. 1:20; Rom. 3:10-12, 23; 5:9; John 1:29.)
11. JESUS CHRIST INDWELLS ALL BELIEVERS
Christians are people who have sincerely invited the Lord Jesus Christ to come and live inside them by His Holy Spirit. They relinquish the authority of their lives over to Him, thus making Jesus the Lord of their life, as well as Savior. They put their trust in what Jesus accomplished for them when He died, was buried, and rose again from the dead. (See John 1:12; 14:17, 23; 15:4; Rom. 8:11; Rev. 3:20.)
12. BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
Given at Pentecost, the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is the promise of the Father, sent by Jesus after His ascension, to empower the Church to preach the gospel throughout the whole earth. (See Joel 2:28, 29; Matt. 3:11; Mark 16:17; Acts 1:5; 2:1-4, 17, 38, 39; 8:14-17; 10:38, 44-47; 11:15-17; 19:1-6.)
13. THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit manifests Himself through a variety of spiritual gifts to build and sanctify the Church, to demonstrate the validity of the resurrection, and to confirm the power of the Gospel. The Biblical lists of these gifts are not necessarily exhaustive, and the gifts may occur in various combinations. All believers are commanded to earnestly desire the manifestation of the gifts in their lives. These gifts always operate in love and in harmony with the Scriptures and should never be used in violation of Biblical parameters. (See Heb. 2:4; Rom. 1:11; 12:4-8; Eph. 4:16; 2 Tim. 1:5, 16; 4:14; 1 Cor. 12:1-31; 14:1-40; 1 Peter 4:10.)
14. THE CHURCH
The Church is the Body of Christ, the habitation of God through the Spirit, with divine appointments for the fulfillment of Jesus’ Great Commission. Every person who is born of the Spirit is an integral part of the Church as a member of the body of believers. There is a spiritual unity of all believers in our Lord Jesus Christ. (See Eph. 1:22; 2:19-22; Heb. 12:23; John 17:11, 20-23.)
15. TWO SACRAMENTS
a. WATER BAPTISM. Following faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the new convert is commanded by the Word of God to be baptized in water in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit and in the name of Jesus Christ. (See Matt. 28:19; Acts 2:38.)
b. THE LORD’S SUPPER. This is a unique time of communion in the presence of God when the elements of bread and grape juice (representing the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ) are taken in remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. (See Matt. 26:26-29; Mark 16:16; Acts 8:12, 36-38; 10:47, 48; 1Cor. 10:16; 11:23-25.)
16. MARRIAGE
The testimony of the God-breathed Holy Scriptures is that the marriage covenant shall be reserved only for one biological as determined by DNA man with one biological as determined by DNA woman (Hereinafter referred to as man or woman). It was our Creator, the Lord God, who decided that the man should not be alone, who specifically fashioned the woman as the suitable partner for the man, who literally made the woman from a part of the man, and in the woman, made the man complete, who designed sexual union to be with a husband cleaving to his wife as one flesh, who bestowed his divine blessing upon the unity of a man and a woman, who gave the man and the woman the ability to fulfill his charge to be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth, and who ordained the pattern for human existence that a man and a woman would pair up and cleave to each other in one flesh. No other relationship can ever be the holy unity between one man and one woman established by our Creator, which the Apostle Paul frequently compared to the holy unity of Christ and the church, and mankind has no authority to alter the divine order of the unity between one man and one woman. (See Gen. 2:18-24; 1:27-28; Matt. 19:4-6; Eph. 5: 23, 25, 31-32.)
17. HUMAN SEXUALITY
Sexuality and the divinely prescribed boundary for the expression thereof is covered clearly in the Holy Scriptures, which limits sexual expression to the marital relationship of one biological as determined by DNA man with one biological as determined by DNA woman. Homosexual acts, adultery, bestiality, and all forms of fornication are categorically condemned in the Holy Scriptures. (See 1 Cor. 6:18; 1 Thess. 4:3; Rom. 1:26-27; Prov. 5:3-5, 8-13; 7:21-27; Gal. 5:19; Exodus 20:14; Deut. 5:18; Matt. 5:27; 19:18; Luke 18:20; Rom. 13:9; James 2:11; Lev. 20:10-21;1 Cor. 10:8; 6:18; Jude 7.)
18. HEALING OF THE SICK
Healing of the sick is illustrated in the life and ministry of Jesus and included in the commission of Jesus to His disciples. It is given as a sign, which is to follow believers. It is also a part of Jesus’ work on the cross and one of the gifts of the Spirit. (See Ps. 103:2, 3; Isa. 53:5; Matt. 8:16, 17; Mark 16: 17, 18; Acts 8:6, 7; James 5:14-16; 1 Cor. 12:9, 28; Rom. 11:29.)
19. GOD’S WILL FOR PROVISION
It is the Father’s will for believers to become whole, healthy and successful in all areas of life. But because of the fall of man, many may not receive the full benefits of God’s will while on the earth. This fact though should never prevent all believers from seeking the full benefits of Christ’s provision to better serve others.
The benefits of God’s provision are as follows:
a. SPIRITUAL. (See John 3:3-11; 2 Cor. 5:17-21; Rom. 10:9,10.)
b. MENTAL and EMOTIONAL. (See 2 Tim. 1:7; 2:11; Phil. 4:7,8; Rom. 12:2; Isa. 26:3.)
c. PHYSICAL. (See Isa. 53:4, 5; Matt. 8:17; 1 Peter 2:24.)
d. FINANCIAL. (See Joshua 1:8; Mal. 3:10, 11; Luke 6:38; 2 Cor. 9:6-10; Deut. 28:1-14; Ps. 34:10; 84:11; Phil. 4:19.)
20. THE BLESSED HOPE
When Jesus Raptures His Church Prior to His Return to Earth (the second coming). At this future moment in time all believers who have died will rise from their graves and will meet the Lord in the air, and Christians who are alive will be caught up with them, to be with the Lord forever. (See 1 Thess. 4:16-17; Romans 8:23; Titus 2:13; 1 Cor. 15:51-52
SECTION 21. THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS CHRIST
Jesus Christ will physically and visibly return to earth for the second time to establish His kingdom. This will occur at a date undisclosed by the Scriptures. (See Matt. 24:30; 26:63, 64; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Thess. 4:15-17; 2 Thess. 1:7, 8; Rev. 1:7.)
In addition to these statements of doctrine, this Church affirms the Statement of Fundamental Truths approved by the General Council of the Assemblies of God and is available at www.ag.org.
22. HEAVEN
Heaven is the eternal dwelling place for all believers in the gospel of Jesus Christ. (See Matt. 5:3, 12, 20; 6:20; 19:21; 25:34; John 17:24; 2 Cor. 5:1; Heb. 11:16; 1 Peter 1:4.)
23. HELL
After living one life on earth, the unbelievers will be judged by God and sent to hell where they will be eternally tormented with the devil and the fallen angels. (See Matt. 25:41; Mark 9:43-48; Heb. 9:27; Rev. 14:9-11; 20:12-15; 21:8.)
