What We Believe

TENETS OF FAITH

This assembly shall accept the Holy Scripture as the revealed will of GOD, the all-sufficient rule for faith and practice, and to maintain general unity, it shall adopt the statement of Fundamental Doctrines, namely: 

1. THE SCRIPTURES INSPIRED: The Bible consists of the SIXTY-SIX BOOKS is the inspired Word of God, a revelation from GOD to man, the infallible, authoritative rule of faith and conduct, and is the only criterion for living, for a believer (Hebrews 4:12; II Peter 1:20–21; ).

2. THE ONE TRUE GOD:  There is one and only one living and true God, everlasting of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness.  He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal being the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and the ruler of all things, both visible and invisible. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections.  The eternal God reveals himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being ( Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 43:10, 11; Matthew 3:16, 17; Matthew 28:19; Mark 12:29; John 14 16 - 17).

3. THE DEITY OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST: The Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. The scriptures declare His virgin birth, His sinless life, His miraculous, His vicarious and atoning death on the cross, His bodily resurrection from the dead, His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and His personal future return to this earth in power and glory to rule a thousand years (Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:31,35; Hebrews 7 26; 1st Peter to 2:22; Acts 2:22; Acts 10:38; II Corinthians 5:21; Acts 1: 9,11; Acts 2: 33; Philippines 2:9-11; Revelations 20:1-6; Hebrews 1:3; Revelations 19:11-14; Matthew 28:6; Luke 24:39; 1st Corinthians 15: 3,4).

4. MAN, HIS FALL, AND REDEMPTION: Man was created good and upright, for God set “Let us make man in Our image, after Our likeness. But man fell by voluntary transgressions and his only hope of redemption is in Jesus Christ, the son of God  (Genesis 1:26- 31; Genesis 3:1-7; Romans 5:12- 21).

5. JUSTIFICATION: Justification is the judicial act of God, whereby guilty Sinners, who put their full faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, are declared righteous in His eyes, and free from guilt and Punishment. The Sinner who accepts God's pardon experiences a marvelous relationship with Him. He discovered that the righteousness of Jesus Christ, God's beloved Son, is credited to His account (Act 13:38, 39; Romans 3:21; Romans 5:17 -21; Romans 8: 1 30, 33; Romans 10:4).

6. THE SALVATION OF MEN: 

A: CONDITION TO SALVATION: The grace of God, which brings salvation, has appeared to all men through the preaching of repentance towards God and faith towards the Lord Jesus Christ; man is saved by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, and being justified by the grace through faith, he becomes as heir of God according to the hope of eternal life (Luke 24:27; Romans 10:13-15; Titus 2: 11; Titus 3:5- 7).

B: THE EVIDENCE OF SALVATION: The inward evidence to the believer of His salvation is the direct witness of the Spirit Romans (8:16). The outward evidence to all men is a life of righteousness and true holiness (Romans 6:22).

7. BAPTISM IN WATER: The ordinance of baptism by immersion is commanded in the scripture. All who repent and believe in Christ as a Savior and the Lord are to be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Thus, they declare to the world that they have died with Christ and that they also have been raised with Him to walk in the newness of life. Being a church ordinance, it is a prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and to the Lord's Supper ( Matthew 28:19; Acts 10:47; Romans 6:4; Colossians 2: 2).

8. THE LORD’S SUPPER: The Lord's Supper, consisting of the elements of bread and the fruit of the vine-symbolizes the suffering and death of Jesus Christ on the cross. The bread symbolizes His broken body, and the food of the vine represents His blood shed for the remission of sin. In partaking of these elements, the congregation memorializes the death of Christ and expresses hope in His promised return (Luke 22:17-20; 1 Corinthians 10:16, 17; 1 Corinthians 11:23; 1 Corinthians 2:2).

9. THE PROMISE OF THE FATHER: All believers are entitled to and should ardently expect and earnestly seek the promise of the Father, the baptism in the Holy Spirit according to the command of our Lord Jesus Christ. This was the normal experience of all in the early Christian Church. With it comes the enduement of power for life and service and the bestowment of the gifts and their uses in the work of the ministry (Luke 24:29; Acts 19: 2). 

10. THE EVIDENCE OF THE BAPTISM IN THE HOLY GHOST: The full consummation of the baptism of Believers in the Holy Ghost is evidenced by the initial physical sign of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance and by the subsequent manifestation of spiritual power in public testimony and service (Act 1: 8; Acts 2:4, 42,43; Acts 10 44-46).

11. SANCTIFICATION:  A sanctification is an act of separation from that which is evil and unholy and of the dedication of God (Romans 12: 1,2; II Corinthians 6:14; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; 1 Peter 1:15, 16; Acts 20:29, 30; Romans 16: 17, 18; Galatians 1: 8, 9). The scripture teaches a life of “Holiness without which no man shall see the Lord” ( Hebrews 12:14). Sanctification of a believer through the precious blood of Jesus Christ, the word of God, and the Holy Spirit (Hebrew 13:12; 1 John 1:7; Revolution 1:5, 6; John 15: 3; John 17:17; Ephesians 5:26; 1Corinthians 6:11; II Thessalonians 2 13).