higher degrees worldwide to equip with the tools for a higher purpose
|
|||||||||||
|
Statement of FaithSCRIPTURES - We believe in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as verbally inspired of God, inerrant in the various matters which they speak and are preserved in the Masoretic Text (Old Testament) and the Textus Receptus (New Testament). TRINITY - We believe in one God eternally existing in three persons of the Godhead; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. That these three persons have the same nature, attributes and perfection. CREATION AND FALL - We believe that the universe with all that is within it was created in the beginning by the Word of God; that man’s body was made by a creative act of God; that the first man Adam, fell from his original state of innocence, became corrupt in nature and came under condemnation and the sentence of death; and because of the unity of the race in Adam, its natural head, all men have come under the consequence of sin. CHRIST - We believe that Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and is truly God, born of the virgin Mary, and is true Man who shed His blood for the sins of all men as a substitutionary sacrifice; that He arose in the very body, though glorified, in which He had been crucified; that He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God; and that He now appears in the presence of God on behalf of His people. UNIVERSE - We believe that the Lord, by the word of His power upholds all things that have been created, together with the laws and properties with which they have been endowed, and that God in His sovereign rule of the universe, works out His purpose through the laws of nature and by miraculous power. HOLY SPIRIT - We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine person; that He inspired men to write the Scriptures; that He convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment, and He regenerates those who believe, places them into the body of Christ, and dwells in them; that as Christ’s representative on earth He calls out a people from the Jews and Gentiles and makes of them “one new man”; and that He calls out men and women to God’s service and empowers them and directs them in that service. We believe that being Baptized or "filled" with the Holy Spirit is a unique and visible event separate from salvation. SALVATION - We believe that through faith in the crucified and risen Christ, man is justified, regenerated and given the position of a child in the family of God; and there is but one way of salvation that is, through faith in Christ, and that those who have been born from above never perish. CHURCH - We believe that the Church is the company of all those who have been born from above and baptized into the body of Christ by that Spirit; and that this church is the body of Christ, and the temple of the Holy Sprit; and the bride of Christ; that all regenerated Jews and Gentiles are united in one church in Christ and someday Christ will present this church to Himself without blemish. LOCAL CHURCH - We believe that the local church is an autonomous body of believers united together upon profession of faith having two officers (Elders and Deacons) and observing two ordinances (Baptism and the Lord’s Supper). The local church is to purify, edify and occupy itself with prayer and fellowship and to endeavor to reach men for Christ at home and abroad. SATAN - We believe that the fallen angel known as Satan was originally perfect in his way; that he fell and drew with him a large number of angels; that he, together with his angels and demons, is active in opposition to God and His work; that Satan and his emissaries were defeated at the cross of Christ; that they will be bound for a thousand years at the return of Christ to the earth; and that ultimately they will be cast into the lake of fire where they will be punished eternally. FUTURE THINGS - We believe in the catching away of the Church and the resurrection of all those who have fallen asleep in Him (commonly called The Rapture) prior to the Tribulation described in Revelation, the covenant relationship God has with Israel that is distinct from the Church, the personal, premillennial return of our Lord Jesus Christ; that He will reign over Israel and the Gentile nations on earth during the millennium, after which the wicked dead along with Satan and his emissaries, will be cast into the lake of fire where they will be punished forever. Finally God will create a new Heaven and a new Earth where the Saints will dwell in eternal bliss in immortal bodies. | ||||||||||