Theology [label]Study of God[/label]
The Bible
We believe in the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments. We believe it is the inspired, inerrant, authoritative, Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20–21). The Bible is sufficient in and of itself to provide us with all that pertains to life and Godliness (2 Peter 1:2–3).
God
We believe in God (Genesis 1:1a). He is the personal, transcendent (Romans 11:33–36), eternal (Isaiah 57:15), Sovereign (Psalm 115:3) Creator (Genesis 1:1, 31) of all things. We believe He alone is God (Isaiah 43:10), He is the first and last (Revelation 22:13), there is no other. We believe He created the heavens and the earth as described in the book of Genesis and embrace a literal six day creation model.
The Trinity
We believe that God is eternally self existent (Exodus 3:14) and has revealed Himself as a Tri-unity of three persons (Matthew 28:19): Father, Son and Holy Spirit, as three persons (1 John 5:7) in the Godhead and yet one Lord God Almighty (Colossians 2:8–9).
Jesus
We believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, He is the only begotten Son of God (John 3:16), He Himself is God (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23; John 1:1) incarnate (1 Timothy 3:16; John 1:14) and in Him the fullness of the Godhead is revealed to man (Colossians 2:9). Therefore, He is appropriately called God the Son.
We believe that Jesus Christ is the only Savior and that all who wish to come to God must come through Him (John 14:6). Therefore, any and all who reject Jesus as both Lord and Christ have no possibility of acceptance by God the Father (1 John 2:22–23).
We believe that Jesus Christ came in the flesh as both God and man. He never ceased being God and yet in His humanity was fully man (Philippians 2:5–11).
We believe Jesus Christ was born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23), lived a sinless life (1 Peter 2:21–22; Hebrews 7:26–27), worked miracles (Acts 2:22), provided for the atonement of our sins by His vicarious death on the cross (2 Corinthians 5:20–21), after three days and three nights in the grave was physically raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 15:3–4), ministered to and commissioned His disciples (Acts 1:2-11; Matthew 28:18-20), ascended bodily back to the right hand of the Father (Romans 8:34) and ever lives to make intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25).
The Holy Spirit
We believe that after Jesus ascended to heaven He poured out His Holy Spirit upon the believers: His Church, at which time they were empowered to live a godly life and fulfill His command to preach the Gospel to the entire world (Acts 1:8-2:4), a privilege shared by all believers today.
We believe in the present work of the Holy Spirit in the world today. Jesus said: “when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment” (John 16:7-8).
We believe the Holy Spirit works in regeneration (Titus 3:5), sealing the believer unto the day of redemption (Ephesians 1:13–14), teaching (John 14:26; 1 John 2:27), empowering for service (Acts 1:8) and guiding the believer into maturity and fruitfulness (Galatians 5:22-25).
We believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit and their operation in the Church today (1 Corinthians 12-14). We believe the purpose of these gifts is to edify the body of Christ: His Church, to equip us for the ministry and above all to glorify Christ. We believe these gifts are to be disciplined as prescribed by the scriptures, should never be used to draw attention to or to glorify man, should be practiced in a decent and orderly fashion, and must always be operational in a spirit of love.
Soteriology [label]Study of Salvation[/label]
We believe that all people are by nature sinful (Romans 3:10–23), separated from God (Isaiah 59:1–4) and responsible for their own sin (Ezekiel 18:20–23). We believe that man in and of himself has nothing to offer God in exchange for his soul (Matthew 16:25–26) and will spend eternity in hell should he reject the provisions provided for him in Jesus Christ our Lord (Matthew 10:28; Revelation 20:12–15). Salvation (Romans 1:16): redemption (Ephesians 1:7), justification (Romans 4:25-5:1), forgiveness (Colossians 1:14) and sanctification (Hebrews 10:10), are freely offered (1 Corinthians 2:12; Revelation 21:6) to all (John 3:16; Titus 2:11) through the grace of God by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8–9).
When a person understands his or her need for a Savior and trusts Christ for salvation(Isaiah 45:21-22; 1 John 4:13-15) that person is immediately (John 19:30; Ephesians 2:8-9; Colossians 2:8-10; Hebrews 10:1–14) born again (John 3:1-8; 1 Peter 1:18-23; 1 John 5:1-5) and sealed by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:1–14); all sins are forgiven (Colossians 2:10–13; Isaiah 55:7; 1 John 1:9) and he or she becomes a child of God (John 1:12-13; 1 John 3:1-3) destined to spend eternity with the Lord (John 3:16-17, 36; 14:1-4).
We believe that salvation is offered by grace through faith alone. Salvation is not of ourselves, it is a gift of God, not granted by any human merit or offering of good works (Ephesians 2:8-9). Any offering of salvation granted by human achievement, be it all or in part, is not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and should be rejected as heresy (Galatians 1:3-9; 2:16-3:14).((Many believers don’t really understand the power of the Gospel and are trapped in a game of performance based Christianity. Here is the scenario:
When many respond to Christ they are taught to believe that being a Christian involves “asking Jesus into their lives” and then making every effort to live a life pleasing to the Lord. They expel great energy “working” and “trying” to please God, make good choices, and refuse the impulses of the flesh. They focus their energy warring with the devil/demons, fleshly habits and the lure of the world – always with little to no success, and always with great discouragement. However, they believe that this effort is pleasing to the Lord and He therefore “makes up the difference” for their weakness by an act of His grace. Thus they are “saved.” – Oh how far this strays from the true Gospel message.
The good news of the Gospel is that God, in accordance with the good pleasure of His will, made provision for the total forgiveness of our sin/s. Jesus gave His life that we might have redemption through His blood. Jesus took the penalty we deserve upon Himself and died in our place. His life – the only acceptable payment for sin, given by the shedding of His blood, provides total cleansing of our sin/s. It is by the offering of Jesus’ life and through the power of His resurrection we have forgiveness of sin/s and a new life in Him. By faith alone in Christ alone our sin is forgiven and exchanged for His righteousness.
Nowhere in Scripture are we told to “ask Jesus into our lives.” However, we are instructed to surrender ourselves to Him. As Christians (born again by the Spirit of God) we are made the righteousness of God in Christ. We don’t spend our lives “working” and “trying” to please the Lord. We surrender ourselves to His leadership and rest in His holiness. Our human effort to “please the Lord” by “trying harder” is an affront to His grace and power working in us. The Christian enters into the “Sabbath Rest” of a relationship with Jesus and ceases striving to please the Lord; thus enjoying a continual maturing by God’s Spirit within. “For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.” (Hebrews 4:10)
God will deliver us, direct us, change us, and mature us. Let Him do the clean up. Trust Him, surrender to His leadership and give Him all the glory.))
We believe obedience to the Lord is the natural outflow of genuine regeneration (1 John 3:3-10; 1 Peter 1:13-16; Ephesians 2:10). We understand that all believers fall short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23) and are capable of disobedience (Romans 6:1-14). However, we believe that disobedience in the life of a believer is sin and should be avoided (Colossians 3:8-9; Ephesians 4:20-24; 1 Corinthians 6:20).
We believe that imputed holiness is the experience of all believers (Hebrews 10:10) and that those who have been regenerated shall obtain everlasting life (1 Peter 1:3-5).
We believe in the ordinance of baptism (Matthew 28:19-20) in water by immersion, a public expression of our faith and identification in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.((We do not believe in water baptismal regeneration.))
We believe in the ordinance of communion. The Lord’s supper, consisting in the elements of bread and wine, representing the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. This serves as a memorial to His suffering and death, is a prophesy concerning His second coming and is to be enjoyed by all believers until He comes (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).
- Many believers don’t really understand the power of the Gospel and are trapped in a game of performance based Christianity. Here is the scenario:When many respond to Christ they are taught to believe that being a Christian involves “asking Jesus into their lives” and then making every effort to live a life pleasing to the Lord. They expel great energy “working” and “trying” to please God, make good choices, and refuse the impulses of the flesh. They focus their energy warring with the devil/demons, fleshly habits and the lure of the world – always with little to no success, and always with great discouragement. However, they believe that this effort is pleasing to the Lord and He therefore “makes up the difference” for their weakness by an act of His grace. Thus they are “saved.” – Oh how far this strays from the true Gospel message.The good news of the Gospel is that God, in accordance with the good pleasure of His will, made provision for the total forgiveness of our sin/s. Jesus gave His life that we might have redemption through His blood. Jesus took the penalty we deserve upon Himself and died in our place. His life – the only acceptable payment for sin, given by the shedding of His blood, provides total cleansing of our sin/s. It is by the offering of Jesus’ life and through the power of His resurrection we have forgiveness of sin/s and a new life in Him. By faith alone in Christ alone our sin is forgiven and exchanged for His righteousness.Nowhere in Scripture are we told to “ask Jesus into our lives.” However, we are instructed to surrender ourselves to Him. As Christians (born again by the Spirit of God) we are made the righteousness of God in Christ. We don’t spend our lives “working” and “trying” to please the Lord. We surrender ourselves to His leadership and rest in His holiness. Our human effort to “please the Lord” by “trying harder” is an affront to His grace and power working in us. The Christian enters into the “Sabbath Rest” of a relationship with Jesus and ceases striving to please the Lord; thus enjoying a continual maturing by God’s Spirit within. “For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.” (Hebrews 4:10) God will deliver us, direct us, change us, and mature us. Let Him do the clean up. Trust Him, surrender to His leadership and give Him all the glory.
- We do not believe in water baptismal regeneration.
- The Rapture of the church (which precedes the Tribulation) and the Second Coming of Christ (which follows the Tribulation) are distinct events.
- See all of Revelation 4-19.
Eschatology [label]Study of End Times[/label]
We believe in the pre-tribulation rapture of the church (1 Thessalonians 4:13–18): the imminent and blessed hope of all believers (Titus 2:13–14; Philippians 4:5; Revelation 22:12-13). The dead in Christ shall rise first, then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.((The Rapture of the church (which precedes the Tribulation) and the Second Coming of Christ (which follows the Tribulation) are distinct events.))
We believe in the Great Tribulation – A judgment upon Israel (Jeremiah 30:3-11; Matthew 24:4-31) and the unbelieving world who have rejected the offer of salvation (1 Thessalonians 5:9). During this seven year period, God shall pour out upon the inhabitants of the earth, sore judgments and afflictions such as the world has never known (Daniel 9:26-27; Revelation 6:15-17). Those who refuse the Gospel shall be blinded from the truth and damned to destruction (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12), while those who respond shall have an opportunity to believe through the testimony of the 144,000 chosen sealed Jews (Revelation 7:4-8), the preaching of the two prophets (Revelation 11:3-12), and the angel who proclaims the truth from the heavens (Revelation 14:6-7). Many of these who turn to the Lord shall be murdered by the Anti-Christ, the False Prophet, and those of his kingdom (Revelation 6:9-11); but, they shall be raised up again by the Lord to reign with Him during the Millennium and enjoy life everlasting (Revelation 20:4-5).((See all of Revelation 4-19.))
We believe in the visible Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 24:29-30; Acts 1:9-11; Revelation 1:7; Revelation 19:11-14), at which time the battle of Armageddon shall occur (Revelation 16:16; Revelation 19:17-21). Jesus will then set up His millennial kingdom and will reign here on the earth for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:6). We, His blood-bought-church will reign with Him (Revelation 5:8-10). At this time Jesus will be recognized by national Israel as Messiah (Zechariah 13:1-2, 8-9). The Jews living at that time will turn to Jesus as Lord (Romans 11:25-36). As the Prince of Peace, Jesus will by His rod of iron rule the nations (Revelation 19:15-16). Satan will be bound for the 1,000 years (Revelation 20:1-3), during which time the curse will be restrained (Isaiah 11:6-9).
We believe in the final judgment (2 Corinthians 5:10).
Those who have placed their faith in Christ for salvation will never suffer any future Divine judgment. The entirety of the judgment we deserve has been placed on Jesus at the cross (John 5:24). He sacrificially suffered the wrath of God, in our place, for our sin. For this reason the believer does not anticipate future judgment but looks forward to rewards, blessing, and peace. Jesus paid the price for us; therefore, we will not suffer the wrath to come. With great expectation we can look forward to seeing Jesus face to face (1 John 2:2).
In the fullness of time every believer’s work will be tested, but not the believer. Believers in Jesus have passed from death to life, and should never fear seeing the Lord – nor standing before Him. Believers in Jesus have been made the righteousness of God in Him (1 Corinthians 3:9-15)!
Those who have rejected the Gospel will be raised and judgment will be passed at the Great White Throne. Whoever’s name is not found written in the book of life, together with the Devil and his angels, the beast and the false prophet, will be consigned to everlasting punishment in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10-15).
We believe that after the 1,000 year reign of Christ and after the Great White Throne Judgment, there will be a New Heaven and New Earth wherein righteousness dwells (Revelation 21:1-7). We who have trusted in Christ as Savior will live with Him forever.
Israelology [label]Study of Israel[/label]
We believe in the election of Israel as God’s chosen nation (Deuteronomy 7:6), and in the people of Israel as covenant descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Genesis 15:1-6; Jeremiah 31:35-36). God has an irrevocable and eternal plan for the land of Israel and has promised the land as an inheritance to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, by covenant (Genesis 15:7-21). God also has a future plan for the people of Israel (Jeremiah 31:31-34). The covenant with the people and land will not be realized in its fullness until the literal, physical, Millennial Reign of Christ.
We believe there is a distinction between Israel and the Church. Seeing this distinction is critical to the correct interpretation of Scripture. The fact that God has an eternal plan with Israel as a people and nation, calls us to reject what is known as “Replacement Theology.” Jews and Gentiles alike who believe the Gospel in the Church Age are all made one—the Church. This by no means suggests that God has replaced or revoked His covenant with Israel. (Romans 11:1; Ephesians 2:11-22)
We reject the teaching that claims God has or does offer eternal salvation to the Jews without the need for faith in Christ, yet requires all Gentile people to believe on Christ for the same salvation. This doctrine is known as “Dual Covenantism.” We believe neither Jew nor Gentile will be saved apart from faith in the finished work of Christ (Acts 4:12).
All people prior to the cross were saved by faith in God, looking forward with expectation to the fulfillment of prophecy, by God in Christ (Hebrews 11:1-2, 13-16). Jews alive at the time of Christ were saved by faith in Jesus, as are all people from the time of Christ, through the Church Age, the Tribulation, and Millennium (John 3:16-18). All living Jews at the time of the Second Coming of Christ shall miraculously be brought to faith in Christ and shall all be saved (Zechariah 13:1-2, 8-9; Romans 11:25-36).
We believe that God loves the land and people of Israel. Therefore, we too love and honor God’s chosen people and likewise value the land as the Lord’s (Joel 3:2). We make every effort to support Israel and to support missions in and to Israel. We believe the Gospel is to be proclaimed to the Jew first and also to the Gentiles (Romans 1:16-17).
Ecclesiology [label]Study of the Church[/label]
We believe the Church is the Body of Christ, the habitation of God through the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:27; Ephesians 1:22-23; 2:21-22). Every born again believer is an integral part of His body. Jesus said: “I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).
We believe the mission of the Church is to be a family of those who worship the Lord in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24), to be a body of believers who study the Scriptures and grow in the grace and in the knowledge of the Lord (2 Timothy 2:15), fashioned into the image of Jesus. We are a body of believers who gather together for fellowship, encouragement, and instruction (Hebrews 10:25). We are an agency for the evangelization of the world (Matthew 28:19-20).
We believe the every member of the Church is the Bride of Christ. Furthermore, we believe in the sanctity of marriage, between one man and one woman, as it is a model of the relationship the Church has with Christ. (Ephesians 5:22-33)
We believe in a divinely called and scripturally ordained ministry provided by our Lord for the maturing of the saints (Ephesians 4:11-12).
We believe in the financial support of ministry. The principle of giving has been woven throughout the entirety of Scripture. It is the joy of every true believer to give to the work of ministry. We understand that God does not need our help but that we honor the Lord with the blessings we receive of Him. Giving signifies and demonstrates our trust in the Lord and recognizes God as our provider. (Proverbs 3:9-10; 11:24-25; 1 Corinthians 16:2; 2 Corinthians 9:6-7)
[alert type=”alternate”]Because we understand that these statements are brief and may encourage further questions we would like to make ourselves available to you. Please feel free to call Paul Van Noy at (208) 772-7755. We will gladly discuss any of these things with you in order to assist you in your growth in the Lord. May the Lord richly bless you as you continue to study His Word.[/alert]