The Bible says, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’” (Romans 10:9-13)
Listed below are my beliefs about key doctrinal issues and the Scriptures that led me to those beliefs.
1. The Holy Scriptures
We believe the Bible in the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek languages to be the verbal, plenary inspired Word of God; that it is authoritative, inerrant, God-breathed (Matthew 5:18; John 16:12–13; 2 Timothy 3:16–17; 2 Peter 1:20–21) and our all-sufficient rule of faith and practice.
2. The Godhead or Trinity
We believe in the one triune God who exists in three co-equal, co-eternal, and co-infinite Persons—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit; that all three members of the Godhead are identical in nature, possessing the same attributes—sovereignty (Psalm 47:2), righteousness (Psalm 11:7), justice (Deuteronomy 10:17), love (1 John 4:16), eternal life (Jeremiah 10:10), omniscience (1 John 3:20), omnipotence (Jeremiah 32:17), omnipresence (Deuteronomy 4:39), immutability (Malachi 3:6), and veracity (Isaiah 65:16); and that the members of the Godhead are equal in power, infinity, glory, and authority over creation (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 3:16–17; 28:19–20; John 10:30; 14:6–17; 15:26; 17:21; Acts 5:3–4; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 2:18; 4:4–6; Colossians 1:27; Hebrews 1:1–3; 1 John 4:2).
3. God the Father
We believe God the Father, the first person of the Godhead, is the Architect and Planner of all creation (Malachi 2:10; 1 Corinthians 8:6) and through His Son gives a perfect revelation of Himself (John 1:1, 18; 17:1–26; 20:17; Colossians 1:15–17; Hebrews 1:1–3).
4. The Person and Work of Christ
We believe the Lord Jesus Christ, the second person of the Godhead, became true humanity without ceasing to be Deity; that He is the eternal Son of God, conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin (Matthew 1:20–23; Luke 1:34–35; John 1:1–2, 14), Who as a propitiatory sacrifice (Isaiah 53:9–15) fully accomplished the redemption of fallen mankind and secured the defeat of Satan by His substitutionary spiritual death on the Cross and made sure by His literal physical resurrection from the dead (Acts 1:3; Romans 3:24–25; 4:24–25; 1 Corinthians 15:1–4; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 2:5–8; Hebrews 13:20–21; 1 Peter 1:3–5, 18–20; 2:24; 3:18); that He is now in heaven, exalted and seated at the right hand of God the Father (Hebrews 1:3; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2), where as our Great High Priest He fulfills the ministry of our Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate to the Father (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25–27; 9:24); that while in Session awaiting His return to establish His one thousand year kingdom on earth, He evaluates Church Age believers for ruling and reigning with Him in the Millennium (Psalm 2; 110; 2 Timothy 2:11–13; Revelation 3:21); and that He is the irrefutably acknowledged Head of the Church, that is all Church Age believers—His Body (Ephesians 1:19–23; 5:23).
5. The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead, convicts the world of sin, restrains evil, and glorifies Christ; that in this present Church Age He regenerates (Titus 3:5–6), indwells (Romans 8:9), and assigns spiritual gifts to each believer at the point of personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 12:7–12); that by means of Him we are baptized into the Body of Christ (Matthew 3:11; 1 Corinthians 12:13-14) and sealed to the day of redemption (Ephesians 1:13; 4:30); and that as our Mentor (John 15:26) the Holy Spirit guides, teaches and illuminates every believer to spiritual truth (John 16:7–14) and to do the will of God (1 Corinthians 2:10–15)
6. Sovereignty of God and the Freewill of Man
We believe God is sovereign and exercises supreme and absolute rule over all creation as a part of and consistent with the attributes of His deity (1 Chronicles 29:11–12); that by divine decree His sovereignty and the free will of man coexist simultaneously throughout human history (John 7:17; Philippians 2:13); and that divine sovereignty neither violates nor coerces the free will of man (John 1:12; 3:15–16; 1 Timothy 2:1–7; 2 Peter 3:9).
6A. Predestination
The word “predestination” means “to appoint, to determine, or to design beforehand”.
The Father, through perfect expression of His thinking, predesigned His perfect plan in Christ, Eph. 1:9; 1 Pet. 1:2,20; 2 Tim. 1:9. Through Predestination, believers are guaranteed sonship (Eph. 1:5) and heirship (Eph. 1:11).
The doctrine of Predestination deals only with Christians. There is no such thing as an unbeliever being predestined to go to hell. The Christians makes a conscious decision to follow the plan of God. The unbeliever makes a conscious decision to reject the plan of God. John 3:18; 3:36. If any person accepts Christ as Savior, he will be saved.
The Biblical concept of Predestination does not conflict with human volition, but emphasizes it.
The purpose of Predestination is to relate the believer to the Plan of God through Positional Truth. Eph. 1:4,5. It is based on the foreknowledge of God, Rom. 8:29. It is an expression of God’s love for those who are in union with Christ. Predestination was a sovereign decision on the part of God the Father, Eph. 1:5,11. Jesus Christ has a destiny. When we enter into union with Christ at the time of salvation, we share in that destiny.
There are five Greek words used to communicate the Biblical doctrine of Predestination. Without a knowledge of these words and the categories of truth they represent, no one can draw inferences or theological conclusions about what is being taught in the Bible on the subject.
ï°ï²ï¯ï¯ï²ï©ï¤ïºï¯ (prooridzw) - verb, “to predesign; to predetermine”. Rom. 8:28,29; Eph. 1:5,11
ï°ï²ï¯ï´ï©ï´ï¨ï¥ïï© (protithemi)- verb, “to predetermine”, Rom. 3:25; Eph. 1:9. Synonym of prooridzo.
ï°ï²ï¯ï´ï¨ï¥ï³ï©ï³ (prothesis)- noun, “a predetermined plan”. The subject of Ephesians is the Prothesis of God. Rom. 8:28; 9:11; Eph. 1:11; 3:11; 2 Tim. 1:9.
God is never caught napping. He has already met every contingency with a predetermined plan of action. When we yell “Help!” to God, He doesn’t have to try to think up some way to help us. He has already provided everything we need. All we have to do is learn about what God has provided and how to take advantage of it.
ï°ï²ï¯ï§ï©ï®ï¯ï³ï«ï· (proginoskw) - verb, “to foreordain”, I Pet. 1:20; Rom. 8:29; 11:2
ï°ï²ï¯ï§ï®ï·ï³ï©ï– (prognosis)- noun, “foreknowledge; a predetermined purpose”, Acts 2:23; 1 Pet. 1:2. [ English: prognosis ]
The crucifixion of Christ is related to the Divine Decrees and the predetermined purpose of God. Acts 2:23**, 4:28, cf. I Pet. 2:4,6
All believers’ suffering is related to the predetermined plan of God. In eternity past, God thought about us and predesigned provisions for us for both time and eternity. Rom. 8:28,29.
God the Father predetermined the Grace concept of Propitiation, Rom. 3:25.
Predestination defines God’s ultimate purpose for the believer - that we should be like the Lord Jesus Christ in His humanity, Rom. 8:29. This is called glorification, Rom. 8:30.
The born-again Jew is part of the preordained plan of God under the unconditional covenant to Israel. Therefore, the Jew of the Old Testament is not a castaway, Rom. 11:2. There is a definite relationship between Predestination and Eternal Security. Predestination provides the basis for Eternal Security.
7. The Total Depravity of Mankind
We believe Adam was created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26); that he was created spiritually alive and through one act of personal sin acquired a sin nature and died spiritually, being totally alienated from God (Genesis 2:17); that since Adam’s sin, every member of the human race, excluding the Lord Jesus Christ, is born into a state of total depravity (Isaiah 64:6; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:10–17; 5:12, 18–21; 6:23), and that this state of depravity leaves man helpless to have a relationship with God apart from faith in His grace provision, the saving work of Christ on the cross (Isaiah 64:6; John 3:16, 18, 36; Acts 4:12; Ephesians 2:8–9).
8. Salvation
We believe salvation is a gift of God brought to mankind by grace and received by personal, non-meritorious faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ alone, Whose sacrificial, efficacious, and substitutionary spiritual death on the Cross atoned for the sins of all mankind and provided the way of reconciliation to God (John 1:12; 3:3–6, 15–16; 5:24; 6:40, 47; 20:31; Acts 16:31; Romans 3:24–26; 5:8–9, 11, 16; 1 Corinthians 15:3; 2 Corinthians 5:18–21; 1 Timothy 2:4–6; 2 Peter 3:9; 1 John 2:2).
8A. Salvation is the great inclusive word of the Gospel, gathering into itself all the redemptive acts and processes: as justification, redemption, grace, propitiation, imputation, forgiveness, sanctification, and glorification.
8B. Salvation is in three tenses:
(1) The believer has been saved from the guilt and penalty of sin (Luk 7:50); (Co1 1:18); (Co2 2:15); (Eph 2:5); (Eph 2:8); (Ti2 1:9) and is safe.
(2) The believer is being saved from the habit and dominion of sin (Rom 6:14); (Phi 1:19); (Phi 2:12); (Phi 2:13); (Th2 2:13); (Rom 8:2); (Gal 2:19); (Gal 2:20); (Co2 3:18).
(3) The believer is to be saved in the sense of entire conformity to Christ. (Rom 13:11); (Heb 10:36); (Pe1 1:5); (Jo1 3:2).
Salvation is by grace through faith, is a free gift, and wholly without works; (Rom 3:27); (Rom 3:28); (Rom 4:1-8); (Rom 6:23); (Eph 2:8).
The divine order is: first, salvation, then, works; (Eph 2:9); (Eph 2:10); (Tit 3:5-8).
9. The Eternal Security of Believers
We believe everyone who believes by faith alone in Christ alone for salvation is eternally secure; that they can never be lost; that once saved, always saved (John 10:27–30; 1 Corinthians 1:4–9; 1 Thessalonians 5:23–24; Hebrews 10:14).
10. Dispensations
We believe God ordained distinct administrations in human history called dispensations; that these dispensations constitute the divine viewpoint and theological interpretation of history; that in each dispensation His purpose, glorification, and the unfolding of His plan for mankind during that period of history is divinely revealed; and that an understanding of dispensations is critical to the believer’s orientation to God’s will, authority, plan, and purpose for his life (John 1:16–17; Romans 16:25–26; Ephesians 1:8–10; 3:2, 9; Colossians 1:25–26).
11. Creation
We believe that “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” instantaneously from nothing (Genesis 1:1; Isaiah 45:18); that after the fall of Satan and resultant desolation and chaos of the earth (Genesis 1:2), God restored the earth, creating the physical universe, the plant and animal kingdoms, and mankind in six literal days (Genesis 1:3-2:1).
12. The Responsibility of Believers
We believe it is the responsibility of all Church Age believers to grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18), to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18), to walk by means of the Spirit (Galatians 5:16, 25), and not quench or grieve the Spirit (Ephesians 4:30; 1 Thessalonians 5:19); that we, believers, are to live not by works or human merit but by grace which is sufficient for maintaining a life obedient to the Word of God (John 14:15–17; Romans 6:14; 12:1–2; 2 Corinthians 13:9; 1 Peter 2:2–5); that we are ambassadors for Christ which includes witnessing to unbelievers (Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 5:17–21; 1 Peter 2:5–9;), praying (1 Thessalonians 5:17; Hebrews 13:10–18), fulfilling the laws of divine establishment, nationalism, and patriotism (Romans 13:1–7; 1 Peter 2:13–17; 1 Timothy 2:1–4), and using our spiritual gifts for the building up of the Body of Christ, the Church (Ephesians 4:11–13).
13. Spirituality
We believe that in this dispensation, the Church Age, spirituality is an absolute condition of believers—we are either spiritual or carnal (Galatians 5:16–17); that when we commit any mental, verbal, or overt sin, whether known or unknown, we lose the filling of the Holy Spirit and are out of fellowship, in the status of carnality (Romans 8:5–8; Ephesians 5:18), and that fellowship or the status of spirituality is restored by our acknowledgement of sin
to God the Father (James 4:8; 1 John 1:5–9).
14. Spiritual Gifts
We believe that at the moment of salvation God the Holy Spirit sovereignly bestows spiritual gifts to all Church Age believers; that these spiritual gifts are unique to the Church Age; that the permanent spiritual gifts of the Church Age include pastor-teachers, evangelists, administrators, teachers, exhortation, mercy, giving, helps or ministry; that the temporary spiritual gifts of apostleship, prophecy, speaking in foreign languages (tongues), distinguishing of spirits, healing, and the working of miracles ended with the completion of the New Testament Canon in 96 A.D. (Romans 12:4–8; 1 Corinthians 12-14; Ephesians 4:7–11; Hebrews 2:3–4); and that the purpose of spiritual gifts is for the “equipping of the saints [believers] for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God” (Ephesians 4:12–13).
15. The Church
We believe the Church, or the Body of Christ, is composed of all believers of the Church Age irrespective of our affiliation with Christian organizations; and that the Body of Christ shall become the Bride of Christ at the Rapture of the Church, which brings to a close this present dispensation (1 Corinthians 12:12–14; Ephesians 1:22–23; 5:25–27; Revelation 19:6–9).
16. The Lord’s Supper
We believe the Lord Jesus Christ instituted the Lord’s Supper, also called the Eucharist or Communion, for the Church Age, mandating it be observed until His return by all believers, regardless of church affiliation or membership, as a memorial of His person and work, His substitutionary spiritual death on the cross (Matthew 26:26–28; Mark 14:22–24; Luke 22:17–20; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26).
17. Satan and the Angelic Conflict
We believe in the personality of Satan or Lucifer, the devil ( Revelation 12:9), who is the declared enemy of both God and man (Job 1:6–7; Matthew 4:2–11; 1 Peter 5:8); that before the beginning of human history Satan and one-third of the angels rebelled against the divine order of God (Isaiah 14:12–17; Revelation 12:4) and instigated a conflict in the spiritual realm that continues until the end of human history (Revelation 20:10), and that the ultimate doom of these fallen angels or demons as adjudicated by God is the Lake of Fire (Isaiah 24:21; Matthew 25:41) into which they will be cast at the end of the Millennium (Revelation 20:1–10).
18. The Blessed Hope
We believe the next fulfillment of prophecy in history will be the Rapture of the Church, translated literally from the Greek “exit resurrection,” at which time we, Church Age believers, both dead and alive will be changed “in the twinkling of eye” to our resurrection bodies at the appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ in the air where we will be received by Him and return with Him to heaven “and so we shall always be with the Lord” (Romans 8:18–25; 1 Corinthians 15:20–24, 51–57; Philippians 3:20–21; 4:5; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18; Titus 2:11–14; James 5:7–8; 1 John 2:28).
19. The Tribulation
We believe the Rapture of the Church will be followed by the fulfillment of Daniel’s seventieth week known as the Great Tribulation and “the time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jeremiah 30:7), a seven-year period of unparalleled worldwide violence in which divine judgment is administered to unbelievers and Israel (Daniel 9:27; Matthew 24:15–21; Revelation 6).
20. The Second Coming of Christ
We believe in the pre-millennial return of the Lord Jesus Christ; that the Great Tribulation will be climaxed by His return, known as the Second Coming or Second Advent, to set up His millennial kingdom on earth (Zechariah 14:4–11; Matthew 24:15–25; 2 Thessalonians 1:7–10; Revelation 20:6).
21. The Eternal State
We believe that upon physical death, the soul and human spirit of those who have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation immediately pass into His presence and there remain in conscious bliss until the Rapture or the Second Coming, when soul, human spirit, and resurrected body reunited shall be associated with Him forever in glory but that upon physical death, the souls of unbelievers remain in conscious misery until the final judgment of the Great White Throne at the close of the Millennium when soul and body reunited shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power (Luke 16:19-26; 23:43; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; 2 Thessalonians 1:7–10; Jude 6, 7; Revelation 20:11–15).
22. Marriage
We believe that marriage has only one meaning sanctioned by God, the joining of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union (Genesis 1:27-28; 2:18-25; Psalms 128:3; Matthew 19:4-5; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 7:32-34; Ephesians 5:22-31; Colossians 3:18-19; 1 Peter 3:1-7).
Messianic Prophecies and Fulfillments
For the Gospel writers, one of the main reasons for believing in Jesus was the way His life fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah. Following is a list of some of the main prophecies. The first Scripture under each topic is the Old Testament prophecy. The Scriptures below that are the New Testament fulfillments of that prophecy.
Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem
Micah 5: 2
Matthew 2: 1-6 Luke 2: 1-20
Messiah was to be born of a virgin
Isaiah 7: 14
Matthew 1: 18-25 Luke 1: 26-38
Messiah was to be a prophet like Moses
Deuteronomy 18: 15, 18-19
John 7: 40
Messiah was to enter Jerusalem in triumph
Zechariah 9: 9
Matthew 21: 1-9 John 12: 12-16
Messiah was to be rejected by his own people
Isaiah 53: 1, 3
Matthew 26: 3-4 John 12: 37-43 Acts 4: 1-12
Messiah was to be betrayed by one of his followers
Psalm 118: 22 Psalm 41: 9
Matthew 26: 14-16, 47-50 Luke 22: 19-2
Messiah was to be tried and condemned
Isaiah 53: 8
Matthew 27: 1-2 Luke 23: 1-25
Messiah was to be silent before his accusers
Isaiah 53: 7
Matthew 27: 12-14 Mark 15: 3-4 Luke 23: 8-10
Messiah was to be struck and spat on by his enemies
Isaiah 50: 6
Matthew 26: 27; 27: 30 Mark 14: 65
Messiah was to be mocked and insulted
Psalm 22: 7-8
Matthew 27: 39-44 Luke 23: 11, 35
Messiah was to die by crucifixion
Psalm 22: 14, 16-17
Matthew 27: 31 Mark 15: 20, 25
Messiah was to suffer with criminals and pray for his enemies
Isaiah 53: 12
Matthew 27: 38 Mark 15: 27-28 Luke 23: 32-34
Messiah was to be given vinegar
Psalm 69: 21
Matthew 27: 34 John 19: 28-30
Others were to cast lots for Messiah’s garments
Psalm 22: 18
Matthew 27: 34 John 19: 23-24
Messiah’s bones were not to be broken
Exodus 12: 46
John 19: 31-36
Messiah was to die as a sacrifice for sin
Isaiah 53: 5-6, 8, 10-12
John 1: 29; 11: 49-52 Acts 10: 43; 13: 38-39
Messiah was to be raised from the dead
Psalm 16: 10
Matthew 28: 1-10 Acts 2: 22-32
Messiah is now at God’s right hand
Psalm 110: 1
Mark 16: 19 Luke 24: 50-51