The Way and The Truth and The Life
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The word of God We believe that the Old and
New Testament are the only Scriptures inspired by the Holy spirit of God. These
scriptures are the complete revelation of God and no other revelation can
change them. We believe that God gave the apostles of the New Testament the
authority to write His Word, therefore all believers should surrender to all
of their teachings. 1 Thessalonians 2:13, 2 Timothy 3:15-17, 2 Peter 1:21 We believe there is only one
God who created all things and was never created. The holy scriptures
describe him as self existent, eternal, infinite, all powerful, all knowing,
all present, changeless, self sufficient and sovereign. God is loving,
merciful and full of grace, yet he is also righteous and just. God exists in
three persons: God the father, God the son and God the holy spirit. Each one
of them is called God and is worthy of the same honor, yet they are distinct
from one another even though they are one. Deuteronomy 6:4,
Psalm 90:2, Isaiah
40:12-31, 1 John 4:10, Ephesians 2:8, Romans 3:26, Acts 5:3-4, 1 John 5:20 We believe that God created
man in his image on the sixth day of the six literal twenty-four hour days of
creation. From the moment that man sinned against God he lost his fellowship
with God and became dead in his transgressions. All of humanity has received
a sinful nature that can’t in anyway please God. Because of the sinful nature
men and women die physically and spiritually, they have no hope of entering
heaven. Genesis 1:26-31, Ecclesiastes 7:20, Romans 3:19-20,23, Ephesians 2:1, Psalm 15 We believe that Jesus Christ is eternal and he was never created. He
was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary in His incarnation.
Jesus Christ was God revealed in flesh and united in his own person both
deity and humanity. Jesus is the promised Messiah, just like the prophets of
the old testament prophesied. Jesus died on the cross as a perfect sacrifice
for our sins, although He was sinless and could not sin. Jesus Christ was
buried and on the third day, He rose bodily from the dead. Now he is sitting
at the right hand of the father and intercedes for all believers. He will
come again to earth to reign from Jerusalem over all the earth. Hebrews 4:14-16, 7:3, 24-25, Matthew 1:18-23, John 1:1, 14, 2:19-21, Mark 16:6, Isaiah 11:1-11 We believe that the sinner can
receive forgiveness of sin and be saved from hell only through faith in
Christ Jesus. One must repent of his sins when coming to Christ, yet
repentance in itself is not enough. Salvation is a free gift from God and the
only way of receiving it is by faith in Christ and what he has accomplished
by his death and resurrection. There is no other way to be saved and man can
do nothing in order to save his soul but believe in Jesus Christ. One can’t
get saved while believing another gospel or another Jesus. Romans 3:21-26, 10:9-10, Ephesians 2:8-9, Galatians 1:8-9, 2:16 We believe that a saved person can’t loose his salvation. God, his
Saviour, has sealed him by the Holy Spirit unto the day of redemption. The
saved one is kept by the power of God unto salvation. The born again believer
should not live in fear of being thrown into the lake of fire when he dies,
because of something which he had done or something that he hadn’t done in
his life. Yet, he who lives in sin and walks in the darkness is not saved at
all. The good works of the believer don’t save him or maintain his salvation,
but serve as sign of him being saved. John
10:27-29, Ephesians 1:13-14,
4:30, 1 Peter 1:3-5, Romans 8:14-17, 1 John 1:6, 2:4-6 We believe that in order to be saved one must be born again. The new
birth comes when we hear the word of God and believe it, and it has nothing
to do with water baptism. A born again person receives a divine nature, by
the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and is able to obey the word of God and
walk according to his will. John 3:3, 1 Peter
1:23, 2 Peter 1:4, Galatians 2:20 We believe the Holy Spirit is co-equal with the Father and the Son.
The holy spirits convicts the world of sin and causes men to repent. The Holy
Spirit indwells permanently in all believers from the moment they have
believed the gospel of salvation. There is no other condition for receiving
the indwelling of the holy spirit. This is a different state from the times
of the Old testament, where the holy spirit could depart from the person He
came upon. Baptism in the spirit and the anointing of the spirit are the same
and describe the moment when the Holy Spirit came to indwell the believer.
All believers are urged to being filled with the spirit daily, which means,
allowing the spirit to control their life. The Holy Spirit glorifies Christ,
teaches, guides, empowers, gives the believer assurance of his salvation,
prays for the believers, sanctifies and gives gifts to every believer for
building up the body of Christ. Some gifts of the Spirit, such as speaking in
tongues and miraculous healings, had special significance during the New
Testament apostolic period and are no longer in operation during the present
time. John 14:16-17, 26, 16:7-15, Acts 1:8, Romans 8:9, 26, 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, 6:19, 12:13, 13:8, Ephesians 1:13-14, 4:7, 30, 5:18, Titus 3:5-6, Hebrews 2:3-4, 1 John 2:20, 27, 3:24 We believe that all
believers are called to live their lives for the glory of our Lord Jesus. The
believer needs to die daily to his old sinful nature and walk according to
his new divine nature. The believer should not sin or live in sin, but when
he does fall into sin he needs to repent and confess his sin. All believers
are called to a life of holiness, prayer in the holy spirit, sharing with
others the good gospel, fellowship with other believers and expectance for
the coming of our Lord. All believers need to serve the Lord according to
their different spiritual gifts and live a holy life as well. Believing men
and especially believing women are called to a modest life, not just in the
assembly meetings. The believer will be rewarded according to his works, yet
he will not gain or keep his salvation by his good works. 1 Titus 2:10-14, Ephesians 4:7, 22-24, 6:18, 1 John 2:1-2, 1 Peter 1:13, 22, 2:9, 1 Timothy 2:9-10, 1Peter 3:3-4, 1 Corinthians 3:13-15 We believe that all born
again believers should be baptized by immersion into water, when they are old
enough to make this decision by themselves. The water baptism symbolizes the
believer's identification with Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. The baptism is a commitment to follow
the Lord Jesus and is a very important step in the faith. Baptism is not a
means of or an aid to salvation; however, it is expected of all believers in
obedience to our Lord. Matthew 28:19, Romans 6:3-4, Colossians 2:12, 1 Peter 3:21 The
Lord's
supper We believe that all
believers should continue steadfastly in the breaking of bread. We believe
that the Lord’s supper has a very important role in the believer’s life as a
reminder of our Lord’s death. The bread and wine are only symbols that help
us remember our Lord and what he has done for us. Because the Lord’s supper
reflects our oneness with Christ and with one another, the believer who
partakes in the Lord’s supper has to examine himself before partaking the
bread and wine. The only cases when a believer should not partake in the
lord’s supper are when a person lives in sin and refuses to repent or is
holding to a false doctrine (believing another gospel or another Jesus). We
believe that in the Lord’s supper the believing men can pray, ask for a
hymn/song or read a passage from the scriptures spontaneously by the leading
of the Holy Spirit. All the believers are called to worship the Lord in this
meeting even if it is in a silent way. Matthew 26:26-29, Mark 14:22-24, Luke 22:15-20, Acts 2:42, 1 Corinthians 10:16-17, 11:23-34, 14:34-35 We believe that every believer has a role in the assembly’s life, but
God has established an order in the roles of men and women in the family and
in the assembly. God gave the men the leadership in the family and in the
assembly and the women are called to submit to their leadership. Men are
those who are to teach, pray and lead the assembly in the worship of God with
their head uncovered, and women are to be silent in the meetings with their
head covered. This has nothing to do with the woman being inferior to man.
Women can serve in roles which are not connected to leadership, teaching men or
leading the assembly in worship by praying, choosing a hymn or reading a
passage from the scriptures. Genesis 3:16, Ephesians 4:7, 5:23-24, 1 Timothy 2:8-14, 1 Corinthians 11:2-16, 14:34-35, 1 Peter 3:1-7 We believe that the Lord
Jesus is the head and shepherd of the assembly and that there needs to be
more than one elder in the assembly. We see no difference between elders and
pastures in the scriptures. All the elders have the same authority in the
assembly and they are helped by recognized deacons that are qualified
according to the scriptures. Acts 6:1-8, 14:23, 20:17-38, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, Philippians 1:1, 1 Timothy 3:1-13 , Titus 1:5-9, Hebrews 13:17, 1 Peter 5:1-3 We believe that the body of Christ is composed of all true believers,
whether living or dead. From the moment a person is born again, he is baptized
by the Holy Spirit into the one body of Christ. Every local assembly is the
local body of Christ and represents the universal body. The local assembly is
to be independent and autonomous with the Lord Jesus as it’s head and
authority, and elders as it’s only human leaders. Every assembly and every
believer is significant and has an important role in the functioning of the
whole body. The body of Christ, which contains both Jews and gentiles, is a
secret that was not revealed in the Old Testament. 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, Ephesians 1:22-23, 3:5-10, Colossians 1:18 We believe that Christ will return to meet all the believers, dead or
alive, in the air before the time of the seven-year Tribulation. This event
will end the age of the assembly and God will pour out his wrath upon the
earth in the seven-year Tribulation. Christ will come again to earth, as king
and messiah, to rule the whole earth from Jerusalem. Christ will reign for a
thousand years upon the whole earth and all the gentiles will come to worship
him in Jerusalem. No one can tell when the age of the assembly will end and
Christ will return. Isaiah 2:2-4, 11:1-10, Matthew 24:4-44, 25:13, John 14:2-3, Romans 11:25, 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17, Titus 2:13, Revelation 19:11-16, 20:1-6 We believe in the rapture of all believers at Christ’s coming to
meet the believers in the air before the seven-year Tribulation. First, those
who are dead in Christ will rise then, those who are alive will be changed
and taken to be with the Lord forever. 1 Corinthians 15:51-52,
1 Thessalonians 4:13-17,
Revelation 3:10 We believe that all people will exist forever and no one will cease
to exist. When a believer dies he goes to be with the Lord and at the time
when the lord will come to meet all believers in the air (at the rapture) he
will be resurrected with a new body. All true believers will live forever in
the presence of God the father and his son Jesus Christ in the new city of
Jerusalem. All unbelievers will be thrown to the lake of fire at the close of
the millennial reign of Christ and shall suffer there forever. Luke 16:19-26, 23:42-43, Revelation 20:11-15, 21:1-8 We believe that God has not cast away his people, which he foreknew!
God will fulfill all his promises to the people of Israel. God will save all
the people of Israel that will remain after the seven-year Tribulation. The
promises in the Old Testament for Israel are not for the assembly of Christ,
because the assembly was a secret not revealed in the Old Testament. It is
true, that in the eternal state in the new Jerusalem, Israel will not be
different from other believers. If God will not fulfill his promises to
Israel, how can we be sure that he will keep his promises for us
believers? |
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