Is Doctrine Important?
Doctrine is extremely important, eternally important. We are accountable to God for what we believe, think, practice, and apply of the truth that He has revealed to us through His Word. All of Scripture testifies to the fact that God desires us to know Him, trust Him, and have a right relationship with Him. This cannot happen without believing right doctrine.
The bible
All Scripture in its original manuscripts is inspired by God and is useful and sufficient for every area of life and practice in order to live as God has commanded leading unto salvation from sin and eternal punishment. We don’t need any additional Word than God’s Word as Genesis to Revelation is God’s complete revelation to mankind. We have the canon of Scripture by God’s Spirit working through the unique personalities and calling of 40 different authors over a period of 1400 years who wrote down the very words of God in 66 books. This is what we believe to be the canon of Scripture as God has divinely decreed. The Word of God is the exact representation of the character of God and it will complete the entire purposes of God’s sovereign and perfect will as He has decreed before the foundations of the earth. (2 Tim. 3:15-17; 2 Pet. 1:3-4, 20-21, Isa 55:11).
GOD
There is only one God, and He exists eternally in three distinct persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, co-eternal in being and nature God is self- sufficient and perfectly complete as God eternal, containing all of His divine attributes in perfect unity such as His love, holiness, goodness, mercy, grace, immutability, sovereignty, wrath, omnipotence, self-sufficient, omnipresent, wisdom, justice, eternality, transcendence, and self-existence. There is only one God, not three Gods nor three manifestations of God but three distinct persons being God Himself. (Deut. 6:4; 2 Cor. 13:14; Isa. 40:28;
Heb. 1:8-12; 9:14, Gen. 1:26; Deut. 6:4)
Heb. 1:8-12; 9:14, Gen. 1:26; Deut. 6:4)
JESUS CHRIST
Jesus Christ is both God and man. He is the only mediator between God and mankind. Jesus Christ is not a created being but rather took on human flesh and soul through the incarnation by the power of the Holy Spirit. Totus Christus (Christ as a whole person) means that both natures work in perfect harmony but Jesus the Christ is one person. Jesus is the same essence, character, of the Father, John 10:30. Jesus is the perfect high priest being both God and man who makes daily intercession for God’s elect. His redemptive life and work on the cross was complete because both natures, the hypostatic union, fully accomplished the will of the Father through Jesus Christ becoming the perfect sacrifice for mankind thereby having a believer’s sin imputed to Him and His righteousness to the believer (double imputation). There is no other name in heaven or on earth by which a person can be saved because there is only one begotten Son of God who is the perfect sacrificial lamb and also the perfect mediator between God and sinful man. (Heb. 4:15, Matt. 26:38, John 3:16, 10:30, Rom. 9:5; 1 Tim. 2:5; Eph. 1:7; Acts 4:12)
HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit is God. He is a personal being with all the attributes of God. He is the third person of the Holy Trinity. He is not a ghost but the third person of the Godhead. He is the One who regenerates sinners, guides them in all truth, teaches them, convicts, comforts, illuminates, and reminds them of what has been revealed in the Scriptures. The Holy Spirit is essential for the salvation of every believer and is the one who convicts, brings repentance, gives new birth, regenerates, and eternally seals the believer with the guarantee of God’s salvation. (Acts 5:3-4; Titus 3:5b; John 14:16-17, 16:5-15, Eph. 1:13)
SALVATION
Salvation is a gift that God offers to man by His grace (unmerited favor) through placing his faith in Christ Jesus alone and in His righteousness. The penalty of sin is death, Rom. 6:23, and it cost Jesus’s His very life and blood in order to provide man the offer of free salvation. Jesus paid the price for man’s sin and its penalty, so that man could receive salvation from God as a free gift. Man has no righteousness on his own but was born into sin, incapable of gaining any merit before God, and therefore must repent of his sin, confess with his mouth, and believe in his heart that Christ finished the work of salvation on the Cross of Calvary. It is impossible for a true believer to lose his/her salvation. Salvation is eternal, not circumstantial, and dependes on God not on man. If a man/woman walks away from Christ and is not disciplined by God to the point of repentance, then he/she was never born again in the first place. (Eph. 2:8-9; 2 Tim. 1:9. Isa. 64:5-6, Acts 2:38, John 10:29, 19:30, Heb. 6:9, 10-12)
MAN
Man was created in the image and likeness of God. He sinned and was separated from the glory of God, spiritually dead, without relationship, in enmity, and without peace with his maker. Man is totally depraved and born as a child of the devil. Man’s heart will live in open or hidden rebellion against God until God’s Spirit begins to convict and regenerate his heart to the point of confession, repentance, and believe in Christ alone for salvation. (Gen. 1:26-27; Gen. 3:1-24, Rom. 3:23, 10-20, 5:12, 6:23a; I John 3:10, Isa. 57:20-21)
THE CHURCH
The church is the body of Christ. It is the assembly of true believers, the remanent, who have been born again by believing in the sacrifice of Christ alone and who walk by His Spirit. The church of Christ is comprised of believers who are still sinners, awaiting for their full adoption as sons and daughter of the King when Christ returns. Christ’s Church will reign with Christ in the millennial kingdom after a period of tribulation upon the earth. The calling of the church is to remain faithful to the King as it awaits for His return. It is not for the church to debate how or when the “Day of the Lord,” will happen as God alone knows. The church is called to suffer persecutions and to be faithful through every and all tribulations until the end has come. This means the church is to watch for the King’s return, prepare their hearts now, be faithful stewards continually, and preach the gospel boldly until God’s final judgment of the righteous and the wicked is given upon heaven and earth. (Eph. 1:22-23, 5:25-27; 1 Cor. 12:12-14; Acts 2:41; John 16:33; Matt. 24:30-31, 42-51; Matt 24:36; Mark 13; I Thess. 5:1-11).
CHURCH ORDINANCES
Water Baptism:
Baptism is an ordinance of God for the church. It’s done in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit as a public declaration of faith and commitment to Christ. The person who is baptized is one who has recognized his sin, repented, and has been converted from an old man to a new creature once he believes in Christ. There is no evidence of infant baptism recorded Scripture. The Bible does not give any connection between circumcision of the Old Testament and infant baptism in the New but it does teach that the New Covenant brings circumcision of the heart which can only happen in a child or an adult who has heard the gospel, Rom. 10:17, and responded with faith and repentance, Acts 2:38. An infant cannot have believing faith, therefore the practice of infant baptism is not valued nor practiced. It is not recommended that infant baptism be used for baby dedication as it can misconstrue believer’s baptism as taught by Scripture. (Matt. 28:19; Acts 8:26-39; 16:31-34, Ezekiel 36:26).
The Lord’s Supper:
We celebrate the Lord’s Supper in obedience to God, remembering the death and sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ for our sins. In it we examine our hearts for any sin to be confessed and forsaken before taking the elements. We also express grief for our sins, gratitude, and praise as we meditate on the suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ on our behalf. (1 Cor. 11:23-26, 15:1-19).
Baptism is an ordinance of God for the church. It’s done in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit as a public declaration of faith and commitment to Christ. The person who is baptized is one who has recognized his sin, repented, and has been converted from an old man to a new creature once he believes in Christ. There is no evidence of infant baptism recorded Scripture. The Bible does not give any connection between circumcision of the Old Testament and infant baptism in the New but it does teach that the New Covenant brings circumcision of the heart which can only happen in a child or an adult who has heard the gospel, Rom. 10:17, and responded with faith and repentance, Acts 2:38. An infant cannot have believing faith, therefore the practice of infant baptism is not valued nor practiced. It is not recommended that infant baptism be used for baby dedication as it can misconstrue believer’s baptism as taught by Scripture. (Matt. 28:19; Acts 8:26-39; 16:31-34, Ezekiel 36:26).
The Lord’s Supper:
We celebrate the Lord’s Supper in obedience to God, remembering the death and sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ for our sins. In it we examine our hearts for any sin to be confessed and forsaken before taking the elements. We also express grief for our sins, gratitude, and praise as we meditate on the suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ on our behalf. (1 Cor. 11:23-26, 15:1-19).
THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
God is sovereign in His provision of spiritual gifts to the church. It is a privilege and responsibility of every believer to use his/her gifts for the service of others in order to build up the local church. Spiritual gifts are used for the edification of the body of Christ and not for any selfish gain or personal glory. Discernment is necessary for the use and governance of these gifts because Satan parades as an angel of light and has purposed to counterfeit the acts of God in the spirit of the Antichrist. We are given the list of gifts in I Cor. 12:4-11, 28, Rom. 12:6-8, and I Peter 4:10-11. As Romans came a year after I Corinthians the gift of tongues was excluded from the gift list and I Peter came 7-8 years later, which clarifies the use the now main use of “prophecy” in the church which is, the clear declaration of God’s Word from a closed cannon.
TONGUES
We believe that “tongues,” that which follows or does not follow any linguistical pattern, or “heavenly languages,” and revelatory “prophecy” are no longer in use for today because the whole Canon of Scripture is complete. These specific spiritual gifts are no longer viable nor are they necessary for the edification of the church. Regarding revelatory prophecy; “The Word is sufficient for all things pertaining to life and godliness,” 2 Peter 1:3. There is no longer any such need for a “prophetic” word, from the Lord because God’s Word is clear and precise revelation for all that is needed to fulfill the will of God concerned this life and for eternity.
Note: God does give spiritual discernment to His church through His Spirit and His Word to bring edification and needed direction to the church but this has nothing to do with revelatory prophecy in any way. (Phil. 1:9, Heb. 5:14, Rom. 8:14, and Gal. 5:18) The purpose of tongues in the Old and New Testament: The reverse of the curse of the Tower of Babylon, Gen. 11:9, was completed in Acts 2 because of the power of the Gospel, Romans 1:16-17. The purpose of tongues was to bring necessary unity between believing Jews and Gentiles. This was completed by the work of the Apostles, at times by the laying on of hands and other moments, by simply preaching the Gospel to them. (Acts 8:17, Acts 11:1-18, and Acts 19:1-10) The book of Acts is the only moment in history that explained the transition period between the Old and New Testament. It therefore will never again be repeated in history we are forever in the New Covenant by the Work of Christ. The transition from the Old to the New Covenant was concluded, and the work of the Apostles complete as described in the book of Acts. (Eph. 2:20, Rev. 21:14)
Note: God does give spiritual discernment to His church through His Spirit and His Word to bring edification and needed direction to the church but this has nothing to do with revelatory prophecy in any way. (Phil. 1:9, Heb. 5:14, Rom. 8:14, and Gal. 5:18) The purpose of tongues in the Old and New Testament: The reverse of the curse of the Tower of Babylon, Gen. 11:9, was completed in Acts 2 because of the power of the Gospel, Romans 1:16-17. The purpose of tongues was to bring necessary unity between believing Jews and Gentiles. This was completed by the work of the Apostles, at times by the laying on of hands and other moments, by simply preaching the Gospel to them. (Acts 8:17, Acts 11:1-18, and Acts 19:1-10) The book of Acts is the only moment in history that explained the transition period between the Old and New Testament. It therefore will never again be repeated in history we are forever in the New Covenant by the Work of Christ. The transition from the Old to the New Covenant was concluded, and the work of the Apostles complete as described in the book of Acts. (Eph. 2:20, Rev. 21:14)
HEALINGS
We do believe that miraculous healings happen today at any point and time according to God’s sovereign will. This providentially happens through the prayers of God’s people as clearly stated in James 5:14-16. There is no evidence of a special divine power of a single person or persons having a self proclaimed gift of healing. In the book of Acts, the purpose of an Apostle having the divine gift of healing was to authenticate the Apostle’s message and therefore this specific gift is no longer given to the church today as the last Apostle of Christ was the Apostle John and no other person alive post Apostolic time period has the qualifications of being an apostle of Christ because they would have had to physically see the resurrected Christ and no one has met those qualifications except the Apostles themselves as dictated by the Word. (1 Cor. 12:4-7, 11, 13; Eph. 4:7-8; Rom. 12:6-8; 1 Pet. 4:10-11, 2 Cor. 11:14, 2 John 1:7, 1 Tim. 4:1)
THE FINAL RESURRECTION AND JUDGMENT
We believe in the bodily resurrection and final judgment of God for the just and unjust. The elect of God are destined for eternal bliss in the new heavens and new earth reigning with Christ forever with glorified bodies. The wicked, unbelievers, are destined for conscious, bodily punishment, which will be torment in the lake of fire for eternity. (Acts 24:15; 1 Thess. 4:16-17; 2 Thess. 1:7-9; Matt. 25:46, Rev. 20:15)
SATAN AND DEMONS
Satan and his demons are real spiritual beings who rebelled against God and His work. They were defeated by Christ Jesus on the cross of Calvary and have an eternal future in the lake of fire but continually make war against God and His saints upon the earth. The child of God is to daily put on the armour of God and fight against the lies and temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil. (Eph. 6:12, I John 2:15-17, Gen. 5:3,4, I Peter5:8) Out of all of the Christian’s enemies the most dangerous enemy is not Satan nor His demons but it is the believer’s flesh which wages war against the Spirit. (Gal. 5:17) At the final judgment Satan and demons will be cast into the lack of fire for all of eternity and will never again attack God’s glory nor malign God’s children. (Isa. 14:12-14; Col. 2:15; Matt. 25:41, 2 Cor. 10:5, Eph. 6:10-24, Rev. 20:10)