Yeah, we know, that sounds pretty simplistic. But it's the truth. The truth is that there have been many great men of God who have completely disagreed with each other when it comes to doctrine. Doctrine is very important, but seeking to know Jesus and obeying Him is even more important. Correct intellectual doctrine without obedience just condemns people. Many times Christians get so bent out of shape over disagreements in doctrine. They will separate from one person over one thing and another person over something else and it is usually over non-essential doctrine. This divides our efforts and weakens our power in numbers when it comes to reaching the lost. We live by this motto: Unity in Essentials, Liberty in Non-Essentials, but in All Things Love! We are a trans-denominational ministry that seeks to teach and train the Body of Christ on how to reach the lost in a Biblical manner and with a Biblical message. With that in mind, we may have many beliefs that differ from you, but they are usually non-essential doctrines (unless of course you are Roman Catholic, Mormon, Jehovah Witness, etc.). We do believe that reaching out to the lost and living holy are more important then sitting around and arguing over doctrine. At the same time, we also want to be up front with you on what we believe. Here is our statement of faith:
* We believe the Bible to be the inspired, infallible, authoritative, and inerrant Word of God (II Timothy 3:15-17, II Peter 1:21-22).
* We believe in a literal 6 day creation and that the world is between 6,000 and 10,000 years old (Genesis 1:1-31, Exodus 20:11).
* We believe there is one God, eternally existing in three persons: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Genesis 1:1, Deuteronomy 6:4, Matthew 28:19, John 10:30, John 1:1-2, 1 John 5:6-8).
* We believe in the deity of Christ (John 5:18, John 8:58, John 10:33); His virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23, Luke 1:34-35); His sinless life (Hebrews 4:15, 7:26); His miracles (John 2:11, John 5:1-9, John 11:38-44); His vicarious and atoning death (I Corinthians 15:3, Ephesians 1:7, Hebrews 2:9); His resurrection (John 11:25, John 20-21, I Corinthians 15:4); His ascension to the right hand of the Father (Mark 16:19, Acts 1:9-11); His personal return to earth in power and glory (Acts 1:11, Revelation 19:11-16).
* We don't believe that man is born a sinner. We believe that man chooses to sin. Man is never forced to sin, but chooses to sin out of his own free will and that is why he will be accountable for his sin. However, every man will sin at some point in time. We call this "universal rebellion" (Genesis 6:12, Exodus 32:7, Ecclesiastes 7:29, Isaiah 53:6, Luke 6:45, Romans 3:23).
* We believe that men must be "born again" or "regenerated" by the Holy Spirit for salvation because of the exceeding sinfulness of man. We believe that sinners are justified on the single ground of faith in the shed blood of Christ, and that only by God's grace through faith alone are we saved. Works cannot save a sinner, forgive a sinner or wash away a sinner's sins (John 3:3-5; 3:16-19;3:36; 5:24, Romans 3:23; 5:8-9, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 2:8-10, Titus 3:5).
* We don't believe in "easy believism." We believe that faith and repentance are two sides of the same coin. You can't truly have one without the other. We believe that it is only a working faith and a repentant faith that saves a sinner from their sins, the wrath of God and from Hell. Any other kind of faith is a dead, non-working faith that will only send people to Hell in the end. Without holiness, no man will see the Lord (Matthew 3:8, Acts 26:20, Romans 6:1-23, Titus 2:11-14, Hebrews 12:14, James 2:17-26).
* We believe that Christians don't have to sin, have the power over sin and are commanded not to sin by a Holy God. Christians still have the ability to sin, but it should be few and far between. It should never be a matter of "when" a Christian sins but "if" a Christian sins. A Christian definitely shouldn't be sinning daily. We can do all things through Christ, who strengthens us. If a Christian really loves God, they will obey Him. If a Christian sins, they have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous One (John 5:14; 8:11, John 14:21, 1 Corinthians 10:13, Philippians 4:13; 1 John 2:1, Whole Book of 1 John).
* We believe that Christ died for every sinner and that He wants every sinner to be saved (Ezekiel 18:23, Ezekiel 33:11, 1 Timothy 2:3-6, 2 Peter 3:9).
* We believe that God is drawing all men near and that the Holy Spirit is convicting the whole world of sin, righteousness and judgment. The problem isn't whether God is drawing them or not. The problem is that men are resisting God's drawing, God's grace and the conviction of the Holy Spirit. To be saved, a sinner must simply submit their entire lives to the conviction and drawing of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 22:2-10, Matthew 23:37, John 1:9, John 12:32, John 16:7-11, Acts 7:51-54).
* We believe that while Baptism doesn't save a person or make a person born again, that it is much more important then the modern American Church makes it. In the modern American Church, the altar call, praying a prayer and many other things have overtaken this Biblical mandate. Every believer that is able should be Baptized as soon as they are able, not when there is a "quarterly baptism" or when the Pastor is ready (Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 2:38, Acts 8:26-39).
* We believe that true Christians have the ability to depart from the faith, be cut off and fall away (this is commonly called "losing your salvation") (Ezekiel 33:12-20, Matthew 24:48-51, Matthew 25:1-13, Romans 11:20-23, 1 Corinthians 10:5-13, Hebrews 3:6-4:1).
* We believe in the resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous; those who are righteous unto the resurrection of life, and those who are unrighteous unto the resurrection of damnation (John 5:28-29, John 11:25, Revelation 20:5-6).
* We believe that the unrighteous will spend all eternity in a place of torment called Hell or Gehenna in the Greek (Mark 9:42-48, 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9).
* We believe in the spiritual unity of all believers worldwide in our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 12:3-8, I Corinthians 12:12-13, Galatians 3:26-28).
* We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by Whose indwelling the Christian is empowered to live a godly life, is given direction in life, is given spiritual gifts and is assured of eternal life. We believe that since the Day of Pentecost that each believer is filled with the Holy Spirit at the moment of conversion (Acts 2:38, Romans 8:13-17, I Corinthians 3:16, 6:19-20, Ephesians 4:30; 5:18).
* We believe it is the mandate of the whole Church to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature (Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:15).