Statement of Belief
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Introduction
To preserve our God-given heritage and the faith once delivered to the saints
and so that we may cooperate effectually with other branches of the Church
of Jesus Christ in advancing God's kingdom, and by the principles of God's Word,
Kingdom Living Now embraces as fundamental the following Statements of Belief.
Section 1: The Bible
We believe the Bible, comprised of the Old and New Testaments, to be the inspired, infallible, and authoritative Word of God (Matthew 5:18; 2 Timothy 3:16-17). In faith we hold the Bible to be inerrant in the original writings, God-breathed, and the complete and final authority for faith and practice (2 Timothy 3:16-17). While still using the individual writing styles of the human authors, the Holy Spirit perfectly guided them to ensure they wrote precisely what He wanted written, without error or omission (2 Peter 1:21). Section 2: God We believe in one God, who is Creator of all (Deuteronomy 6:4; Colossians 1:16), who has revealed Himself in three distinct Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 13:14), yet who is one in being, essence, and glory (John 10:30). God is eternal (Psalm 90:2), infinite (1 Timothy 1:17), and sovereign (Psalm 93:1). God is omniscient (Psalm 139:1-6), omnipresent (Psalm 139:7-13), omnipotent (Revelation 19:6), and unchanging (Malachi 3:6). God is holy (Isaiah 6:3), just (Deuteronomy 32:4), and righteous (Exodus 9:27). God is love (1 John 4:8), gracious (Ephesians 2:8), merciful (1 Peter 1:3), and good (Romans 8:28). Section 3: Jesus Christ We believe in the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is God incarnate, God in human form, the expressed image of the Father, who, without ceasing to be God, became man in order that He might demonstrate who God is and provide the means of salvation for humanity (Matthew 1:21; John 1:18; Colossians 1:15). We believe that Jesus Christ was conceived of the Holy Spirit and was born of the virgin Mary (Matthew 1:23); that He is truly fully God and truly fully man (John 1:1,14); that He lived a perfect, sinless life (1 John 3:5); that all His teachings are true (John 14:6). We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross for all humanity (1 John 2:2) as a substitute sacrifice (Isaiah 53:5-6). We hold that His death is sufficient to provide salvation for all who receive Him as Savior (John 1:12; Acts 16:31); that our justification is grounded in the shedding of His blood (Romans 5:9; Ephesians 1:7); and that it is attested by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead (Matthew 28:6; 1 Peter 1:3). We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven in His glorified body (Acts 1:9-10) and is now seated at the right hand of God as our High Priest and Advocate (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25). Section 4: The Holy Spirit We believe in the deity and personality of the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3-4). He regenerates sinners (Titus 3:5) and indwells believers (Romans 8:9). He is the agent by whom Christ baptizes all believers into His body (1 Corinthians 12:12-14). He is the seal by whom the Father guarantees the salvation of believers unto the day of redemption (Ephesians 1:13-14). He is the Divine Teacher who illumines believers' hearts and minds as they study the Word of God (1 Corinthians 2:9-12). We believe that the Holy Spirit is ultimately sovereign in the distribution of spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:11). We believe that the miraculous gifts of the Spirit, while by no means outside of the Spirit’s ability to empower, no longer function to the same degree they did in the early development of the church (1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 2 Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 2:20; 4:7-12). Section 5: Angels and Demons We believe in the reality and personality of angels. We believe that God created the angels to be His servants and messengers (Nehemiah 9:6; Psalm 148:2; Hebrews 1:14). We believe in the existence and personality of Satan and demons. Satan is a fallen angel who led a group of angels in rebellion against God (Isaiah 14:12-17; Ezekiel 28:12-15). He is the great enemy of God and man, and the demons are his servants in evil. He and his demons will be eternally punished in the lake of fire (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10). |
Section 7: Salvation
We believe that salvation is a gift of God’s grace through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross (Ephesians 2:8-9). Christ’s death fully accomplished justification through faith and redemption from sin. Christ died in our place (Romans 5:8-9) and bore our sins in His own body (1 Peter 2:24). On the third day after His death, Jesus physically rose again, demonstrating His victory over sin and death (Romans 14:9). We believe salvation is received by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Good works and obedience are results of salvation, not requirements for salvation. Due to the greatness, sufficiency, and perfection of Christ’s sacrifice, all those who have truly received Christ as Savior are eternally secure in salvation, kept by God’s power, secured and sealed in Christ forever (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; Ephesians 1:13-14; 1 Peter 1:5; Jude 24). Just as salvation cannot be earned by good works, neither does it need good works to be maintained or sustained. Good works and changed lives are the inevitable results of salvation (James 2). Section: 8: Justification, Regeneration, and Adoption --We believe that •justification is the gracious and judicial •act of God by which He •grants full pardon of all guilt and •complete release from the •penalty of sins committed, and •acceptance as righteous, to all who •believe on Jesus Christ and •receive Him as Lord and Savior. --We believe that •regeneration, or the new birth, is that •gracious work of God whereby the •moral nature of the •repentant believer is •spiritually quickened and •given a distinctively spiritual life, •capable of •faith, •love, and •obedience. --We believe that •adoption is that gracious •act of God by which the •justified and •regenerated believer is constituted a son of God. --We believe that •justification, •regeneration, and •adoption are simultaneous in the experience of seekers after God and are •obtained upon the condition of faith, •preceded by repentance; and that, to this •work and state of grace, the •Holy Spirit bears witness. (Luke 18:14; John 1:12-13; 3:3-8; 5:24; Acts 13:39; Romans 1:17; 3:21-26, 28; 4:5-9, 17-25; 5:1, 16-19; 6:4; 7:6; 8:1, 15-17; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 6:11; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Galatians 2:16-21; 3:1-14, 26; 4:4-7; Ephesians 1:6-7; 2:1, 4-5; Philippians 3:3-9; Colossians 2:13; Titus 3:4-7; 1 Peter 1:23; 1 John 1:9; 3:1-2, 9; 4:7; 5:1, 9-13, 18) Section9: The Church We believe that the Church, the Body of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all believers of this present age (1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 1:22-23, 5:25-27). We believe in the ordinances of believer’s water baptism by immersion as a testimony to Christ and identification with Him, and the Lord’s Supper as a remembrance of Christ’s death and shed blood (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42, 18:8; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26). Through the church, believers are to be taught to obey the Lord and to testify concerning their faith in Christ as Savior and to honor Him by holy living. We believe in the Great Commission as the primary mission of the Church. It is the obligation of all believers to witness, by word and life, to the truths of God’s Word. The gospel of the grace of God is to be preached to all the world (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 5:19-20). Section 10: Things to Come We believe in the blessed hope (Titus 2:13), the personal and imminent coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to rapture His saints (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). We believe in the visible and bodily return of Christ to the earth with His saints to establish His promised millennial kingdom (Zechariah 14:4-11; 1 Thessalonians 3:13; Revelation 3:10, 19:11-16, 20:1-6). We believe in the physical resurrection of all human beings—the saints to everlasting joy and bliss on the New Earth, and the wicked to eternal punishment in the lake of fire (Matthew 25:46; John 5:28-29; Revelation 20:5-6, 12-13). We believe that the souls of believers are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where they await their resurrection when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord (Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23, 3:21; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious misery until their resurrection when, with soul and body reunited, they shall appear at the Great White Throne judgment and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire to suffer everlasting punishment (Matthew 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Revelation 20:11-15). |
Glossary of Terms:
Awareness:
Before God's grace can be received we must first recognize our fallen state and relationship with God. This is the is the first step. When we respond to our need there is a logical sequence of events ordered by God. The following terms and their definitions reflect what takes place in our life. 1. Confession: Romans 10:10 -- The word "confess" has the basic idea of "agree". It is not merely the recitation of a list of things we have done. It is in essence saying to God, "I agree with you I have sinned and am by nature a sinner" [I am in need of forgiveness]. 2. Repentance: Acts 2:38 -- Repentance means a change of mind, (to turn from one direction, sin, and go another, Godly. 3. Salvation: 1 Peter 1:9 -- Salvation involves the removal of guilt and the sentence of death required by personal sin. 4. Justification: Romans 5:18 -- From the Wesleyan perspective, justification is an act of God whereby He declares the sinner free from the guilt and penalty of sin. |
5. Regeneration: Titus 3:5 --
The inward quickening, (making alive) of the repentant and believing sinner from spiritual death to spiritual life which occurs in Christian conversion, (Born Again). 6. Reconciliation: Hebrews 2:17 -- The restoration of a broken relationship, where there once was enmity it is replaced by friendship. Reconciliation is the doorway to adoption. 7. Adoption: Romans 8:15 -- God's welcoming of the converted person into His family as one of His children. This occurs simultaneously with justification, regeneration, and initial sanctification. 8. Sanctification: 2 Thessalonians 2:13 v -- Theologically, sanctification means to make clean or holy in the ethical sense and be set apart in the practical sense. The work is twofold in that God cleanses us of the nature of sin and empowers us with the Holy Spirit, while we consecrate ourselves to Him for life and service. Beacon Dictionary of Theology. Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City ©1983. Next: About
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