December 11, 2024

 

What I Believe and Practice

 

 

1.  God is Spirit (John 4:24).

2.  God is One (Deuteronomy 6:4). He is infinitely perfect, existing eternally in three: God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit of God. For Jesus said: "I and My Father are one" (John 10:30). And no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:3). 

3.  Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He died upon the cross, the Just for the unjust, as a substitutionary sacrifice, and all who believe in Him are justified on the ground of His shed blood. He arose from the dead according to the Scriptures. He is now at the right hand of Majesty on high as our great High Priest. He will come again to establish His kingdom, righteousness and peace (Philippians 2:6-11); (Luke 1:34–38);  (I Peter 3:18); (Hebrews 2:9);  (Romans 5:9);  (Acts 2:23–24);  (Hebrews 8:1); (Matthew 26:64).

4. By the power of God, His Holy Spirit, was sent to dwell, guide, teach, empower the believer, and convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgement (John 14:15-18, John 16:7-11, John 16:13); (I Corinthians 14:21); (Acts 13:2), (Acts 1:8).

5. Salvation has been provided through Jesus Christ for all men; and those who repent, believe and received Him are born again of the Holy Spirit, He gave the right to become the children of God and receive the gift of eternal life. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God (Titus 3:4–7); (2 Corinthians 5:12); (John 1:12); (Romans 8:14).

6.  After Jesus' death, Christianity as doctrine (not religion) originated. Jesus’s apostoles and Paul; His discipules (followers) filled with the Holy Spirit, taught His doctrine and were first called Christians by non-Christians in the city of Antioch, where they had fled and settled after early persecutions in Palestine (Acts 11:19-26).

7.  It is the will of God that each believer should be filled with the Holy Spirit and be sanctified wholly, being separated from sin and the world and fully dedicated to the will of God, thereby receiving power for holy living and effective service. This is a progressive experience wrought in the life of the believer subsequent to conversion (Romans 6:1–14); (I Thessalonians 5:23); (Hebrews 6:1-3; Hebrews 2:4); (I Corinthians 12:13); (Acts 1:8; Acts 8:14-18).

8.  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And the Holy Spirit’s manifestation and provision is made in the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ for the healing of the mortal body. Prayer for the sick and anointing with oil are taught in the Scriptures and are privileges for the Church in this present age (Acts 5:12); (Hebrew 13:8); (Matthew 8:16–17); (James 5:13–16).

9.  Christ is the Head of the Body, the Church (Ephesians 1:22–23). The Church as the body of Christ consists of all those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, are redeemed through His blood, and are born again of the Holy Spirit. They are joined together for the worship of God, for edification through the Word of God, for prayer, fellowship, the proclamation of the gospel, and observance of the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper (Acts 2:41–47). Jesus have commissioned His church to: Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover” (Mark 16:16-18).

10.  Jesus constituted five ministries for the edification of His Body, the Church: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers (Ephesians 4:11-13); (I Corinthians 12:27-31).

11.  There shall be a bodily resurrection of the just and of the unjust; for the former, a resurrection unto life; for the latter, a resurrection unto judgment (I Corinthians 15:20–23); (John 5:28–29).

12.  The second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is imminent and will be personal, visible, and premillennial. This is the believer’s blessed hope and is a vital truth which is an incentive to holy living and faithful service (Hebrews 10:37); (Luke 21:27); (Titus 2:11–14).

13.  Man was originally created in the image and likeness of God: he fell through disobedience, incurring thereby both physical and spiritual death. All men are born with a sinful nature, are separated from the life of God, and can be saved only through the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The portion of the unrepentant and unbelieving is existence forever in conscious torment; and that of the believer, in everlasting joy and bliss (Genesis 1:27); (Romans 3:23); (1 Corinthians 15:20–23); (Revelation 21:8); (Revelation 21:1–4).

14.  The Old and New Testaments, inerrant as originally given, were inspired by God and are a complete revelation of His will for the salvation of men. They constitute the divine and only rule of Christian faith and practice (2 Peter 1:20–21); (2 Timothy 3:15–16).

 

15.  The Feasts of the Lord: the Passover, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles.

 

Passover is the seven-day holiday of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Passover commemorates the Exodus of the Jewish people from Egyptian slavery into an evolving statehood. It is celebrated on the evening of the 14th in the first month of the Jewish calendar, often called Abib or Nisan. Jesus came to earth to be a Passover Lamb. He is the Lamb of God that was slain. When John the Baptists introduced Jesus He said: Behold the Lamb of God! Paul wrote: Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast (I Corinthians 5:7-8), (Revelations 4-5). This is the feast that the Corinthias celebrated and during which they eat the Lord's Supper (I Corinthians 11:17-34).

 

The Feast of Trumpets (Leviticus 23:24) known as Rosh HaShanah. This feast sound of a trumpet portrays the time Jesus will return for His bride (1 Corinthians 15:52). Once He returns, there will be a heavenly wedding feast of celebration. Revelation 19:9 says, “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb”. He’s preparing us to celebrate!

 

The Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur. In the Old Testament times, this day involved the sacrifice of animals as the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies. What the High Priest did there couldn’t offer more than an annual payment for people’s sins. However, there was the promise of One Who with His own blood entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption and who could atone for our sins permanently (Hebrews 9:12). This feast day overshadows the day which the church of God will enter God's Holy Place and obtain eternal redemption.

 

Feast of Tabernacles called Sukkot. Sukkot may contain symbols of the past (Leviticus 23:39-43), (John 7:10-38), but it is also a future feast that depicts the messianic future. The end of Zachariah alludes to this truth by placing the Feast of Tabernacles at the centre of God’s future kingdom on earth where all nations will worship Him (Zachariah 14:16).