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:: Tenets OF LIVING HOPE FAMILY CHURCHWe Believe That ...........> THE SCRIPTURES - The sixty-six canonical books of the Bible as originally written are inspired of God, hence free from error. Holy men wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit who inspired not only the thoughts conveyed but also the words used to convey them. The Bible is the final, infallible authority for all matters pertaining to doctrine, conduct and discipline. [2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21; 1 Thessalonians 2:13] > THE GODHEAD - There is one God, the Creator and Preserver of all things, infinite in being and perfection [Deuteronomy 6:4; Philippians 2:6; Acts 5:3-4] being manifested in three persons [Matthew 28:19; Genesis 1:26; 2 Corinthians 13:14], Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who are co-equal and co-eternal: Who are of one substance and equal in power and glory. Listed not in descending order of importance, but in the order of revelation. [John 14:16] > THE NATURE AND WORK OF JESUS CHRIST - Jesus Christ is the sinless, Son of God. The eternally pre-existent Son became incarnate without human father, by being born of the virgin Mary. By virtue of His pre-existence and physical, human birth He is at once Son of God and Son of Man. Thus, in the Lord Jesus Christ, divine and human natures were united in one Person, both natures being whole, perfect, and distinct. His nature as God did not intermingle or influence His nature as man and His nature as man did not intermingle or influence His Nature as God. Jesus Christ, therefore, is the first God-man, the one who is both completely God and perfect man, possessing the divine and human nature distinctly, without a third nature being produced. As man He had no more to draw on than any other man [Hebrews 4:15; John 14:10, 12] and as God He is no less than the Father. [John 1;1; John 10:30] To effect salvation, he lived a sinless life [1 Peter 2:22; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15]. Taking the place of fallen men, He died on the cross, shedding His blood for the remission of sins; He descended into hell [Matthew 12:40; Ephesians 4:9; Romans 10:7]. On the third day He rose from the dead in the body which had been laid in the tomb. [Luke 24:39, 40; John 20:27]. He ascended to the right hand of the Father, where He performs the ministry of intercession [Hebrews 7:25, Romans 8:34]. He shall come again, personally and visibly [Acts 1:11, Revelation 1:7] to receive those who through faith eagerly wait for Him; He will consummate the eternal plan of God by transforming our bodies to be like His glorious body. [Philippians 3:20, 21; 1 Corinthians 15:50-54; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17] > THE HOLY SPIRIT - The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Triune God. He applies the work of Christ to man in the new birth [1 Corinthians 6:11; Titus 3:5,6]. The new birth comprises of four areas. Through justification [1 Corinthians 6:11] and adoption [Romans 8:15] we are given a perfect standing and an inheritance before God and are enthroned and honored together with Christ in heavenly places [Ephesians 2:6]; through regeneration [Titus 3:5] our human spirits are recreated in the image of God [Colossians 3:10]; through sanctification [1 Corinthians 6:11] the old man is eradicated by the circumcision of Christ [Colossians 2:11], and through glorification [Romans 8:30] our nature is renewed and we receive the divine nature [2 Peter 1:4] and the glory of Christ [2 Thessalonians 2:14]. Thus we are made perfect [Hebrews 10:14] and complete [Colossians 2:10] in Him. We believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the initial evidence of speaking in tongues as the Holy Spirit gives the utterance. We believe that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are for today and are the rightful possession of every believer. We believe that the Holy Spirit sets some apart [Acts 13:2] to be used in the five-fold ministries of Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher and that these gifts are given for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry [Ephesians 4:11, 12]. We believe that these ministry gifts will remain until Jesus comes again [Ephesians 4:13] for His church. > THE NATURE OF MAN - God created Adam and Eve in his own image. Through unbelief in God’s word and the resulting disobedience, they fell from their sinless state after being tempted by satan. This fall plunged all of humanity into a state of sin and spiritual death, and brought upon the entire race the sentence of sickness, disease and eternal death. But, just as sin and condemnation entered the world through one man (Adam) and a single offense [Romans 5:18, 19], so also perfect righteousness is made available only through the obedience and righteous act of the One Man - Jesus Christ. From this condition we can be saved only by receiving [John 1:12; Romans 5:17; Colossians 2:6] the grace of God, through faith, on the basis of the finished work of Christ, and by the agency of the Holy Spirit. > THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE BELIEVER - When we have turned to God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are accountable to God for living a life separated from sin and characterized by the renewal of our minds by the Word of God [Romans 12:1, 2] and manifesting the fruit of the indwelling Holy Spirit [Galatians 5:22]. It is our responsibility to contribute by word and deed to the universal spread of the Gospel [Matthew 28:19, 20; 1 Corinthians 9:16, 17]. This includes faithfulness to service in the church. We believe that every believer should evidence their stewardship from God, that is, the practice of systematic and proportionate giving of time, abilities and material wealth, based on the convictions that these are entrusted to us by God to be used in His service for the benefit of His Kingdom. We believe that every believer is called upon to give a tenth part of all they earn and that this tenth part belongs in the local church to support the local work, provide for the full time staff, care for the needy and to support missions. We do not believe in the law of the tithe as it was instituted under Moses, but like Abraham (Genesis 14: 20) and Jacob (Genesis 28:22), we give in response to the blessing of God upon us in Christ, not motivated by law, but by faith and love for our High Priest. > HEAVEN AND HELL - Every man possesses an
eternal spirit and a physical body. > Previous Page > Back to Top |