"Statement of Faith"
We believe that Jesus came to perform the mercy promised to our
fathers,.......(Luke 1:72-75).
That He would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our
enemies might serve him without fear. In holiness and righteousness before
him, all the days of our life.
We believe that God has commanded us to live a holy and righteous life.
Jesus has commanded us to love one another as He loved us (John 13:34) . He
loved us with perfect love. In Romans 13:10, love is defined as the
fulfilling of the law. In 1 John 3:4, sin is defined as the transgression of
the law. There is no sin in the perfect love of God. We are commanded to love
one another with this kind of love, which is charity. 1 Corinthians 13:5
says charity does not behave itself unseemly. Sin is unseemly behavior.
Seeing that we have been called to follow His steps (1 Peter 2:21) we
must have God's strength to fulfill His commandments. We believe that it is
only by receiving an abundance of God's grace (Hebrew 12:28) that we are able
to walk even as He walked (1John 2:6). James 4:6 says God resists the proud,
but gives grace unto the humble. God has provided a way for a man to humble
himself and receive this grace. 1 Timothy 6:3 says that if a man does not
consent to the wholesome words of Christ, he is proud, knowing nothing,....
God's way for a man to humble himself is for him to believe the words of
Christ. Jesus said "everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth
them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the
sand" (Matthew 7:26). If there is any disobedience to the sayings of Christ
in my life, We should believe that We are like a foolish man, which has built
his house upon the sand. As long as our lives are built upon the sand of self
effort, we cannot fulfill the commandments of Christ. It is only those that
fall upon the Rock and are broken (Matthew 21:44) that enter in to obedience
to Christ. Those that are honest with God and admit their failure and
helplessness can come boldly unto the throne of grace and obtain mercy and
grace in their time of need. (Hebrew 4:16).
Coming boldly unto the throne of grace, obtaining mercy, and finding
grace, involves repentance and faith. Repentance, in order to obtain
forgiveness, and faith, in order to find the grace to obey. By receiving (by
faith) those things that God has given us with His Son (Romans 8:32), we
can enter into a life of obedience. The Holy Spirit has been given to us that
we might know the things that are freely given to us of God (1 Corinthians
2:12).
Through God's word the Holy Spirit reveals to us that all things that
pertain unto life and godliness have been given unto us (1 Peter 1:3). The
holiness and purity of Christ is ours if we will receive it by faith.
Humbling oneself involves not only admitting one's lack but also responding
in faith and receiving this wonderful hand-out from God. 2 Peter 1:9
tells us, "he that lacks these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and
has forgotten that he was purged from his old sins". He cannot see that these
things have been given and he doesn't believe that Christ has put to death
his old sinful, lacking nature.
Jesus said "whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I
will liken him unto the wise, which built his house upon a rock..." (Matthew
7:24). James 3:17 describes the wisdom of this man, it "is first pure, then
peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits,
without partiality, and without hypocrisy..." It is the wisdom that
is from above. If we lack this wisdom in our lives, we are instructed to ask of
God (James 1:5). By humbling ourselves and asking God for his fullness
(Ephesians 3:19), we can enter into a life of obedience to Christ. It
is only then that this promise is fulfilled in our lives, "God is able to
make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in
all things, may abound to every good work..." (11 Corinthians 9:8). "...Be
strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." (11 Timothy 2:1).