WHAT WE BELIEVE
Tenets of Faith
This ministry accepts the holy scriptures as the revealed will of God, the all-sufficient rule of faith and practice, and for the purpose of maintaining general unity, adopts the following statements of fundamental, to wit:
1. The Scriptures Inspired
The scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments, are verbally inspired of God and are the revelation of God to man, the infallible, authoritative rule of faith and conduct (2 Tim. 3: 15-17; 1 Thess. 2:13; 2 Peter 1:21).
2. The One True God
The one true God has revealed himself as the eternal self-existent "I Am", the Creator of heaven and earth and the Redeemer of mankind. He has further revealed himself as embodying the principles of relationship and association as
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
3. The Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ
The Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. The scriptures declare:
1. His virgin birth (Matt. 1:23).
2. His sinless life (Heb. 7:26)
3. His miracles (Acts 2:22)
4. His substitutionary work on the cross (1 Cor. 15:3)
5. His bodily resurrection from the dead (Matt. 28:6)
6. His exaltation to the right hand of God (Acts 1:9)
4. The Fall of Man
Man was created good and upright; for God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” However, man, by voluntary transgression, fell and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death, which is separation from God.
5. The Salvation of Man
Man's only hope or redemption is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ the Son of God.
(a)
Conditions of salvation... Salvation is received through repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ, By the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, being justified by grace through faith, man becomes as heir of God according to the hope of eternal life.
(b)
The evidences of salvation... The inward evidence of salvation is the direct witness of the Spirit (Rom, 8:16). The outward evidence to all men is a life of righteousness and true holiness (Eph. 4:24)
6. The Ordinances of the Church
(a)
Baptism in water...The ordinance of baptism by immersion is commanded in the scriptures. All who repent and believe on Christ as Savior and Lord are to be baptized. This they declare to the world that they have died with Christ and that they also have been raised with him to walk in newness of life.
(b)
Holy communion...The Lord's supper, consisting of the elements; bread and the fruit of the vine, is the symbol expressing our sharing the divine nature of our Lord Jesus Christ; a memorial of his suffering and death; and a prophecy of his second coming; and is enjoined on all believers "Till He come!"
7. Sanctification
Sanctification is the act of separation from that which is evil, and of dedication unto God. The scriptures teach a life of "holiness without which no man shall see the Lord." By the power of the Holy Spirit we are able to obey the command: "Be ye holy, for I am holy." [1 Peter 1:16]
Sanctification is realized in the believer by recognizing his identification with Christ in his death and resurrection and by faith reckoning daily upon the fact of that union, and by offering every faculty continually to the dominion of the Holy Spirit.
8. The Mission
The church is the body of Christ, the habitation of God through the Spirit, with divine appointments for the fulfillment of her great commission. Every believer, born of the Spirit, is an integral part of the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in Heaven.
Since God's purpose concerning man is to seek and to save that which is lost, to be worshipped by man, and to build a body of believers in the image of his son, the priority reason for Ekklesia Ministries CR being is “to be an agency of God for evangelizing the world" and "to be a covering for ministries that engage in the same".
9. The Ministry
A divinely called and scripturally ordained ministry has been provided by our Lord for the purpose of leading the church in evangelization of the world,
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10. The Blessed Hope
The resurrection of those who have fallen asleep in Christ and their translation together with those who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord is the imminent and blessed hope of the church.
11. The Final Judgment
There will be a final judgment in which the wicked deed will be raised and judged according to their works. Whosoever is not found written in the Book of Life, together with the devil and his angels, the beast and the false prophet, will be consigned to everlasting punishment in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.
12. The New Heavens and the New Earth
"We, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
