Statement of Faith

THE HOLY SCRIPTURES

  • We believe the Bible, in its original documents, is the inspired Word of God, the written record of His supernatural revelation of Himself to man, absolute in its authority, complete in its revelation, final in its content, and without any errors in its statements (II Timothy 3:16; John 10:35; Psalms 89:34; Hebrews 6:18; II Peter 3:16)
  • To maintain a strong Bible emphasis; we use the King James Version (KJV) in our Bible study, memorization of Scripture, and the preaching of God’s Word. It is important that one accepted translation of the Scripture be used to avoid confusion. We believe that God has preserved His word as He promised.
  • We believe that the original manuscripts are best represented and preserved by the traditional texts; i.e., the Hebrew Masoretic text in the Old Testament and the set of manuscripts known as the Textus Receptus in the New Testament. While we recognize that there are a few difficulties in the text, we believe that the New Testament manuscripts known as the Textus Receptus are closer to the original than are the manuscripts of the Westcott and Hort tradition. We also believe that the King James version of the Bible is an accurate, faithful, and reliable translation of these manuscripts and that the English reader can study and rely upon it with utmost confidence. Since its translation, it is apparent that God’s blessing has been upon the King James Version of the Bible in a way that God’s blessing has not been upon any other English version of the Bible (Qurollo, Dr. James, “Statement of Ambassador College Concerning the KJV Issue”, The Ambassador, a publication of Ambassador Baptist College, 900 South Post Rd., Shelby, NC 28152).
THE GODHEAD
  • We believe there is one God, eternally existent, Creator of heaven and earth. He is manifested in three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and each having the same attributes and perfections (Deuteronomy 6:4; II Corinthians 13:14; Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; Genesis 1:2; John 14:9; I Timothy 3:16; I John 5:7).

THE PERSON AND WORK OF CHRIST

  • We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful mankind (John 1:1,3; Luke 1:35).
  • We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ was and is sinlessly perfect, and that He accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice, and that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead (Romans 3:24,25; I Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7; I Peter 1:3-5).
  • The Lord Jesus Christ’s death was to pay for all the sins (past, present, and future) of all the world and NOT for an unconditionally elected group as the unsupportable doctrine of calvinism holds out (II Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 10:10-14; Hebrews 9:28; Acts 13:38-41; I Peter 2:24; I John 3:5).
  •  We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, and He is now exalted at the Right Hand of God, where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate (Acts 1:9,10; Hebrews 9:24;7:25; Romans 8:34; I John 2:1,2).

THE PERSON AND WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

  • We believe that the Holy Spirit is a Person Who continuously convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; and that He is the supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the Body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption. The moment a person receives the Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour, the Holy Spirit immediately indwells and seals that believer for all eternity (John 16:8-11, I Corinthians 3:16; 12:12-14; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 1:13,14; 4:30).
  • We believe that He is the Divine Teacher Who guides believers into all truth, and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled (controlled) with the Spirit (John 16:13; I John 2:20,27; Ephesians 5:18).

PREDESTINATION AND FOREKNOWLEDGE

  • We believe God is absolutely sovereign: and in His sovereignty, He gave man a free will to accept or reject the salvation that He has provided. It is God’s will that all would be saved and that none should perish. God however permits man’s destiny to depend upon his or her choice and allows he/ she to ultimately reject the provision He has provided through the Blood of His Son if they so choose (I Timothy 2:4; II Thessalonians 2:13; I Peter 1:2; II Peter 3:9; John 6:64,65; Acts 10:34; I Corinthians 1:21; Ephesians 1:5-14; Romans 8:29,30; 9:30-32).

THE FALLEN HUMAN RACE

  • We believe each member of the human race is fallen, sinful, and lost, and regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential for the salvation of man (Romans 3:23; John 3:7; Titus 3:5; Luke 24:49).

SALVATION

  • We believe man is saved by undeserved mercy through faith, and nothing of man enters into his salvation; it is a free gift. Man’s efforts, regardless of how good or well intended, before or after salvation have nothing to do with obtaining, keeping or proving one’s salvation as the unsupportable doctrines of arminianism or calvinism teach (ie. backsliding, “giving the gift back”, “persevering to the end”, etc). Salvation is by the finished work of Christ, and nothing can be added to it (Titus 3:5; Ephesians 2:8,9; Galatians 2:16; Romans 11:6; Colossians 2:13; Romans 3:22).
  • We believe repentance is necessary for salvation. The Greek work however for “repent” is “metaneo”, which translated into English means “to change one’s mind”. It does not mean “to turn from sin” or to experience a “necessary feeling” of remorse, sorrow, regret, compunction, etc prior to believing on Christ as a requirement for receiving eternal life since that would mean works for salvation. The lost sinner comes to the Lord Jesus Christ just as they are – a lost sinner who can’t save themselves.
  • Repentance for salvation means a change of mind from man’s ideas of salvation and religion to an acceptance of God’s way of salvation through Jesus Christ’s Blood alone.
  • Many teach repentance for salvation incorrectly by including some form of human effort or righteousness, such as willingness to turn from sin, or turning from sin. This is heresy and has confused many people because it adds works to salvation. This is “Galatianism”, which is a counterfeit of the Gospel and is completely unscriptural.
  • It is a tragedy that many Christians live shallow Christian lives. We are dedicated to the task of training Christian men and women in the importance of total dedication and making Jesus the Lord of their lives, not to be saved, but because they are saved. Adding works to salvation cannot cure “Shallow Christianity”. The child of God is not under the law, but under grace. The child is saved by grace and disciplined by grace (Romans 6:14,15;11:6; II Corinthians 3:17).
  • Salvation is not the result of what we do, but it is the result of receiving what God has done for us through His Only Begotten Son (Acts 13:38,39; Galatians 1:8,9; 2:16,21; 3:1-3; 5:1-4; Ephesians 2:8-10; II Corinthians 5:21; 11:13-15; Philippians 3:9; Titus 3:5-8; John 3:16-18).
  • We believe it is every Christian’s privilege and duty to make clear God’s plan of salvation (The Gospel) wherever and in whatever vocation he or she may be in (Mark 16:15; I Thessalonians 2:4).

We believe the general plan of salvation is best presented and practiced in the following manner:

  • Establish the fact that all men are sinners (Roman 3:10; Isaiah 64:6; Romans 3:23; James 2:10; Jeremiah 17:9).
  •  Establish the fact that the penalty of sin is death (Romans 6:23; Ezekiel 18:20).
  •  Establish the fact that man must be perfect to enter heaven (Revelation 21:27).
  • Establish good works will not assist or pay for sin or obtain entrance into Heaven (Ephesians 2:8-9).
  •  Establish how God provided a Sin-bearer Who paid for all their sins by dying their place (II Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 3:9, Isaiah 53:6; I  Peter 3:18).
  •  Establish the fact that man needs faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Savior for salvation (John 1:12; John 3:16; Acts 16:31, Romans 4:5).
  • Establish the fact that the believer can know right now that they are going to Heaven whenever they die (John 6:47, 1 John 5:13).
ETERNAL SECURITY
  • We believe that once a person becomes a child of God by faith in Christ, he is always a child of God. A person is either saved forever or not saved at all. Eternal security is not a separate doctrine from salvation. It is salvation. Once a person is saved, they can never lose their salvation in any way or for any reason (John 3:16; 3:36; 5:24; 6:47; 10:28).

THE EVIDENCE OF SALVATION

  • We believe the only evidence of salvation is revealed in Whom a person is trusting in to get him to heaven. We believe it is heresy to teach that a person can know he is saved or lost because of his behavior, or for others to believe a person is saved or lost because of his behavior. (Galatians 2:16, 5:17, Romans 4:5; 11:6). For in any given moment the believer can be walking in either their Spiritual (new) or flesh (old) nature depending on their yielding to the Holy Ghost.

THE CHURCH

  • We believe that the church, which is the body of the espoused Bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all those who have trusted Christ as their Savior from the day of Pentecost to the Rapture (Ephesians 1:22,23; 5:25-27; I Corinthians 12:12-14; II Corinthians 11:2).
  • We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures (Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32, I Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11)
  • We believe that the two ordinances of the local church instituted by Christ are water baptism and the Lord’s supper (communion). These are steps of obedience in a Christian’s life (service) and are not for salvation (Matthew 28:19; I Corinthians 11:23-28).

THE CHRISTIAN WALK

  • We believe every true child of God possesses eternal life, is justified by faith, sanctified by God, sealed with the Holy Spirit, safe and secure for all eternity, and cannot lose his salvation.
  • A Christian can, through sin, lose fellowship, joy, power, testimony, and rewards, and incur the Father’s chastisement.
  • Relationship is eternal being established by the new birth; fellowship, however, is dependent upon obedience. God guarantees salvation, it is His gift to us. God guarantees reward and fruit to the obedient child. God guarantees chastening and loss of rewards to the disobedient child (Rewards once earned, cannot be lost.)
  • God does not cast out disobedient children, but in some cases, does take them home before their time. He does not permit His children to live as they please without discipline and guidance (I Corinthians 3:11-17; 5:1-5; 11:30-32; Hebrews 12:5-11).
  • I John 1:9 is not a verse for salvation but a precious promise to Christians for cleansing and forgiveness. Confession of sin places the Christian in a position where he can have fellowship with God.
  • Spirituality, of which fellowship is part, comes from the Christian’s obedience to God (II Peter 1:5-8; Colossians 1:10; John 15:8; I John 1:6,7; Galatians 5:22).

THE TWO NATURES OF THE BELIEVER

  • We believe a child of God has two births: one of the flesh and the other of the Spirit (John 3:5-7)
  • The flesh nature is neither good nor righteous. The Spiritual nature does not commit sin (1 John 3:9). This results in warfare between the Spirit and the flesh, which continues until physical death, or the return of the Lord (Gal 5:17).
  • The new birth cannot change in any way the flesh nature of man, but the flesh nature can be controlled and kept subdued by the new man.
  • All claims to the eradication of the old nature in this life are absolutely and clearly unscriptural (John 3:3-7; Romans 8:8; 7:15-25; Galatians 5:17; I John 3:9; 5:18; I Peter 1:23).

THE TWO PHASES OF THE SECOND ADVENT

  • We believe that the Rapture consists of the coming of Christ from Heaven and the saints on earth meeting Him in the air. (1 Thess 4:16-17)
  • We believe in the personal, premillenial, and pretribulational return of the Lord Jesus Christ for His Body (I Thessalonians 5:9-11; 1:10; 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; I Corinthians 15:51-53).
  • We believe that the 2nd coming of Christ in power and glory to earth is preceded by the seven year tribulation period (ie. 70th Week of Daniel) which begins immediately after the Rapture (II Thessalonians 2:1-8; Isaiah 26:17-21; 27:1; Matthew 24; Revelation 4:4, Revelation 20:4).

THE PERSONALITY OF SATAN

  • We believe that satan is a person, the author of sin and the cause of the fall. We believe that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man, and that he and his angels will be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire (Job 1:6,7; Isaiah 14:12-17; Matthew 4:2-11; 25:41; Revelation 20:10).

THE MINISTRY AND SPIRITUAL GIFTS

  • We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowment of all His gifts (Romans 12:6-8; Ephesians 4:11-12; I Corinthians 12:18).
  • We believe the gift of tongues (languages) was a manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s power solely for the demonstration of God’s wisdom, purpose, and power in the establishment of the early church. This gift was always a spoken known language at the time it was demonstrated, and a sign for the unbelieving Jew (Acts 2:6; I Corinthians 14:22; Hebrews 2:4).
  • We believe that God does hear and answer, in accord with His own will, the prayer of faith for the sick and afflicted (John 15:7; I John 5:14,15).
  • God can heal, but physical healing is not in the atonement. God heals miraculously today when it is His perfect will to do so. Healing cannot be claimed through the guarantee of the atonement. At times it is God’s will for sickness not to be removed (II Corinthians 12:8-10; James 5:14-16).
  • We believe that speaking in tongues, and the working of sign miracles gradually ceased as the Apostles passed off the scene. The New Testament Scriptures were thus completed and their authority became established so as a result the sign gifts were no longer necessary. (I Corinthians 12:4-11; II Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 4:7-12). Moreover, we believe the “signs and tongues” movement today is not of God.

THE RESURRECTION

  • We believe there is a resurrection of the saved and of the lost; of the saved unto eternal life, and of the lost unto eternal conscious punishment. These two resurrections are separated by at least 1,000 years (I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Daniel 12:2; Revelation 20:5-15; Matthew 25:41).

SEPARATION

  • We believe that all of the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, and that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices, and associations is commanded of God (II Timothy 3:1-5; Romans 12:1,2; 14:13; I John 2:15-17; II John 9-11; II Corinthians 6:14-7:1).

THE DISPENSATIONS

  • We believe that the dispensations are stewardships by which God gives His practical will on earth to man by varying responsibilities.
  • That the dispensations are chronologically successive and progressive in nature but do not hold out to mankind or delineate different ways of salvation throughout human history.
  • We believe that God’s practical demands and progressive moral standard required throughout the successive dispensations were used in part to reveal without flattery man’s inability to meet God’s given standard and thus show him his need for a Saviour outside himself or his wretched abilities.
  • That the general dispensational framework is the proper approach to Scripture based on a literal and contextual interpretation of the Bible, and naturally leading to a consistent distinction of Israel and the Church. The ultimate purpose of God always being of course His Own glorification through the manifestation of the Lord Jesus Christ as the suffering Lamb (1st Advent), and as the ruling Lion (2nd Advent).
  • In every dispensation the basis of salvation was always the shed Blood of Christ (eventual or historical), the means / mechanism of salvation was always by believing the Gospel (less or more specifics), and the object of faith was always Jesus Christ the Messiah alone.
  • The details of the Lord Jesus Christ’s manifestation were progressive in nature in the Old Testament until He finally was manifested in God’s perfect timing and fulfilled all prophecy written about Him in the Old Testament regarding His suffering and loving sacrifice to redeem the world.
  • It is clear from a literal and contextual reading of the Word that the Lord Jesus is as evident in the Old Testament as He is in the New Testament.
  • We believe that every single dispensation points mankind to God’s only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ. And that is by either specific mention (Genesis 3:15, 12:3) or more latent evidences in the Scriptures.
  • We clearly recognize that the Gospel was preached unto Abraham, and that belief of it was what allowed God to impute righteousness unto him (Genesis 12:3, 15:5-6, Romans 1:16, Romans 4:1-5, Galatians 3:6-9).
  • The Gospel has always alone been the power of God unto salvation (Genesis 12:3, 15:5-6, Romans 1:16, Romans 4:1-5, Galatians 3:6-9).
  • We flatly reject the seemingly common dispensational belief that the Saints of old demonstrated their faith in God unto salvation in other ways that a conscious belief in the coming Messiah who would provide them with salvation, later revealed as Jesus of Nazareth – The Christ.
  • We also reject the notion that as God’s revelation toward mankind progressed that the Saints of old could not have understood with ever increasing clarity the significance of the foreshadowing sacrifices that ultimately and necessarily pointed them toward the loving sacrifice of God’s Only Begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.