Statement of Faith | RpptMinistries

SoF
1. We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are inspired by God; that they are the revelation of God to man and are the supreme and final authority in both faith and practice. (II Timothy 3:16,17; II Peter 1:21)

2. We believe in one God, eternally self-existing in three persons: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matt. 28:19; Luke 3:22)

3. We believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, begotten of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary; that He is fully God and fully man. (Romans 1:4; Matthew 1:23; John 1:14; Colossians 2:9)

4. We believe man was created in the image of God; that he sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death which is separation from God; that all human beings are born with a sinful nature, and in the case of those who reach moral responsibility, become sinners in thought, word and deed. (Genesis 1:27; Romans 5:12-19)

5. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins and has become our representative and substitutionary sacrifice; that He was bodily raised from the dead for our justification; that He is ascended into heaven as our High Priest and Advocate; that we are redeemed and born again as sons and daughters of God on the ground of our faith in the atonement provided by His shed blood; that the inward evidence of salvation is the direct witness of the Spirit and the outward evidence is a life of righteousness and true holiness before God and mankind. (Luke 24:46-47; Romans 10:9; Romans 8:16; Titus 2:11-14)

6. We believe in the ordinance of baptism by immersion for all who repent and believe on Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; that we are declaring to the world our identification with Christ’s death and our being raised to newness of life in Him. (Matthew 28:19; Acts 8:36-38; Romans 6:4)

7. We believe in the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper consisting of the elements of bread and the fruit of the vine. It is the symbol expressing our sharing the divine nature of our Lord Jesus Christ; a memorial of His suffering and death; a prophesy of His second coming; and is enjoined on all believers “til He comes!” (II Peter 1:1,3,4; I Corinthians 10:16, 17, 21; I Corinthians 11:26)

8. We believe in the Baptism in the Holy Spirit as the normal experience for all in the early church and for the church today; that we are commanded by our Lord Jesus Christ to seek this experience of enduement of power for life and service; that this experience is distinct from and subsequent to the experience of the new birth; that the initial physical confirmation and provision of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues. (Acts 2:4; 38-39)

9. We believe that the manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit is operative in the church today; that these gifts are to be sought after and desired by believers in the Lord Jesus Christ for the edification of His Body. (I Corinthians 12:4-11)

10. We believe that divine healing is an integral part of the Gospel; that deliverance from sickness is provided for in the atonement and is the privilege of all believers. (Isaiah 53:4,5; Matthew 8:16-17; James 5:14-16)

11. We believe sanctification is an act of separation to God and is the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in our lives; that it produces the fruit of the Spirit in our lives; that it brings us under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 6:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; II Timothy 2:19-21)

12. We believe that life after the new birth mandates the pursuit of Christ-like living, extending even to personal sexual purity, and that marriage is a covenant relationship between one man and one woman and God’s only provision for sexual fulfillment. (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:5; Mark 10:6-8; John 3:5-8; Romans 1:27; I Cor. 6: 9, 10; I Cor. 6:18-20; 7:2; II Corinthians 5:15-21; Colossians 3:5)

13. We believe that the Church is the Body of Christ and is made up of believers in Christ; that in its local manifestation, it is an autonomous assembly of believers. (Ephesians 1:22,23; Romans 12:5)

14. We believe that every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ is called to minister; that we are to build up the Body of Christ and to evangelize the world. (Romans 12:1, 4-8; Mark 16:15)

15. We believe in the rapture of the Church and the personal and imminent return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ; that there will be a bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust; that there will be an everlasting blessedness of those who have received Christ as Savior, and everlasting punishment of those who are separated from God and remain in their sins; that there will be a new heaven and earth. (II Thessalonians 1:7-9; I Thessalonians 4:16,17; Titus 2:13; I Corinthians 15:51,52; II Peter 3:13; Revelation 20:11-15; 21:1-4, 8)