Whereas we, being an incorporate body of people sharing the same faith:
1. We believe in the Lord, Jesus Christ for eternal life through His death and the power of His resurrection.
2. We believe the Holy Bible is the inerrant, inspired Word of God. The Bible is the final authority on all matters of life, faith and practice, the revelation of His will to man and accept it as our rule for guidance, faith and conduct.
3. We believe in Christian fellowship, mutual edification and evangelical effort, in the form of local churches, is God’s ordained order for His people.
4. We believe this church is to assemble together for the purpose of worship, fellowship, evangelism, mission, counsel, and instruction in the Word of God, and the work of the ministry.
5. We believe each church should exercise the gifts and offices provided for in the New Testament to obtain the Christian goal, “Be ye therefore perfect even as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Mat. 5:48).
6. We believe God has called and anointed us to emphasize the fullness of the Gospel through the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, we have embraced and accepted and the following Statement of Fundamental Truths and Constitution:
• We shall seek, by the grace of God, to be governed by the Constitution as set forth, and will also seek to teach and propagate the doctrines contained in the Statement of the Fundamental Truths.
The Scriptures
• We believe the Holy Bible is written by men and is the inspired Word of God, a revelation from God to man, the infallible rule of faith and conduct, and is superior to conscience and reason, but not contrary to reason (2 Timothy 3:15, 2 Timothy 3:16, 1 Peter 2:2).
1 The One True God
• We believe that there is one true God, eternally existent in three persons,
The Father, Son and the Holy Spirit
• We believe in the Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ and that He is both true God and man. The one true God has revealed himself as the eternally self-existent, self-revealed “I AM” and has further revealed Himself as embodying the principles of relationship and association, i.e., Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Deuteronomy 6:4, Mark 12:29, Isaiah 43:10, Isaiah 11, Matthew 28:19).
• We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ. He died on the cross for our sins. He rose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven where He sits at the right hand of His Father. We believe in His sinless life, and in His miracles.
Man, his Fall and Redemption
• We believe man was created into the image of God, good and upright but fall into sin. God said, “Let Us make man in our image, after our likeness.” But man, by voluntary transgression, fell and man only hope of redemption is in Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Genesis 1:26-31, Genesis 3:1-7, Romans 5:12-21)
2 The Salvation of Man
We believe that salvation is an act of God’s saving by grace and not by works.
• The grace of God, which brings salvation, has appeared to all men, through the preaching of repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ; the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, and being justified by hope of eternal life (Titus 2:11, Romans 10:13-15, Luke 24:47, Titus 3:5-7).
• The evidence to the believer of His salvation is the direct witness of the Spirit (Romans 8:16). The outward evidence to all men is a life of righteousness and true holiness. By confessing of your sins and believing in the heart that Jesus Christ, “died for your sin and resurrected”.
Regeneration/REPENTACE
• We believe all people who Admit to be a sinner, repent, who turn from their sins, Believe Jesus is God son, and Confess their faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ receive a new birth by which their life is regenerated through the blood of Jesus (John 3:3-6, Titus 3:5).
3 Baptism in Water
• We believe baptism of the Father, The Son and of the Holy Spirit, Mat. 28: 19-20. The entire body of the believer is immerged in pure water. The ordinance of baptism, a burial with Christ should be observed as commanded in the scriptures by all who have repented and believed in Christ as their Savior and Lord.
• In so doing, the immersion in pure water as an outward symbol of cleansing,
while their heart has already been sprinkled with the blood of Christ as in inner cleansing. They declare to the world that they have died with Jesus and been raised with Him to walk in newness of life (Matthew 28:19, Acts 10:47, Acts 48, Romans 6:4, Acts 20:21, Hebrews 10:22).
4 Marriage
We believe in the marriage between a man and a woman (Gen. 2:24.) Therefore, our biblical belief will only permit Grace & Hope Community Church Pastors or ministers to join a man and a woman together in holy matrimony. We, the Grace and Hope Community Church, in obedience to the word of God do not recognize any other marriage that is not between a man and a woman.
5 The Lord’s Supper
We believe 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 (2 Peter 1:4), a memorial of His suffering and death (1 Corinthians 11:26), a prophecy of His second coming (1 Corinthians 11:26), and is enjoined on all believers until He comes.
6 Regeneration
We believe all people who turn from their sins and put their faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ receive a new birth by which their life is regenerated by the power of God’s Holy Spirit (John 3:3-6, Titus 3:5). From that time forth the regenerated person has God’s Holy Spirit dwelling within them enabling them to live a holy life (1 Corinthians 3:16, 2 Peter 1:3-4). Also giving them power to be witnesses for Jesus Christ (Acts 1:8).
8 The Promise of the Father
We believe all believers are entitled to the promise of the Father and the baptism in the Holy Spirit according to the command of our Lord Jesus Christ. This was the normal experience in the early Christian Church. With it comes a deeper spiritual life and service, the bestowment of the gifts and their uses in the work of the ministry (Luke 24:49, Acts 1:4, 1 Corinthians 12:1-31). This wonderful experience is distinct from and subsequent to the experience of the new birth (Acts 10:44-46, Acts 11:14-16, Acts 15:7-9).
9. Sanctification
We believe 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 holy, for I am holy.” Sanctification is the will of God for all believers, and should be pursued by walking in obedience to God’s Holy Spirit. Sanctification is experienced in basically three ways:
a. Instant or Positional Sanctification
i. To every person who put his or her trust in the finished work of
the Lord Jesus Christ. He is saved through faith in Jesus.
We are sanctified in the eyes of God through the blood of the cross. As God the Father looks at us, He sees the holiness of Jesus, which is imputed to us, and does not see our sin (Hebrews 10:10, Hebrews 14).
b. Progressive or Practical Sanctification
i. This is the process by which we strive to live on a day-to-day basis by considering ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in holy living through the power of God’s divine nature within our lives (Romans 6; Philippians 2:12, Philippians 2:13, 2 Peter 1:3, 2 Peter 1:4).
c. Final Sanctification
i. This is when we are totally set free from the presence of sin within our life after seeing Jesus our Lord and being made like Him because of seeing Him as He really is in all His glory (1 John 3:2).
10 The Impact
Our aim is to adhere to those fundamental truth and beliefs, with the aid of the Holy Spirit, the result will yield positive and spiritual fruits IN OUR LIVES and in others…. we will leave a legacy that will carry the true gospel of Jesus Christ to the foundation of the earth. We pray we will keep our faith strong, pure, and unshaken from the wind of heresies.
Jesus lives us this command for his believers and we abide by this truth, “Goye therefore and make disciple of all nation, baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe all things whatever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the earth (Matthew 28: 19-20)”.
Grace and Hope Community Church is the Rock on which the Gospel of Jesus Christ will build upon. Jesus, told Peter, “You are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18)”.
