Family Ministries

Rev. 22:17b

 River of Life – Statement of Faith

Section 1
                We believe the Bible, both the Old and New Testament, to be the verbally inspired Word of God; that it is without error in the original writings and is the supreme, absolute, and final authority in all matters of Christian doctrine, faith, life, and conduct.

Section 2
                We believe there is one Eternal God, all powerful, all knowing, and everywhere present, Creator of all things, existing in three persons who are equal in essence yet differ in function:  Father, Son and Holy Spirit; that God is holy, righteous, faithful, the total expression of mercy and loving-kindness and love. 

Section 3
                We believe in the personality and reality of Satan; who stands opposed to and in conflict with God and those in His kingdom.

Section 4
                We believe all men, regardless of condition or class, are sinners (spirit, soul and body) before God; that because of man’s total inability to save himself, salvation is by God’s grace alone, apart from works of any kind; that salvation of the individual is received through faith, having a godly repentance and a wholehearted acceptance of Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Savior; and as a result of receiving this salvation he is born again and becomes a new creature in Christ Jesus.

Section 5
                We believe Jesus Christ (the Son-pre-existent, by whom all things are created, equal in essence with the Father and the Holy Spirit), without any change in His eternal deity, became man through conception by the Holy Spirit and virgin birth; that He possessed a sinless human nature being both truly God and truly man; that He died a substitutionary and propitiatory death on the cross, a perfect and complete sacrifice for the sins of the whole world according to the Scriptures; that He, in His death, was reconciling the world to God and is triumphant over the power of Satan in man; that He was bodily resurrected and has ascended into Heaven where He was seated at the right-hand of God the Father; that He is now our High Priest and advocate.

Section 6
                We believe the Holy Spirit is a Person equal in essence with the Father and the Son; that His present ministry is to reprove the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment, and to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ by testifying of Him; that He regenerates the sinner when through faith he accepts the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior; that He indwells all believers from the time of spiritual birth and baptizes each into one body; that He seals, enlightens, instructs, fills, guides and empowers the believer for Christian living and service.

Section 7
                We believe all who are born again by the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ have assurance of eternal life and all the rights, privileges and heirship as God’s children.

Section 8
                We believe the child of God is “created in Christ Jesus unto good works”; that because of the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are called into a life of separation from worldly living and sinful practices, abstaining from such amusements, habits and conduct as will cause others to stumble and bring reproach upon our Lord Jesus Christ.

Section 9
                We believe all born-again believers possess two natures, the old Adamic nature and a new Christ-like nature; that the believer may be victorious over and put off the old Adamic nature through God who has made full provision in the power of the Holy Spirit whereby His children may be more than conquerors through the Lord Jesus Christ; and that elimination of the old Adamic nature is unscriptural until a believer goes to be with the Lord.

Section 10
We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowment of all His gifts, but that the believer is admonished to exemplify the fruit of the Spirit; that the gifts of evangelists, pastors and teachers are sufficient for the perfecting of the saints today; that speaking in tongues and the working of sign miracles ceased as the New Testament scriptures were completed and their authority became established.  We do believe that God hears and answers the prayer of faith, according to His own perfect will, for the sick and afflicted.

Section 11
                We believe all the saved, regardless of race, color or economic status, make up the Body of Christ, the Church; that the vocation of the local church is for the perfecting of the saints, work of the ministry, and edifying of the Body of Christ.

Section 12
                The supreme purpose of God for every child of His is to be “to the praise of the glory of His grace” and to be a witness; that the question for each believer is not ‘if’ I should be a witness, but ‘where and how’ I should serve; and that our mission is to make Christ known to the whole world.

Section 13
                We believe in the eternal blessedness of the saved.

Section 14
                We believe in the eternal conscious punishment of all unsaved.
               
Section 15
We believe in the personal, bodily, visible and imminent premillennial return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; that this blessed hope has a vital bearing on the life and service of the believer.