Abundant Life Community Church
Our Statement of Faith
We Believe...
THE SCRIPTURES - The Bible is the inspired Word of God, the product of holy men of old who spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. The New Covenant, as recorded in the New Testament, we accept as our infallible guide in matters pertaining to conduct and doctrine (2 Timothy 3:16; 1 Thessalonians 2:13, 2 Peter 1:21).
We Believe...
THE GODHEAD - Our God is One, but manifested in three persons - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, being co-equal (Philippians 2:6).
God the Father is the sovereign, holy, righteous, merciful Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and Father of the redeemed, and is greater than all (John 1:14; 14:28; 16:28).
God The Son is co-existent, co-eternal and equal with the Father, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He took upon Himself the form of man and lived a sinless life. By His substitutionary and atoning death upon the cross for all mankind He bore the curse of sin, sickness and sorrow and redeemed mankind through His shed blood. He arose bodily on the third day and ascended to the right hand of the Father, where He lives to make intercession for us (John 1:1-3, 14; 8:52-58; 10:30; Matthew 1:23; 1 Timothy 2:5; Ephesians 2:18; Hebrews 7:25).
God the Holy Spirit is co-existent, co-eternal and equal with the Father and the Son. He proceeds forth from the Father, through the Son, to reprove the world of sin and prepare the bride of Christ (John 14:26; 15:26; 16:7-8).
We Believe...
MAN: HIS FALL AND REDEMPTION - Man was created by God in His likeness and image and for His glory, but by voluntary transgression fell into sin, sickness and death. This fall caused man to have a corrupt nature which is continually inclined to evil and unable to produce righteousness (Genesis 1:27, Isaiah 43:7; Romans 3:9-10, 23).
Death, both spiritual and physical, passed on to all men through the fall. Because of man’s total inability to redeem himself, God, by grace alone, provided a substitutionary sacrifice through Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, giving a free salvation based on faith in His shed blood and not on individual good deeds (Romans 3:22, 28; 5:12; Acts 4:12).
We Believe...
THE NEW BIRTH AND ETERNAL LIFE - Salvation is the gift of God to man, separate from works and the law, and is made operative by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, producing works acceptable to God. The new birth must be received by all men in order to be reconciled to God. This is caused by the grace of God and the calling of the Holy Spirit followed by a godly repentance and confession of Jesus Christ as Lord, resulting in eternal life (John 3:3; Romans 5:1-2; 2 Corinthians 7:10; Ephesians 2:8; 1 Peter 1:23; 1 John 5:12).
We Believe...
WATER BAPTISM - Baptism in water is by immersion and is a direct commandment of our Lord, and is for believers only. This ordinance is a symbol of the Christian’s identification with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection (Matthew 28:19; Romans 6:4; Colossians 2:12; Acts 8:36-39).
We Believe...
BAPTISM IN THE HOLY GHOST - The Baptism in the Holy Ghost and fire is a gift from God as promised by the Lord Jesus Christ to those who are believers in this dispensation and is received subsequent to the new birth. This experience is accompanied by the initial evidence of speaking in other tongues as the Holy Spirit Himself gives utterance ( Matthew 3:11; John 14:16-17; Acts 1:8, 2:4, 2:38-39, 19:1-7).
We Believe...
SANCTIFICATION - Sanctification (the process of being sanctified, made holy, or set apart for God) is a definite, yet progressive work of grace, commencing at the time of regeneration (the new birth) and continuing until the consummation of salvation. Without holiness no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Philippians 3:7-14; 1 Thessalonians 5:23).
We Believe...
DIVINE HEALING - Healing is for the physical ills of the human body and is fashioned by the power of God through the prayer of faith, by the laying on of hands, and as part of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. Healing is provided for in the atonement of Christ, and is the privilege of every person in the Body of Christ (Matthew 8:17; Mark 16:18; James 5:14-18; 1 Peter 2:24; Isaiah 53:4-5).
We Believe...
RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD AND THE RETURN OF OUR LORD
Resurrection of Christ: We believe in the literal bodily resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. In His resurrection He became the firstfruits of the resurrection of the righteous (Matthew 28:1-7; 1 Corinthians 15:1-20).
Resurrection of Believers: Upon the return of Christ the bodies of believers will be raised in an eternal spiritual body like Christ’s, for when we see Him we shall be like Him (1 Corinthians 15:52; Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; 1 John 3:2).
Resurrection of Unbelievers: The spirit and soul of all who have not been washed in the blood of the Lamb abide in hell until the Great White Throne Judgment. This is the resurrection of damnation where unbelievers will be given an eternal body and cast into the lake of fire which burns with fire and brimstone forever (Matthew 25:46; John 5:28-29; Revelation 20:11-15).
The Return of Our Lord: The Second Coming of Christ includes the rapture of the saints, which is our blessed hope, followed by the visible return of Christ with His saints to reign on the earth for one thousand years. This millennial reign will bring the salvation of national Israel and the establishment of universal peace (Matthew 25:36-42; Romans 11:25-26; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18; Revelation 20:6).
We Believe...
HELL AND ETERNAL RETRIBUTION - The one who physically dies in his sins without Christ is hopelessly and eternally lost in the lake of fire and therefore has no further opportunity for repentance. The lake of fire is literal. The damned spend eternity in the lake of fire while the saints spend eternity in the presence of God (Matthew 25:46; Hebrews 6:1-2; 9:27; Revelations 20:11-15).
We Believe...
COMMUNION - Communion is the commemoration of the broken body and shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, and as an ordinance shows His death, burial, and resurrection, and looks forward to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. All believers, regardless of church affiliation, may partake of the Lord’s Supper with the admonition to prepare by deep self-examination so as not to receive unworthily (Luke 22:15-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-28).
We Believe...
LAYING ON OF HANDS - A simple belief that power (anointing) or any other necessary quality can be transmitted from one person touching another. Laying on of hands was practiced by the Levitical Priesthood. Jesus practiced it as a blessing, and it is our grounds for baby dedication instead of infant baptism. Laying on of hands is done for healing, to confer office, to receive the Holy Ghost, to receive anointing, to cultivate the anointing, to ordain and consecrate, and to receive necessary ministry tools (Mark 10:13-16; 16:15-18; Acts 6:2-6; 8:14-17; 1 Timothy 4:14).
We Believe...
HUMAN SEXUALITY - We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of God's gift of sex. We believe that God disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one's gender by surgery or appearance. (Genesis 2:24; 19:5, 13; 26:8-9; Leviticus 18:1-30; Romans 1:26-29; 1 Corinthians 5:1; 6:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4).
We believe that the only legitimate marriage is the joining of one man and one woman. (Genesis 2:24; Romans 7:2; 1 Corinthians 7:10; Ephesians 5:22-23).
