LIKE PRECIOUS FAITH Ministries - Our Tenets of Faith

Our Tenets of Faith

The Scriptures

The Bible is the inerrant and inspired Word of God, the product of holy men of old who spoke and wrote as the Holy Spirit moved them. We accept the New Covenant, as recorded in the New Testament, as our infallible guide to thoroughly equip us in matters pertaining to conduct and doctrine. (1 Thess. 2:13; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:21)

The Godhead

Our God is one, but manifested (revealed) in three co-equal persons – the Father, the Son Jesus the Christ, and the Holy Spirit. (Gen. 1:26; John 14:21-26; Phil. 2:5-7)

God the Father – is greater than all – the Source of the Word (logos) and the Begetter. (John 14:28; John 16:28; John 1:14)

God the Son – Jesus the Christ – is the Word made flesh, the One Begotten, the firstborn of many brethren, and has existed with the Father from the beginning. (John 1:14; John 1:18; John 1:1-2; Gen. 1:26)

God the Holy Spirit – is eternal and proceeds from the Father and the Son, has existed from the beginning, was poured out at Pentecost and remains in the earth today convicting the world of sin, making intercession, and helping, comforting, and empowering the believer. (John 15:26; Gal. 3:5; Gen. 1:2 Acts 2:1-2; John 16:7-11; Gal. 3:3; Eph. 3:4; Rom. 8:26-27; 1 John 4:13)

Man, His Fall, and His Redemption

Man is a created being – created by God (according to His good pleasure) in three parts.

Spirit – the part of man that is eternal and is created in the image and likeness of God

Soul – consists of our mind, our will, and our emotions.

Body – the fleshly body (tent) that we are ‘housed’ in.

We are a spirit that has a soul that lives in a body. (Gen. 1:27; Gen. 5:1; Matt. 12:18; Matt. 26:38-40; Eph. 1:9; Phil. 2:13; 1 Thess. 5:23; 2 Pet. 1:14)

Through (the first) Adam’s transgression and fall sin came into the world and all of mankind was taken captive by sin and needed to be ransomed (bought back, redeemed), reconciled to our heavenly Father, and saved from spiritual death and eternity in hell. (Gen. 3:2-4, Gen.3:14-22; Rom. 2:11-12, 3:9-12)

Knowing this beforehand, God provided the perfect payment (ransom, sacrifice) in Christ Jesus (the last Adam), who through His obedience many are made righteous. (Rom. 3: 21-26; Rom. 5:10-21; Rom. 5:14-19; 1 Cor. 1:30; 2 Cor. 5:18-19; Eph. 1:3-14; Col. 1:13-14; 1 Pet. 1:17-21)

The Lord Jesus Christ paid the price of the first Adam’s sin by becoming sin for us, dying on the cross, descending into hell (to take our place), taking back the authority that had been usurped from Adam by Satan in the Garden of Eden, and defeating (spiritual) death by becoming the firstborn of many brethren. (Matt. 4:8; Matt. 12:40; John 5:24-27; Acts 2:22-36; Acts 26:23; Rom. 8:29; 2 Cor. 5:21; Eph. 5:2; Col. 2:15; 1 Tim. 3:16; Heb. 9:26)

Man’s only hope of salvation is through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation is the free gift of God to man, separate from works and the law, and is obtained by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. When a person believes in their heart and confesses with their mouth faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God and their Savior, they are baptized into the family of God, pass from being sinners to being saints, are born again and have become new creations. Old things have passed away and all things become new. When you are born again your name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. (Mark 11:23; Mark 16:16; John 3:14-18; John 6:47; John 11:25; John 14:6; Rom. 1:7; Rom. 1:16-17; Rom. 8:27; Rom. 10:8-13; 1 Cor. 1:2; 1 Cor. 12:12-14; 2 Cor. 1:1; 2 Cor. 5:17-19; Eph. 1:1; Phil. 1:1; Phil. 4:3; Col. 1:2; Gal. 3:27; Gal. 6:15; Jude 1:3; Rev. 20:11-15)

Justification by Faith Alone

Because Jesus was resurrected (raised up from the dead), those who confess faith Christ Jesus are justified (declared innocent and righteous) in the sight of God. (Rom. 4:23-25; Rom. 5:15-18; Gal. 2:16)

Baptism in Water

Baptism in water by immersion is a direct commandment of our Lord and is only for believers. IT is a symbol of the believer’s identification with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. (Matt. 28:19; Mark 16:16; Acts 8:36-38; Acts 19:3-5; Rom. 6:3-7; Col. 2:12)

Baptism in the Holy Spirit

Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a gift from God as promised by Christ Jesus to all believers in this age. Being filled (baptized) with the Holy Spirit is a separate experience and is received subsequent to being born again. The baptism in the Holy Spirit is accompanied by the initial evidence of speaking in other tongues as the Holy Spirit gives utterance. The purpose of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is to empower and edify the believer as well as help us in our weakness. (Matt. 3:11; Mark 16:15-17; Luke 11:9-13; John 7:37-38; John 14:16-17; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:1-4; Acts 2:38-39; Acts 8:12-18; Acts 9:17-18; Acts 10:44-46; Acts 19:1-7; Rom. 8:26; 1 Cor. 14:18; Eph. 6:14-18a)

Sanctification

The doctrine of sanctification (purification and holiness) is a definite yet progressive work of grace beginning when we are born again (regeneration) and continuing until the fulfillment of our salvation at Christ’s return for without holiness no one can see the Lord. (Rom. 6:22; 1 Cor. 1:2; 1 Cor. 6:11; 1 Cor. 1:30; 2 Cor. 7:1; Eph. 4:20-24; Phil. 3:12-14; 1 Thess. 4:1-8; 1 Thess. 5:23-24; Heb. 2:11; Heb. 10:12-14; Heb. 12:14; Jude 1:1b)

Divine Healing

Divine healing has already been provided for the believer by Jesus Christ through His work at the cross in the atonement. Healing is for the physical afflictions of the human body and is brought about by the power of God through the prayer of faith and by the laying on of hands. It has been made available to every one who believes and receives it just as salvation is available to every one who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ and receives it by grace through faith. (Isa. 53:4-5; Matt. 8:17; Matt. 10:1; Mark 3:15; Mark 16:18; Luke 10:9; Acts 4:30; James 5:13-16; 1 Pet. 2:24)

Resurrection of the Just and the Return of Our Lord

Men… in white apparel… said, “…This same Jesus… will so come in like manner…” His return is imminent and no one knows the day or hour but when He comes we will caught up together with Him (also known as the rapture). Following the tribulation, He shall return to earth as King of kings and Lord of lords and shall reign a thousand years together with His saints who are the kings, lords, and priests. (Matt. 22:29-32; Matt. 24:36-37; Luke 14:14; Luke 20:34-38; John 5:24-29; John 6:40; Acts 1:11; Acts 23:6-8; Acts 24:15; 1 Cor. 15:20-24; 1 Cor. 15:42; Phil. 3:10-11; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; Heb. 6:1-2; Rev. 17:14; Rev. 20:5-6)

Eternity, Hell and Everlasting Life

The one who physically dies without accepting Christ is hopelessly and eternally lost and has no further opportunity of hearing the Gospel, repenting, and being saved. It is not one’s sin that sends a person to hell but their rejection of Christ. (Their sin has already been forgiven through Christ.) There is a literal hell and a literal lake of fire. The terms eternal and everlasting used in describing the duration of the punishment of the damned carry the same thought and meaning of endless existence as used in describing the duration of joy and ecstasy of the saints in the presence of God. Because we are all created in His image and likeness we are spirits and will either be resurrected unto everlasting life or eternal damnation. (Matt. 25:46; John 3:36; Acts 24:15; Rom. 2:1-11; Rom. 6:22; 2 Cor. 5:10-11; Gal. 6:8; 1 Thess. 5:9; 1 Tim. 1:16; Jude 1:6-7; Jude 1:20-23; Rev. 11:18; Rev. 20:13-15)