West Fifth Bible Chapel
440 West 5th Street, Hamilton, ON L9C 3P6
STATEMENT OF FAITH
Markups in blue by Trevor de Vries, Dec 12, 2009
THE BIBLE We believe Scripture as originally given in its entirety is the Word of God, verbally inspired and wholly without error. The Bible is the supreme final authority of faith, life and church activity. (2Ti 3:16-17, 2Pet 1:19-21, Rom 15:4, Heb 4:12, Psa 19:7-11, Psa 119:9, Rom 2:20)
AGREED. THE EXTRA VERSE REFERENCE(S) ONLY SERVE TO BACK UP THE STATEMENT.
GOD We believe that one living, true God eternally exists in three distinct persons; Father (Rom 1:7), Son (Heb 1:1-2, John 1:1, John 10:30, Isa 9:6), and Holy Spirit (1Cor 2:9-10&11), and that these possess the same nature, attributes, and glory. (Matt 28:19, 2Cor 13:14, John 14:9-10)
AGREED. THE EXTRA VERSE REFERENCE(S) ONLY SERVE TO BACK UP THE STATEMENT.
JESUS:
His Life We believe that Jesus Christ is God the Son, and that through His virgin birth, both true humanity and undiminished deity were united in one person. (John 1:1, John 1:14, Matt 1:21, 1Tim 3:16, Php 2:6-7, Rom 9:5 )
AGREED. THE EXTRA VERSE REFERENCE(S) ONLY SERVE TO BACK UP THE STATEMENT.
His Death We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross, providing through His own blood, a full and perfect substitutionary sacrifice for sins for all whom repent and believe. (Rom 5:8, 2Cor 5:21, Isa 53:5-6, 1Pet 2:24, Heb 7:25, Heb 10:14, Rom 4:25, 1Jn 2:2)
AGREED. THE EXTRA VERSE REFERENCE(S) ONLY SERVE TO BACK UP THE STATEMENT.
His Resurrection We believe in the bodily resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. His ascension into Heaven ensures the resurrection of all believers who have received God’s gift of eternal life. (Act 4:10, 1Cor 15:3-4, John 11:25-26, Php 3:21, 1Cor 15:20)
AGREED. THE EXTRA VERSE REFERENCE(S) ONLY SERVE TO BACK UP THE STATEMENT.
His Return We believe in the imminent physical return of the Lord Jesus Christ to take His church to glory. His return to reign on the earth, His righteous judgment of the world and the blessing of Heaven are only for those who have trusted Him for salvation. (1Th 4:13-18, Rev 20:11-15, John 14:2-3)
AGREED. THE EXTRA VERSE REFERENCE(S) ONLY SERVE TO BACK UP THE STATEMENT.
MAN[KIND] We believe man was originally created in the image of God, and by disobedience fell into sin. Man is responsible for his sin and is liable for eternal punishment and separation from God. MAN CANNOT SAVE HIMSELF. (Rom 3:10-12, Rom 3:20, Rom 3:23, 1Cor 15:21, Gen 1:27, Gen 1:31, Isa 64:6)
AGREED. THE EXTRA VERSE REFERENCE(S) ONLY SERVE TO BACK UP THE STATEMENT.
SALVATION We believe salvation from eternal punishment and fellowship with God, are secured only through faith, that Christ bore our sins in His own body on the cross. By a definite receiving of Christ, through the Holy Spirit, into our inner being we are saved and CANNOT LOSE OUR SALVATION. (Eph 2:8-9, John 3:16, 1Pe 1:3-5, John 10:28-29, Isa 53:5-6)
*I [Trevor] have a slightly different viewpoint. I agree with everything in the above statement, all except for the phrase that we ‘cannot lose our salvation’.
Here is how I see it:
Christ will keep us – but not against our will. We can have assurance of our salvation if we have repented and believed in Christ and we are aware of the Holy Spirit living in us. But those believers who allow a spirit of unbelief to take hold by choosing to persist in their sinful ways are turning back to destruction. So then we are secure as long as we wish to be.
Here are the Scriptures I base this on (NASB):
Christ will keep us…
We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him. (1Jn 5:18)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1Pe 1:3-5)
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. “I and the Father are one.” (Joh 10:27-30)
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, (Jud 1:24)
He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. (1Jn 5:12)
…and we can have assurance of salvation if we have repented. and believed in Christ…
that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Rom 10:9)
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. (Joh 3:16)
Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Act 2:38)
Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mar 1:14-15)
…and we are aware of the Holy Spirit living in us
By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. (1Jn 4:13)
The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son. And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. (1Jn 5:10-13)
For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. (Rom 8:15-17)
And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. (Rom 8:23)
who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge. (2Co 1:22)
For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens… Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge. (2Co 5:1,5)
In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation–having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory. (Eph 1:13-14)
Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (Eph 4:30)
Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” (Gal 4:6)
…but those believers who allow a spirit of unbelief to take hold by choosing to persist in their sinful ways are turning back to destruction.
Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end, (Heb 3:12-14)
You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either. Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. (Rom 11:19-22)
For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? (Heb 10:26-29)
For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them. It has happened to them according to the true proverb, “a dog returns to its own vomit,” and, “A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire.” (2Pe 2:20-22)
For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. (Heb 6:4-6)
And I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will confess him also before the angels of God; but he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God. “And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him. (Luk 12:8-10)
“If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. (Joh 15:6)
“But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master will be a long time in coming,’ and begins to beat the slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers. “And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes, (Luk 12:45-47)
“He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” (Joh 3:36)
Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you. (2Pe 1:10-11)
Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. (Heb 12:14)
And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach– if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister. (Col 1:21-23)
Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you. (1Ti 4:16)
but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house–whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end. (Heb 3:6)
by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. (1Co 15:2)
May they be blotted out of the book of life, And may they not be recorded with the righteous. (Psa 69:28)
‘He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. (Rev 3:5)
“You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved. (Mat 10:22)
And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation… (Heb 5:9)
and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. (Eph 5:4-5)
“These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.” (Rev 17:14)
For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. (1Ti 6:10)
You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. (Gal 5:4)
HOLY SPIRIT We believe God, the Holy Spirit has united every believer in Christ by Spirit baptism, and He indwells every believer to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. He empowers and instructs the believer in Godly living. (1Cor 12:13, John 13:1-14, Gal 5:22-25)
*I think the above reference should be John 16:1-14 or maybe 7-15.
*I totally agree with the above statement.
Not sure if you see this as a problem – I tend to agree with the Pentecostals in some of their doctrine about the Holy Spirit (but not all), however neither I nor my wife speak in tongues or prophesy. (Act 8:5-17, Eph 5:18, Act 9:17, Act 4:31, 1Co 14:29, 1Th 5:19-22, 1Cor 14:39-40, 1Cor 12:30, 1Cor 14:1, Amo 3:7, 1Cor 13:9-10)
CHURCH We believe the Church is composed of all true believers and the Lord Jesus is the only head of HIS Church (Act 2:47, Col 1:18, Matr 16:18 ‘I will build My Church’, 1Cor 1:2 ‘with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours‘).
AGREED. THE EXTRA VERSE REFERENCE(S) ONLY SERVE TO BACK UP THE STATEMENT.
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