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Doctrinal Statement
WE BELIEVE that we exist to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever; nothing in life has a higher purpose than this grand goal; in this great truth we find comfort as well as purpose.
WE BELIEVE that God has revealed in the Bible how we should glorify and enjoy Him; the Bible is the infallible Word of God; it comes from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit; it is inerrant in all that it affirms as true; it tells us what to believe and how to live; our confidence in life and death is based on the certitude of God's Word.
WE BELIEVE that God is Spirit in nature, infinite in all His attributes, and incomparable in all that He is; He is one God in Three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; our Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier; in whose power and wisdom, righteousness, goodness, mercy, and grace we trust.
WE BELIEVE that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, and that He sustains and guides all things in accordance with His divine will; in His wisdom and kind Providence we safely trust.
WE BELIEVE that GOD CREATED MAN IN HIS OWN IMAGE, thus we are not animals or machines produced by a chance-driven evolutionary process; as God's image bearers, we have intrinsic worth, significance, and meaning; we have immortal souls which will depart our bodies at death and will go either to heaven or hell; our dignity comes from being created in the image of God, which dignity we share with all other men and women regardless of race or creed.
WE BELIEVE that WE FELL INTO SIN AND GUILT with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden; the results of Adam's Fall are so cosmic in scope and so radical in nature that only God Himself could restore Paradise to man; by virtue of our sinful nature inherited from Adam, we are incapable of meriting the grace or favor of God; we are entirely dependent upon His mercy and grace for our salvation and we do not trust in our own works or goodness.
WE BELIEVE that the FATHER SENT HIS SON JESUS TO REDEEM a lost and erring mankind; Jesus of Nazareth actually existed in history and that He was the Christ, i. e. the long awaited Jewish Messiah; He is the eternal pre-existent Word of God; He is God of very God as well as man of very man, two natures but one person; He willingly died on the cross for our sins; He arose bodily on the third day for our justification; He ascended into heaven for our sanctification; and He is now at the right hand of the Father to intercede on our behalf.
WE BELIEVE that the Father and the Son SENT THE HOLY SPIRIT to apply to us what Christ accomplished according to the plan of the Father; our only hope for heaven is based on the fact that we are chosen by the Father, purchased by the Son, and sealed by the Spirit, blessed God Three in One! We accept the manifestation of the Holy Spirit in all of His ministries to the church and His gifts in and through the believer. We also believe that The Holy Spirit's gifts and manifestation have not changed nor have they ceased since the days of the Apostles until now.
WE BELIEVE that JESUS CHRIST IS THE ONLY WAY TO THE FATHER; His name is the only name under heaven whereby we might be saved; there is only one true God, Maker of heaven and earth; all the gods of the heathen are false gods; repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ are essential to salvation; the gospel is the only message of salvation for a lost and erring mankind.
WE BELIEVE that SALVATION is by grace alone through faith in Christ alone apart from works; justification is that act of God in which the imputed righteousness of Christ is credited to our account; all our hopes for heaven rest solely on the divinity of His person and the sufficiency and finality of His work of reconciliation or atonement.
WE BELIVE in the ordinance of WATER BAPTISM by immersion as our burial with Christ and our resurrection with Him (as commanded it the Scriptures) should be observed by all that have repented of their sins and in their hearts have believed in Christ as their Savior and Lord. In doing so, they declare to the world that they died with Christ and that they have also been resurrected to a new life. WE BELIEVE in the ordinance of THE LORD’S SUPPER (COMMUNION), consisting of the elements, bread and wine, is a symbol expressing our sharing in a memorial to His suffering and death, His Covenant with the Father, and a prophesy of His second coming, and is enjoined to all believers “until He comes”.
WE BELIEVE in the ordinance of HOLY MATRIMONY, as taught in the Scriptures, as constituting of only one man and one human ‘til death do them apart. We believe that all other forms of sexual gratification and lifestyles that are in disagreement to the Scriptures' declaration of what constitutes a Marriage, are sinful and we stand against those acts as Ambassadors of Christ on earth in truth and love. WE BELIEVE that the CHRISTIAN CHURCH, both universal and local, was set up by the Lord Jesus Christ to be His Body on earth; God has given to the Church the glorious privilege of preaching the gospel in all the world; all those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation are our brothers and sisters in Christ regardless of denominational distinctions. WE BELIEVE in the 5-FOLD MINISTRY of the Church according to Ephesians 4:12 . We acknowledge that the 12 Apostles of Christ were a unique group and their rank and authority cannot be duplicated. We further recognize that after His Ascension to Heaven, Christ He gave others to be “apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers throughout the existence of the Church age. We further acknowledge the functions of Elders (or bishops) and deacons in the work of God’s Kingdom.
WE BELIEVE in the RESURRECTION of the body and the life everlasting; Jesus Christ is going to return visibly and physically to this world at the end of the ages; He will come to judge the living and the dead; history will reach its appointed end; the earth will be purified and redeemed; the saints will inherit a new earth; the Millennial Reign of Christ, and eternal conscious torment awaits all those who do not know God through faith in Jesus Christ.
in addition, Prayer Nation Institute adheres to the Lausanne Covenant. |
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