MY REDEEMER LIVES MINISTRIES
CONFESSION OF FAITH

Holy Scripture

We accept (2 Timothy 3:16,17), which says, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work". We believe the Bible is the Word of the living God and that it is absolute, infallible, inerrant, and unchangeable Truth. We do not doubt that it was written by 40 holy men who were divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit to be God’s appointed scribes.

Our God is a Triune God

We believe that there is only One true Triune God (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 44:6), who exists as three co-eternal and coequal self-existent Person's who are One Being, the Father (1 Corinthians 8:6), the Son (John 1:1-3), and the Holy Spirit(Acts 5:3-5), and whose mutual relationships with each other are distinct (Romans 8; Ephesians 1:3-14; 2 Thessalonians 2:13,14; 1 Peter 1:2). Each Person of the Godhead has equally all aspects of deity, and are in Divine spiritual essence always acting together in perfect unity (Mark 1:9-11; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Revelation 1:4,5). We believe that God in Trinity is Scriptural truth yet one of the most difficult truths the human mind can know (Psalm 145:3; Isaiah 55:8; Romans 11:33). God is eternally infinite, self-revealed Creator of all things in the universe from nothing, and is all sovereign and powerful over His creation (Genesis 1:27; Daniel 4:34: Colossians 1:15-20). We believe that God is all knowing, all present in pure uncontained and boundless spirit, and never changing (Proverbs 15:3; Jeremiah 23:24; Hebrews 6:17). God is Love and all that is good (Psalms 136:1).We believe God must be worshiped and loved exclusively and that Christians are required to give equal honor to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 22:37,38).

Our Father in Heaven

In deity, Father is the first person of the Triune Godhead, our "Abba! Father!" (Mark 14:36; Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6). He in Trinity is coequal and co-eternal with the Son and Holy Spirit. He is pure spirit and Light who with infinite wisdom glorifies His Son over all of creation. We believe the mystery of His sovereign purpose and plan is His mercy to unite all things in Him through and in Christ (Ephesians 1:9,10), by grace redeeming some (Ephesians 1:5,6; 2:7), and by a display of justice punishing others to an everlasting death (Proverbs 16:4). Father God has a personal relationship with His people and has forgiven, reconciled and adopted them through His Son alone by the Holy Spirit (John 6:37-65). We believe He sent His Son to earth incarnate, to atone for the sins of his people (Romans 6:23). The Father gave His Son as a gift so that His chosen elect (Romans 8:28-30), may be saved for eternal life to honor, worship, and glorify Him forever. We believe that by worshiping the Son the Father is exalted.

The Son of God, Jesus Christ

Jesus asked, "Who Do You Say That I AM?" We believe in the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ and that He is of the same substance and spiritual essence of the Father and Holy Spirit (Isaiah 6:9; 48:16; Romans 1:4 Colossians 2:9; Titus 2:13). His Name is above all names in the universe (Philippians 2:9). He is the only begotten Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, 100% Divine, and by incarnation 100% human (John 1:1,14). He is no less God than He is man. Jesus is the author of God’s Word and all His teachings are absolute truth (John 1:1; 14:6). In order that he might glorify God the Father by Divine purpose he was sent to earth as Savior and Lord to gift a merciful salvation to His depraved people (Matthew 20:28; Romans 5:8). Jesus descended from heaven and was conceived by the Holy Spirit through the virgin birth of Mary (Luke 1:31-35). Jesus dwelt on earth and lived a perfect, sinless life (2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15). He came to earth to shed His Blood and die at the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of the world so that by grace through faith all those who believe in and worship Him are eternally forgiven and reconciled with Father God (John 3:16-18;Romans 8:32-34). We believe that Jesus, on the third Day, resurrected from the dead and that this fact witnessed by over 500 people proves His deity and proves Christianity is founded on absolute evidence and truth (John 10:17,18; Acts 1:3; 2:24-35;Romans 1:4; Philippians 3:21). Forty days after resurrecting He ascended to the third highest heaven in His metaphysical glorified body and is now seated at the right hand of God the Father (1 Corinthians 15:50-54). Jesus is His peoples Lord God, Savior, High Priest, and King (Psalms 102). We believe no one comes to Father except through Jesus and that He is the only Way a person can be saved (John 14:6). He alone is the mediator and intercessor between God the Father and His people (Acts 4:12; 1Timothy 2:5).

The Holy Spirit

We believe in the deity of the Holy Spirit who is a distinct divine person being the third person of the Godhead. He is co-eternal and coequal with the Father and Son in glory (John 14:26; 2 Corinthians 13:14). He is the "Helper" the Father and Son sent to teach God's people all things and to bring to our remembrance all that Jesus said (Hebrews 10:15). The work of the Holy Spirit is to glorify Jesus Christ (John 16:7-15. He enlightens (Ephesians 1:17-18), regenerates (John 3:5-8), and transforms (2 Corinthians 3:18), making God's people holy over a lifetime of sanctification (Galatians 5:16-18). God baptizes all believers into His family and they are born again and united to the risen Christ through the Spirit who seals their salvation by whom the Father guarantees eternal redemption (Ephesians 4:30). Through this baptism by the Holy Spirit (Mark 1:8), we believe that the gifts of life service of the Christian are given (1 Corinthians 12:1-11). We also believe that the miraculous gifts empowered by the Spirit no longer function to the same degree they did in the early church.

Concerning Satan

Satan the Devil is the fallen angel Lucifer who is the accuser of God's people (Revelation 12:9). He is real, our adversary (Zechariah 3:1,2), destroyer (Revelation 9:11), tempter (Matthew 4:3), wicked one (1John 5:18,19), Ruler of this world (John 12:31), god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4), father of lies and deceits (John 8:44), angel of light, disguising evil as good (1 Corinthians 11:14) and serpent ( Revelation 12:9; 20:2).

Fallen Angels

We believe fallen angels are invisible, supernatural angelic spirit creatures created by God during the time of Creation (2 Peter 2:4). They were cast out of heaven because of wrong doing against God. They have real but limited power and freedom of movement (2 Thessalonians 2:6). Demons have both knowledge and strength (Mark 1:24; 9:17-27). Fallen angels are named and referred to in the Bible as devils, demons, evil, and unclean spirits. Demons comprise one-third of all angels God created and their number in population is considered innumerable. There could easily be more fallen angels on and around earth than there are living people. We believe Satan is the god of fallen angels. We believe fallen angels spend their time all over the planet earth tempting, taunting, teasing, deceiving, and causing sickness and disease and accusing people [especially those who know the Lord], of wrongdoing (Ephesians 6:10,11). We believe demons have the ability to possess a person that is not protected by God causing them to do sinful and evil things. Their strategy for war is spiritual mind control and they are active in God’s churches attempting to draw people away from the truth. Their goal is to separate as many people away from God as possible taking them to eternal hell with them.

Humanity

We believe that humanity both in body and in spirit came into existence by direct creation of God (Genesis 2:7). Man (Adam), and woman (Eve), were made in the spirit image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26)-that is, with a personal and self conscious, with a God like capacity for knowledge, thought, and action. We believe God made humans morally righteous (Genesis 1:31), but because of free will they choose to sin making themselves amoral (Romans 3:10, 23). We believe the amoral fall of man was caused by Adam and Eve and that they are responsible for diminishing God's image in humanity which caused all humans to have a sinful nature (Genesis 3:17; 6:5;Romans 3:9-20; 5:12-14; 1 Corinthians 15:22). We believe humans retain God's image but because of a depraved body and soul it does not function righteously thus humans are not capable of being moral beings (Romans 3:23). Humanity is utterly unable to remedy this fallen state. We believe however, that once a person is saved they are then "born again" and are progressively restored in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10). We believe that humanity does not deserve salvation nor can they earn it.

Salvation of Humanity

We believe salvation is received by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8, 9). We believe that salvation is a gift of God’s grace through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross (John 1:12; Romans 6:23). Christ’s death fully accomplished justification through faith and redemption from sin (Romans 4:1-7; 8:30). Christ died in our place and bore our sins in His own body (Romans 5:19; 1 Peter 2:24). Due to the greatness, sufficiency, and perfection of Christ’s sacrifice at the Cross, all those who have been baptized by the Spirit (regenerated/born again), and have truly received Christ as Savior are eternally secure in salvation, kept by God’s power, secured and sealed in Christ forever (John 6:37-40; Ephesians 1:30,4:30) . Just as salvation cannot be earned by good works, neither does it need good works to be maintained or sustained (2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 3:5). Good works and changed lives are the inevitable results of salvation (Matthew 7:20). Even though it is not necessary to be baptized by ritual ceremony to be saved.

The Universal Church of Jesus Christ

We believe that the Church exists in and through Christ. It is universal and Christ is the head. That it is continuous with Israel believing that the old covenant is not limited to one nation (Deut 7:6; Ps 147: 19,20), but through Christ to every nation (Ephesians 2; 3; Revelation 5:9,10) The church is God’s Israel (Galatians 6:16). We believe that the New Testament is the fulfillment of the Old Testament Scripture thus placing it under a new covenant which the church lives (1 Corinthians 11:25; Hebrews 8:7-13). We believe that Christians (Jews and Gentiles alike) are the seed of Abraham and the people of God (Galatians 3:29; 1 Peter 2:4-10). The church is the family and flock of God (John 10:16; Ephesians 2:18; 3:15; 4:6; 1 Peter 5:2-4). The body and bride of Christ (Ephesians 1:22, 23; Revelation 19:7), and a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16).

The universal Church body is made up of all those who have died and worship God in the heavenly Jerusalem (Galatians 4:26; Hebrews 12:22-24), and those who are still on earth worshiping in God’s presence in local congregations (1 Corinthians 12:12-12-27; Ephesians 1:22, 23; 3:6; 4:4; Revelation 2:1). We believe there is but one church known perfectly to God and known imperfectly on earth. We believe the church is founded on the teachings of the apostles (Ephesians 2:20), and that Christians are to share the Gospel message to a lost world (Matthew 28:19). And those who refuse to share and join with other believers in worship and evangelism disobey God (Hebrews 10:25). We also believe in the two ordinances of baptism by water as a testimony to one’s faith, and the Lord’s Supper as a remembrance of Christ’s death and shed blood.

The Last Things

We believe in the personal and visible bodily return of the Lord Jesus Christ with His heavenly saints to rapture His saints on earth. We believe He will fulfill His promise to restore Paradise lost on earth and to fully establish His Kingdom. We believe in the physical body resurrection of the dead for Christ’s final judgment. All those whose spirits went to heaven when they died were made holy and righteous and will live in everlasting joy with God in the new heaven and earth, and the spirits of all those who remained wicked were cast out away from heaven when they died will appear at the great White Throne Judgment and cast into eternal darkness where their endless suffering will last forever (John 5:28-29; Revelation 20:1-15; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Matthew 25:31-46).

MY Redeemer Lives Ministries-Confession of Faith 5/23/2009