FAITH SPRING RHEMA CHURCH INT'L.
DOCTRINAL STATEMENT ELABORATED
I.The Scriptures:
The Bible in its original documents is the inspired Word of God, the written record of His supernatural revelation of Himself to man, absolute in its authority, complete in its revelation, final in its content, and without any errors in its statements (II Tim. 3:16,17; John 10:35; Psalm 89:34; Heb. 6:18; II Pet. 3:16).
II. God:
There is one, and only one, true and living God; He is eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Gen. 1:1,2; Deut. 6:4; Is. 7:14; Isaiah 9:6; John 14:9; I Tim. 3:16; I John 5:7).
III. Jesus Christ:
A. His Identity: We believe that Jesus Christ is the Only Begotten Son of God who exists eternally with God, and He is the Saviour whom God sent into the world to redeem the world (John 1:1-34, Romans 3:23-24).
B. His Incarnation: We believe that he took upon Himself flesh and dwelt among men here on this earth; that He was at one and the same time both God and man (John 1:14; Phil. 2:6-8).
C. His Virgin Birth: We believe that He came to earth in the flesh by way of the virgin birth, born of a woman who had never been with man, therefore He had no earthly father, but was conceived in the womb of this virgin by the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 7:14; Matt. 1:18-23).
D. His Death: We believe that He died by way of crucifixion on the cross at a place called Calvary; that He died as man's substitute suffering the full wrath of God, and thereby paid the penalty of sin (Matt. 27:35-54; Rom.3:23-24; I Cor. 15:3).
E. His Blood: We believe that His blood, which He shed in death at Calvary, is the only atonement for the sins of man, and that it is sufficient to wash away the sins of every person (Heb. 9:22; Eph. 1:7; I John 1:7).
F. His Resurrection: We believe that He arose bodily from the tomb, and through His resurrection there is a sure hope of immortality and everlasting life (Luke 24:1-7; I Cor. 15:45; Rom. 4:25).
G. His Ascension: We believe that He ascended back into Heaven from whence He came, and is now at the right hand of the Father, carrying on His ministry of intercession (Luke 24:50-51; Acts 2:31-33; Heb. 7:25; I John 2:1; Heb. 12:2).
H. His Return: We believe in the personal, pre-tribulational and pre-millennial return of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ; His pre-tribulational return in the air for the church and His pre-millennial return to set up His kingdom (I Thess. 1:10; 5:9-11; II Thess. 2:1-8; Rev. 3:10; Titus 2:13; Isaiah 26:19-21; Rev. 4:1).
I. His Lordship: We believe in the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and that He alone is the Head of the Body of Christ, into which all true believers are immediately baptised at the time of salvation by the Holy Spirit; that all members of this one spiritual body should assemble and identify themselves in local churches (Acts 2:36; Col. 1:18; I Cor. 12:13; Heb. 10:25; I Tim. 3:9).
IV. Holy Spirit:
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine person equal with the Father and the Son and of the same substance and nature; that He convicts of sin, righteousness and judgement; bears witness to the truth; is the agent of the new birth; and that He seals, endues, guides, teaches, witnesses to, sanctifies, and helps the believer, indwelling every true child of God (John 15:26; Acts 1:4-8; II Cor. 13:14; John 14:16,17; Rom. 8:14-27; I Cor. 12:13).
V. Satan:
We believe in the personality of Satan, that he is not merely an abstract power or influence, but a living, personal being; that he is the god of this world and the prince of the power of the air; that he is constantly going up and down in the earth seeking whom he may devour. He does not possess the attributes of God (Job 1:6-7, 2:1-2; John 8:44; II Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:2; I Pet. 5:8).Satan is the author of sin and he and his angels shall be eternally punished (Ezekiel 28:13-17; Isaiah 14:12-15; Rev. 20:10; Matt. 25:41).
VI. Mankind:
We believe that mankind was created by God for the purpose of fellowship with God. That fellowship was broken by sin (Gen. 1:26-28, 2:7; Gen. 3:1-13).
A. Lost State: Each member of the human race is fallen, sinful and lost, and regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential for salvation. The moment a person receives Christ as his Saviour, immediately the Holy Spirit indwells the believer who is sealed until the day of redemption (Rom. 3:23; John 3:7; Rom. 8:9; I Cor. 6:19; Eph. 1:13,14; Titus 3:5).
B. Salvation: Man is saved by grace through faith and nothing of man enters into his salvation; it is a free gift. Man's efforts, regardless of how good or well intended before or after salvation, have nothing to do with it. Salvation is by the finished work of Christ and nothing can be added to it (Eph. 2:8,9; Gal. 2:16; Rom. 11:6; Col. 2:13; Titus 3:5; Rom. 3:22).
C. New Birth: A true child of God has two births; one of the flesh, the other of the Spirit, giving man a flesh nature and a spirit nature. The flesh nature is neither good nor righteous. The Spirit of God in the born again man does not commit any sin. This results in a warfare between the Spirit and the flesh, which continues until physical death, or the return of the Lord. The flesh nature of the man does not change in any way with the new birth, but can be controlled and kept subdued by the new man (John 3:3-7; Rom. 7:15-25; Rom. 8:8; Gal. 5:17; I John 3:9; I Pet. 1:23; I John 5:18; I John 1:8).
D. Conduct: A Christian should live righteously and maintain godly works, not as a means of salvation in any sense, but as the proper evidence and fruit of salvation (Eph. 2:10; Titus 3:8).
E. Lives Under Grace: The true child of God is not under the law, but under grace. He is saved by grace and disciplined by grace (Rom. 6:14-15; 11:6; I Cor. 10:23-31; II Cor. 3:17; Titus 2:11-14).
F. Priesthood: We believe in the priesthood of all believers. Christ is our Great High Priest, and through Him every born again person has direct access into God's presence. The believer has the right and the responsibility to personally study and preach the Scriptures, guided by the Holy Spirit. That doesn't mean that the office of the ministers called by God into the five fold ministries should be neglected (Eph. 4:11-13; Rev. 1:6; Heb. 4:14-16; I Tim. 2:5; II Tim. 2:5; II Pet. 1:20,21).
VII. CONDITIONAL SECURITY:
We believe in conditional security. You are absolutely secured in Christ as long as you remain faithful and obedient to God. We do not teach a salvation by works or legalism. Those are some of the common misconceptions about the doctrine of conditional security. We believe that we are saved by grace (Eph. 2:8,9) but we can fall from grace (Gal. 5:2-4). We are justified by faith (Rom. 5:1) but our faith can become shipwrecked (1 Tim. 1:19,20) and cease to exist (Luke 8:13; Rom. 11:19-23). We are not under the law (Rom. 6:14,15) but if you live according to the sinful nature you will die (Rom. 8:13). Paul taught against legalism (Gal. 5:3,4) but he also taught that no immoral, impure or greedy person has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God (Eph. 5:5-7). We are not saved by works (Eph. 2:8,9) but to reap eternal life and not destruction you must sow to please the Spirit and not the sinful nature (Gal. 6:8,9). God is faithful to us (1 John 1:9; 1 Cor. 10:13) but we must be faithful to him to the very end of our lives to escape the lake of fire or second death (Rev. 2:10,11). God surely loves us (John 3:16; Mark 10:21; Rom. 8:35-39) but those who inherit the kingdom of God love God (James 2:5; 1 Cor. 2:9) and to love God means to obey his commands (John 14:15; 1 John 5:3). We have freedom in Christ (Gal. 5:1) but this freedom is not to indulge the sinful nature (Gal. 5:13; 1 Pet 2:16). God is to be obeyed and feared - (Rev.21:7-8). We refute the doctrine of eternal security
. "Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? - Romans 6:1-2".
VIII. Resurrection:
There will be a resurrection of the saved and of the lost; of the saved unto eternal life, and of the lost unto eternal conscious punishment (Daniel 12:2; I Thess. 4:13-18; Rev. 20:5-15; Matt. 25:41).
IX. Judgment:
We believe that everyone, saved and unsaved, shall face God in Judgement. According to the Scriptures, the judgement of the saved will be separate from the judgement of the unsaved. We believe that the Scriptures teach that these judgements shall be as follows:
A. Judgement of Christians: Christians shall at this time be judged according to their works from the time they received Christ Jesus as their Saviour until the time they stand before Him in judgement. They shall be rewarded or they shall suffer loss according as their works shall be. This takes place at the judgement seat of Christ (I Cor. 3:11-15; II Cor. 5:10).
B. Judgement of the Unsaved: All unsaved shall at this time be judged according to their works and cast into the lake of fire to suffer forever according as their works shall be. This is called the Great White Throne Judgement (Rev. 20:11-15, 21:7-8).
X. The World to Come:
We believe that the end of this present world will come by fire, and the world to come will be eternal; that in the world to come there will be two eternal places: a place of endless joy for all the people of God who have been saved by His grace, and a place of endless punishment for all who have never been reconciled to God by the blood of Christ. These two places are known as heaven and hell.
A. Heaven: A place of beauty and bliss, wherein dwelleth righteousness, where God will dwell with His people forever (II Cor. 12:2-4; 5:1; I Pet. 1:3-5; Rev. 21; 22).
B. Hell: A place of ceaseless torment, characterised by fire and brimstone, a place where all who have scorned God's love will suffer forever (Luke 16:19-31; Matt. 5:22,29,30; Matt. 23:33; Rev. 21:8).
XI. The Local Church:
We believe in the importance of the local church and that it is an assembly of born again baptised believers united in organisation to practise New Testament ordinances, to meet together for worship, prayer, fellowship, teaching, and a united testimony; and to actively engage in carrying out the Great Commission (Matt. 16:18; Acts 13-1-3; 15:4; 16:5; I Cor. 11:2).
A. State Government: We believe in the separation of church and state, with each having definite and distinct spheres of responsibility (Matt. 22:17-21).
B. Ecclesiastical Government: We believe in the independence and autonomy of the church, which running of her day to day affairs will be on the shoulders of the clergies called by God into the five fold ministries with helping hands from the Deacons and Deaconesses ordained in the church. (Ephesians 4:11-16; 1 Timothy 3:1-7, 8-13).
C. Ordinances: We believe the ordinances given to the local church are two, baptism and the Lord's supper. Baptism is by immersion of believers, thus portraying the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Lord's supper is the partaking of the bread and cup by the believer as a continuing memorial of the broken body and shed blood of Christ, until He returns (Matth. 3:13-17; Rom. 6:1-4; Mark 14:22-25; I Cor. 11:2,23-26).
XII. The Sign Gifts:
We believe that the sign gifts, namely "healing," "working of miracles," "tongues" and the "interpretation of tongues" were temporary in nature. The function of these gifts of the Holy Spirit were confirmatory. God was authenticating the authority and message of His servants by "bearing them witness" through the manifestations of supernatural power. (I Cor. 13:8-13; I Cor. 14:22; Heb. 2:3-4).
XIII. Theological Movement:
A number of theological movements in our day have created considerable confusion; therefore, Faith Spring Rhema Church would like to clarify its position in a nut-shell on the following contemporary issues:
A. "Hyper Calvinism": We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died as a propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of the whole world (I John 2:2), and, therefore, we do not embrace any position which negates or eliminates human responsibility in either the proclamation or reception of the gospel message. We believe the saved are the elect of God chosen in Christ Jesus by faith, and that God's sovereignty does not negate man's freedom and responsibility, so that all men are invited genuinely to believe and be saved (Eph. 1:4; John 3:16).
B. "The Ecumenical Movement": The ecumenical movement seeks the eventual union of all religions into one super church. This means that every church, religion or religious body participating in the merger must compromise its beliefs in areas of faith and practice to conform to the will of the whole body. We are opposed to the World Council of Churches and its affiliates as they are the leaders of this movement. We are opposed to the ecumenical movement and to any dialogue with these groups. We purpose to stand true to the purity of the Scriptures, the deity of our Lord and the Christian Faith as outlined in the New Testament (I Cor. 6:11-18).
C. "Neo-Orthodoxy": is a subtle form of liberalism involving alteration of Biblical terms without strict adherence to the truth of the Scriptures. We oppose this movement. We believe and teach that the Word of God is completely without error, and its authority does not depend upon its acceptance or rejection by man (Jude 3; Eph. 5:11).
D. "Neo-Evangelicalism": is a movement which seeks to modify the Word of God through the substitution of man's reason for God's Revelation, placing love above sound doctrine as a basis for Christian fellowship, and advocating the rethinking of the fundamentals of the faith. We take a firm stand against New Evangelicalism and that which promotes this position (Col. 2:8; I John 5:2,3).
XIV. Amendments:
This doctrinal statement may not be amended with the exception that new clarifying statements may be added by a three quarters majority vote of all members in good standing. No proposed clarifying statement may be acted on except in a regular business meeting, and the statement must have been submitted in writing and read at the previous regular business meetings.
May God bless the house hold of FAITH SPRING RHEMA CHURCH INT'L and help us to make heaven in the mighty name of Jesus Christ' amen.
Signed:
Pastor Jude Dickson
General Overseer.
I.The Scriptures:
The Bible in its original documents is the inspired Word of God, the written record of His supernatural revelation of Himself to man, absolute in its authority, complete in its revelation, final in its content, and without any errors in its statements (II Tim. 3:16,17; John 10:35; Psalm 89:34; Heb. 6:18; II Pet. 3:16).
II. God:
There is one, and only one, true and living God; He is eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Gen. 1:1,2; Deut. 6:4; Is. 7:14; Isaiah 9:6; John 14:9; I Tim. 3:16; I John 5:7).
III. Jesus Christ:
A. His Identity: We believe that Jesus Christ is the Only Begotten Son of God who exists eternally with God, and He is the Saviour whom God sent into the world to redeem the world (John 1:1-34, Romans 3:23-24).
B. His Incarnation: We believe that he took upon Himself flesh and dwelt among men here on this earth; that He was at one and the same time both God and man (John 1:14; Phil. 2:6-8).
C. His Virgin Birth: We believe that He came to earth in the flesh by way of the virgin birth, born of a woman who had never been with man, therefore He had no earthly father, but was conceived in the womb of this virgin by the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 7:14; Matt. 1:18-23).
D. His Death: We believe that He died by way of crucifixion on the cross at a place called Calvary; that He died as man's substitute suffering the full wrath of God, and thereby paid the penalty of sin (Matt. 27:35-54; Rom.3:23-24; I Cor. 15:3).
E. His Blood: We believe that His blood, which He shed in death at Calvary, is the only atonement for the sins of man, and that it is sufficient to wash away the sins of every person (Heb. 9:22; Eph. 1:7; I John 1:7).
F. His Resurrection: We believe that He arose bodily from the tomb, and through His resurrection there is a sure hope of immortality and everlasting life (Luke 24:1-7; I Cor. 15:45; Rom. 4:25).
G. His Ascension: We believe that He ascended back into Heaven from whence He came, and is now at the right hand of the Father, carrying on His ministry of intercession (Luke 24:50-51; Acts 2:31-33; Heb. 7:25; I John 2:1; Heb. 12:2).
H. His Return: We believe in the personal, pre-tribulational and pre-millennial return of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ; His pre-tribulational return in the air for the church and His pre-millennial return to set up His kingdom (I Thess. 1:10; 5:9-11; II Thess. 2:1-8; Rev. 3:10; Titus 2:13; Isaiah 26:19-21; Rev. 4:1).
I. His Lordship: We believe in the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and that He alone is the Head of the Body of Christ, into which all true believers are immediately baptised at the time of salvation by the Holy Spirit; that all members of this one spiritual body should assemble and identify themselves in local churches (Acts 2:36; Col. 1:18; I Cor. 12:13; Heb. 10:25; I Tim. 3:9).
IV. Holy Spirit:
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine person equal with the Father and the Son and of the same substance and nature; that He convicts of sin, righteousness and judgement; bears witness to the truth; is the agent of the new birth; and that He seals, endues, guides, teaches, witnesses to, sanctifies, and helps the believer, indwelling every true child of God (John 15:26; Acts 1:4-8; II Cor. 13:14; John 14:16,17; Rom. 8:14-27; I Cor. 12:13).
V. Satan:
We believe in the personality of Satan, that he is not merely an abstract power or influence, but a living, personal being; that he is the god of this world and the prince of the power of the air; that he is constantly going up and down in the earth seeking whom he may devour. He does not possess the attributes of God (Job 1:6-7, 2:1-2; John 8:44; II Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:2; I Pet. 5:8).Satan is the author of sin and he and his angels shall be eternally punished (Ezekiel 28:13-17; Isaiah 14:12-15; Rev. 20:10; Matt. 25:41).
VI. Mankind:
We believe that mankind was created by God for the purpose of fellowship with God. That fellowship was broken by sin (Gen. 1:26-28, 2:7; Gen. 3:1-13).
A. Lost State: Each member of the human race is fallen, sinful and lost, and regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential for salvation. The moment a person receives Christ as his Saviour, immediately the Holy Spirit indwells the believer who is sealed until the day of redemption (Rom. 3:23; John 3:7; Rom. 8:9; I Cor. 6:19; Eph. 1:13,14; Titus 3:5).
B. Salvation: Man is saved by grace through faith and nothing of man enters into his salvation; it is a free gift. Man's efforts, regardless of how good or well intended before or after salvation, have nothing to do with it. Salvation is by the finished work of Christ and nothing can be added to it (Eph. 2:8,9; Gal. 2:16; Rom. 11:6; Col. 2:13; Titus 3:5; Rom. 3:22).
C. New Birth: A true child of God has two births; one of the flesh, the other of the Spirit, giving man a flesh nature and a spirit nature. The flesh nature is neither good nor righteous. The Spirit of God in the born again man does not commit any sin. This results in a warfare between the Spirit and the flesh, which continues until physical death, or the return of the Lord. The flesh nature of the man does not change in any way with the new birth, but can be controlled and kept subdued by the new man (John 3:3-7; Rom. 7:15-25; Rom. 8:8; Gal. 5:17; I John 3:9; I Pet. 1:23; I John 5:18; I John 1:8).
D. Conduct: A Christian should live righteously and maintain godly works, not as a means of salvation in any sense, but as the proper evidence and fruit of salvation (Eph. 2:10; Titus 3:8).
E. Lives Under Grace: The true child of God is not under the law, but under grace. He is saved by grace and disciplined by grace (Rom. 6:14-15; 11:6; I Cor. 10:23-31; II Cor. 3:17; Titus 2:11-14).
F. Priesthood: We believe in the priesthood of all believers. Christ is our Great High Priest, and through Him every born again person has direct access into God's presence. The believer has the right and the responsibility to personally study and preach the Scriptures, guided by the Holy Spirit. That doesn't mean that the office of the ministers called by God into the five fold ministries should be neglected (Eph. 4:11-13; Rev. 1:6; Heb. 4:14-16; I Tim. 2:5; II Tim. 2:5; II Pet. 1:20,21).
VII. CONDITIONAL SECURITY:
We believe in conditional security. You are absolutely secured in Christ as long as you remain faithful and obedient to God. We do not teach a salvation by works or legalism. Those are some of the common misconceptions about the doctrine of conditional security. We believe that we are saved by grace (Eph. 2:8,9) but we can fall from grace (Gal. 5:2-4). We are justified by faith (Rom. 5:1) but our faith can become shipwrecked (1 Tim. 1:19,20) and cease to exist (Luke 8:13; Rom. 11:19-23). We are not under the law (Rom. 6:14,15) but if you live according to the sinful nature you will die (Rom. 8:13). Paul taught against legalism (Gal. 5:3,4) but he also taught that no immoral, impure or greedy person has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God (Eph. 5:5-7). We are not saved by works (Eph. 2:8,9) but to reap eternal life and not destruction you must sow to please the Spirit and not the sinful nature (Gal. 6:8,9). God is faithful to us (1 John 1:9; 1 Cor. 10:13) but we must be faithful to him to the very end of our lives to escape the lake of fire or second death (Rev. 2:10,11). God surely loves us (John 3:16; Mark 10:21; Rom. 8:35-39) but those who inherit the kingdom of God love God (James 2:5; 1 Cor. 2:9) and to love God means to obey his commands (John 14:15; 1 John 5:3). We have freedom in Christ (Gal. 5:1) but this freedom is not to indulge the sinful nature (Gal. 5:13; 1 Pet 2:16). God is to be obeyed and feared - (Rev.21:7-8). We refute the doctrine of eternal security
. "Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? - Romans 6:1-2".
VIII. Resurrection:
There will be a resurrection of the saved and of the lost; of the saved unto eternal life, and of the lost unto eternal conscious punishment (Daniel 12:2; I Thess. 4:13-18; Rev. 20:5-15; Matt. 25:41).
IX. Judgment:
We believe that everyone, saved and unsaved, shall face God in Judgement. According to the Scriptures, the judgement of the saved will be separate from the judgement of the unsaved. We believe that the Scriptures teach that these judgements shall be as follows:
A. Judgement of Christians: Christians shall at this time be judged according to their works from the time they received Christ Jesus as their Saviour until the time they stand before Him in judgement. They shall be rewarded or they shall suffer loss according as their works shall be. This takes place at the judgement seat of Christ (I Cor. 3:11-15; II Cor. 5:10).
B. Judgement of the Unsaved: All unsaved shall at this time be judged according to their works and cast into the lake of fire to suffer forever according as their works shall be. This is called the Great White Throne Judgement (Rev. 20:11-15, 21:7-8).
X. The World to Come:
We believe that the end of this present world will come by fire, and the world to come will be eternal; that in the world to come there will be two eternal places: a place of endless joy for all the people of God who have been saved by His grace, and a place of endless punishment for all who have never been reconciled to God by the blood of Christ. These two places are known as heaven and hell.
A. Heaven: A place of beauty and bliss, wherein dwelleth righteousness, where God will dwell with His people forever (II Cor. 12:2-4; 5:1; I Pet. 1:3-5; Rev. 21; 22).
B. Hell: A place of ceaseless torment, characterised by fire and brimstone, a place where all who have scorned God's love will suffer forever (Luke 16:19-31; Matt. 5:22,29,30; Matt. 23:33; Rev. 21:8).
XI. The Local Church:
We believe in the importance of the local church and that it is an assembly of born again baptised believers united in organisation to practise New Testament ordinances, to meet together for worship, prayer, fellowship, teaching, and a united testimony; and to actively engage in carrying out the Great Commission (Matt. 16:18; Acts 13-1-3; 15:4; 16:5; I Cor. 11:2).
A. State Government: We believe in the separation of church and state, with each having definite and distinct spheres of responsibility (Matt. 22:17-21).
B. Ecclesiastical Government: We believe in the independence and autonomy of the church, which running of her day to day affairs will be on the shoulders of the clergies called by God into the five fold ministries with helping hands from the Deacons and Deaconesses ordained in the church. (Ephesians 4:11-16; 1 Timothy 3:1-7, 8-13).
C. Ordinances: We believe the ordinances given to the local church are two, baptism and the Lord's supper. Baptism is by immersion of believers, thus portraying the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Lord's supper is the partaking of the bread and cup by the believer as a continuing memorial of the broken body and shed blood of Christ, until He returns (Matth. 3:13-17; Rom. 6:1-4; Mark 14:22-25; I Cor. 11:2,23-26).
XII. The Sign Gifts:
We believe that the sign gifts, namely "healing," "working of miracles," "tongues" and the "interpretation of tongues" were temporary in nature. The function of these gifts of the Holy Spirit were confirmatory. God was authenticating the authority and message of His servants by "bearing them witness" through the manifestations of supernatural power. (I Cor. 13:8-13; I Cor. 14:22; Heb. 2:3-4).
XIII. Theological Movement:
A number of theological movements in our day have created considerable confusion; therefore, Faith Spring Rhema Church would like to clarify its position in a nut-shell on the following contemporary issues:
A. "Hyper Calvinism": We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died as a propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of the whole world (I John 2:2), and, therefore, we do not embrace any position which negates or eliminates human responsibility in either the proclamation or reception of the gospel message. We believe the saved are the elect of God chosen in Christ Jesus by faith, and that God's sovereignty does not negate man's freedom and responsibility, so that all men are invited genuinely to believe and be saved (Eph. 1:4; John 3:16).
B. "The Ecumenical Movement": The ecumenical movement seeks the eventual union of all religions into one super church. This means that every church, religion or religious body participating in the merger must compromise its beliefs in areas of faith and practice to conform to the will of the whole body. We are opposed to the World Council of Churches and its affiliates as they are the leaders of this movement. We are opposed to the ecumenical movement and to any dialogue with these groups. We purpose to stand true to the purity of the Scriptures, the deity of our Lord and the Christian Faith as outlined in the New Testament (I Cor. 6:11-18).
C. "Neo-Orthodoxy": is a subtle form of liberalism involving alteration of Biblical terms without strict adherence to the truth of the Scriptures. We oppose this movement. We believe and teach that the Word of God is completely without error, and its authority does not depend upon its acceptance or rejection by man (Jude 3; Eph. 5:11).
D. "Neo-Evangelicalism": is a movement which seeks to modify the Word of God through the substitution of man's reason for God's Revelation, placing love above sound doctrine as a basis for Christian fellowship, and advocating the rethinking of the fundamentals of the faith. We take a firm stand against New Evangelicalism and that which promotes this position (Col. 2:8; I John 5:2,3).
XIV. Amendments:
This doctrinal statement may not be amended with the exception that new clarifying statements may be added by a three quarters majority vote of all members in good standing. No proposed clarifying statement may be acted on except in a regular business meeting, and the statement must have been submitted in writing and read at the previous regular business meetings.
May God bless the house hold of FAITH SPRING RHEMA CHURCH INT'L and help us to make heaven in the mighty name of Jesus Christ' amen.
Signed:
Pastor Jude Dickson
General Overseer.
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