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November, 2007
Declaration Of
Evangelical Thrust
We Are Under One Law
Invoked By 3 Documents
The Holy Bible, Declaration, And The Constitution
We do not exclude anyone
that is God's, and serve him faithfully. But In order not to
have divisions among us self induced and to not have schism
among us, we will all of the 96 be of the same mindset and
faith, and way of believing God.
We believe there is but one
living and true God everlasting, of infinite power, wisdom
and goodness; Maker and Preserver of all things, both
visible and invisible. And in the unity of this Godhead
there are three Persons of one substance of eternal being,
and equal in holiness, justice, wisdom, power, and dignity;
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
We believe that the Son, who
is the Word of the Father, the very and eternal God, of one
substance with the Father, took man's nature in the womb of
the blessed virgin; so that two whole and perfect natures,
that is to say, the Godhead and the manhood were joined
together in one Person, never to be divided, whereof is one
Christ, very God and perfect man, who actually suffered, was
crucified, dead, and buried, to reconcile the Father to us,
and to make atonement, not only for our actual guilt, but
also for original sin.
We believe that Christ did
truly rise again from the dead, and took again His body,
with all things appertaining to the perfections of man's
nature, and ascended into heaven and there sits until He
shall return to judge all men at the last day.
We believe the Holy Ghost,
proceeding from the Father and the Son, is of one substance,
majesty and glory with the Father and the Son, very and
eternal God.
We believe in the verbal and
plenary inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, known as the
Bible, composed of sixty-six books and divided into two
departments, Old and New Testaments. We believe the Bible is
the Word of God, the full and complete revelation of the
plan and history of redemption.
We believe that eternal life
with God in heaven is a portion of the reward of the finally
righteous; and that everlasting banishment from the presence
of the Lord and unending torture in hell are the wages of
the persistently wicked (Matthew 25:46; Psalm 9:17;
Revelation 21:7-8).
We believe that Jesus Christ
shed His blood for the remission of sins that are past, for
the regeneration of penitent sinners, and for salvation from
sin and from sinning (Romans 3:25; 1 John 3:5-10; Ephesians
2:1-10).
We believe, teach, and
firmly maintain the scriptural doctrine of justification by
faith alone (Romans 5:1).
We believe that Jesus Christ
shed His blood for the complete cleansing of the justified
believer from all indwelling sin and from its pollution,
subsequent to regeneration (1 John 1:7-9).
We believe in
sanctification. Sanctification is initiated in regeneration
and consummated in glorification. (Acts 26:18; 1 John 1:9).
Sanctification delivers from the power and dominion of sin.
It is followed by life-long growth in grace and knowledge of
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:16; 2
Peter 3:18).
We believe that the
pentecostal baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire is obtainable
by a definite act of appropriating faith on the part of the
fully cleansed believer, and the initial evidence of the
reception of this experience is speaking with other tongues
as the Spirit gives utterance (Luke 11:13; Acts 1:5; 2:14,
8-17; 10:44-46; 19:6).
We believe in divine healing
as in the atonement (Isaiah 53:4-5; Matthew 8:16-17; Mark
16:14-18; James 5:14-16; Exodus 15:26).
We believe in the imminent,
personal, premillennial second coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17; Titus 2:13; 2 Peter 3:1-4;
Matthew 24:29-44), and love and wait for His appearing (2
Timothy 4:8).
We believe it is the
responsibility of every believer to dedicate his life to
carrying out the work of the Great Commission (Matthew
28:18-20; Mark 16:15-20; Acts 1:8).
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We are Trinitarian, as
opposed to Unitarian, in our faith. We do not believe in
"three Gods" as the Unitarians, or "Jesus only,"
teaching maintains that we do; but we believe there are
"three persons, of one substance, of eternal being, and
equal in holiness, justice, wisdom, power, and dignity;
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost." Not three
Gods, but one God, subsisting in three persons, the
Trinity in unity (Matthew 3:16, 17; 28:19; 2 Corinthians
13:14; 1 John 5:7).
We believe in the
incarnation of Christ through the virgin birth, which we
hold without question, as written in the Word of God
(Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 2:26-35). We
believe that He was a perfect sinless human being in
whom dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily
(Colossians 2:9), that He was very God and perfect man.
We believe that He lived a sinless life and died upon
the cross as an all-sufficient atonement for our sins,
for our personal transgressions, and also for original
sin.
We believe in the bodily
resurrection of Christ, in His triumphant ascension into
heaven, and that He (in His glorified body, as a
complete human being, with all things appertaining to
the perfections of man's nature) now sits at the right
hand of heaven's Majesty until He shall return to judge
the world at the last day. Perfect, sinless humanity is
at the heart of the moral universe, participating in the
government of creation and interceding for His saints,
until He shall come to judge the living and the dead in
the end of the age.
We believe the Holy
Ghost, proceeding from the Father and the Son, is of one
substance, majesty and glory with the Father and the
Son, very and eternal God. We believe that the Holy
Ghost-or Holy Spirit-is a person and that He is the
executive agent of the Godhead in the dispensation of
grace; that He anoints the preaching of the Word,
convicts of sin and applies the benefits of the
atonement; that He is our Teacher, Comforter, and Guide,
taking the things of Christ and revealing them to us,
glorifying Christ, guiding us into all truth, and
showing us things to come; that all of these ministries
are based upon and function in accordance with the
written Word of God (John 14:16, 17, 26; 15:26; 16:7-11,
13-15).
We believe the Bible to
be the inspired, inerrant and authoritative Word of God
(2 Timothy 3:15-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21; John 10:35).
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We believe that through
faith in Christ we have eternal life (John 3:14-16, 36);
and that Christ has prepared a place for His own in
Heaven (John 14:1-3). This is a "portion of the reward
of the righteous," though "eye hath not seen, nor ear
heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the
things which God hath prepared for them that love him"
(1 Corinthians 2:9). Dreadful as this truth may seem, we
believe, and must so believe because of the consistent
teaching of God's Word, that "everlasting banishment
from the presence of the Lord and unending torture (or
punishment) in hell is the wages of the persistently
wicked" (Psalm 9:17; Matthew 5:22, 29, 30; 18:9; 23:33;
25:41, 46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:23-25; 2 Thessalonians
1:6-9; Revelation 14:9-11; 20:11-15; 21:7, 8).
We believe in the
efficacy and sufficiency of the shed blood of Jesus
Christ for the remission of sins committed in the past:
for the regeneration, or new birth from above, of
penitent sinners, and for salvation or deliverance from
sin and sinning (Matthew 26:28; Luke 22:20; Acts 20:28;
Romans 5:9; Ephesians 1:7; 2:13; Colossians 1:14, 20; 1
Peter 1:18, 19; 1 John 1:7; Revelation 1:5; 5:9; 1 John
2:1; 3:5-10; 5:18; Romans 6:22; 7:24, 25; 8:1-4).
We believe, teach and
firmly maintain the scriptural doctrine of justification
by faith alone (Romans 5:1; Ephesians 2:8, 9; Titus
3:4-7). We do not believe that any sort or degree of
good works can procure or contribute toward our
justification or salvation. This is accomplished solely
and exclusively upon the basis of our faith in the shed
blood, the resurrection and justifying righteousness of
our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 4:23-25; 5:1-11, 20; 1
Corinthians 15:1-4). But we do believe in good works as
a fruit or product of salvation. We are not saved by,
but unto, good works (Ephesians 2:10). When we believe
on Jesus Christ as our Savior, our sins are pardoned, we
are justified and enter a state of righteousness, not
our own, but His, both imputed and imparted (Romans
4:22, 25; 8:1-4).
We believe that Jesus
Christ shed His blood, not alone for our justification
and the forgiveness of actual transgressions, but also
for the "complete cleansing of the justified believer
from all indwelling sin and from its pollution, and that
this transaction takes place subsequent to (or after)
regeneration (the new birth) (Acts 26:18; Ephesians
5:25-27; Titus 2:14; Hebrews 9:13, 14; 10:10, 14-22;
13:11, 12; 1 John 1:7, 9). This is the negative side of
sanctification-the cleansing or taking away of the sin
principle-the circumcision of the heart so as to make it
possible for us to love the Lord our God with all our
heart and soul (Deuteronomy 30:6). It is the crucifixion
of the "old man" (Romans 6:6; Ephesians 4:22-24;
Galatians 2:20), the destruction of the "carnal mind"
(Romans 8:5-10), the purging of the fruit-bearing branch
so "that it may bring forth more fruit" (John 15:2). It
is the "cleansing from all sin"- "from all
unrighteousness" (1 John 1:7, 9).
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We must be sanctified
and cleansed to be free to Worship and Praise our God.
We must be free
from bad habits and filthy communication.
To be free from slang
that is stepping stones to curse words or blasphemy, for
we will be held accountable for every idle word.
We believe a Christian
will abstain from the very appearance of evil 1Th:5:22
What we do, and where we
go, and who and what we support, we each are accountable
for to this body and our God.
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We believe that the
Pentecostal baptism with the Holy Ghost and fire is
obtainable by a definite act of appropriating faith on
the part of the fully cleansed believer (Luke 11:13;
24:49; Acts 1:5, 8; 2:38, 39). We believe that this
great blessing, which provides the enduement of power
to witness for Christ, is available to all believers
whose hearts are cleansed from sin by the blood of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Since the Bible teaches that our
bodies are temples of the Holy Ghost (1 Corinthians
6:19, 20)-and that the temple of God is holy, which
temple ye (believers) are (1 Corinthians 3:16, 17)-we
do not believe that God will fill an unclean temple or
vessel with His Holy Spirit. In other words, we
believe, because the Bible teaches and requires it,
that in order to receive the baptism with the Holy
Ghost, a person must have a clean heart and life as a
prerequisite for this great blessing. Remember, the
blood of cleansing must first be applied, then the
oil, which is a type of the Holy Spirit (Leviticus
14:14, 17).
Moreover, we believe
that in order to live in the fullness of the Holy
Spirit's power and possession, one must continue to
live a clean and consecrated life, free from sin,
strife, worldliness and pride, and must avoid
attitudes and actions which tend to "grieve" or
"quench" the Holy Spirit of God (Ephesians 4:29-32; 1
Thessalonians 5:19). We believe that the "initial" (or
first) evidence of the reception of the baptism of the
Holy Spirit is the speaking with other tongues as the
Spirit gives utterance (John 15:26, 27; Acts 2:1-4;
8:17, 18; 10:44-46; 19:6; 1 Corinthians 12:7). We do
not believe this is the only evidence of the Spirit's
baptism, but that it is the initial evidence just as
it occurred in the repeated accounts of the Spirit's
outpouring in the Acts of the Apostles. But there will
be other evidences spelled out in our lives-the fruit
of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22, 23), power to witness
for Christ, power to endure the testings of faith and
the oppositions of the world. We believe that the
initial evidence of speaking with tongues is for
everyone who receives the Pentecostal baptism with the
Holy Spirit, and we distinguish between this initial
manifestation and the gift of tongues, which is not
given to every Spirit-filled believer.
The Pentecostal
Holiness Church believes in the gifts of the Spirit as
set forth by the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 12, 13
and 14. We believe that they are "set in the Church"
by the Holy Spirit; that He retains custody and
control of the said gifts of "enablements,"
distributing or operating them "severally as He will."
And we desire that our people may so live under the
control of the Holy Spirit that these gifts may be
manifested or used through consecrated individuals in
the worship services where, when, and as they are
needed, but all to the glory of God and the edifying
of the body of Christ, and in accordance with the
directions and decorum set forth in the chapters
referred to above.
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We believe that
provision was made in the atonement for the healing of
our bodies as set forth in the following Scriptures:
Isaiah 53:4, 5; Matthew 8:16, 17; Mark 16:15-18; James
5:14-16; Exodus 15:26; to which we would also add Romans
8:26-28. And, while we do not condemn the use of medical
means in the treatment of physical disease, we do
believe in, practice and commend to our people the
laying on of hands by the elders or leaders of the
church, the anointing with oil in the name of the Lord,
and the offering of prayers for the healing of the sick.
We believe in the
imminent, personal, premillennial, second coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ. The word imminent means that the
second coming of Christ is near, that it is impending,
likely to occur at any moment (Matthew 25:29-44; Mark
13:32-37; Titus 2:13). The word personal means that "the
Lord himself" shall return (1 Thessalonians 4:15-18);
that the "same Jesus" who was "taken up into heaven
shall so come in like manner" as He was seen to "go into
heaven" (Acts 1:11). The word premillennial means that
He will come before the millennium during which the
"blessed and holy" of the "first resurrection" will live
and reign with Christ "a thousand years" (Revelation
20:4-6). There will be two stages of the second coming
of Christ; the first for the purpose of catching away
His saints who are prepared for the Rapture before the
Great Tribulation period (Matthew 24:40-44; 1
Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 3:10, 11; 4:1, 2); and
the second at the end of the Great Tribulation, when He
shall come back with His saints to destroy the armies of
the Antichrist, to judge the nations of the world, and
to inaugurate the millennial reign (Matthew 25:31-33; 2
Thessalonians 2:8; Revelation 19:11-21; 20:1-6). The
proper attitude of Christians toward the coming of
Christ should be to love His appearing (2 Timothy 4:8),
watch and pray always to be accounted worthy to escape
the things which will come upon the earth during the
Great Tribulation (Luke 21:36), pray for His coming
(Matthew 6:10; Revelation 22:20), and faithfully to
"occupy" until He comes (Luke 19:13). Many signs point
to the soon coming of Jesus. We give a few Scriptures
which set forth several of them: Ezekiel 36 (the return
of Israel to her land, etc.); Daniel 12:4; Nahum 2:3, 4;
Joel 2:28-32; Matthew 24; Mark 13; Luke 21:25-36; 1
Timothy 4:1-5; 2 Timothy 3:1-8, 13; 4:3-4; 2
Thessalonians 2:1-12; 2 Peter 2 and 3; and the Epistle
of Jude.
The first thirteen of
our Articles of Faith state what we believe as a church.
Article 14 defines for us "what we are to do about it."
Our Lord's last command on earth was to charge every
believer with the responsibility of taking the gospel to
all nations. We can never be content just experiencing
God in Christ for ourselves. We must also be actively
involved in spreading the gospel to others-to the ends
of the earth. Written by Bishop Joseph A. Synan (1961)
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