Statement of Faith and Core Beliefs
Living Sacrifice Ministries
The Bible:• We Believe the Bible contains the Holy Scriptures and are the words of God, prophecies of times to come, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ to Salvation, all written down by Godly men through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
(II Peter 1:15-21, II Tim. 3:15-16, Psalms 68:11)
• We Believe that as Believers of God, we are to live by the Bible, in its entirety that nothing is to be left out or set aside for personal interpretation.
(Matt.4:4; Joshua 1:7, II Peter 1:20-21)
• We Believe that as servants of God we are to meditate daily on the scriptures, study the scriptures and rightly dividing the word of truth, to be ready day in and day out to be a witness, testimony, to share with others in their time of need.
(I Tim 2:15, Joshua 1:8)
• We Believe all understanding, knowledge, and wisdom of the scriptures is given to us through spiritual discernment by God through the power of the Holy Spirit.
(1 Cor. 2:10-16; I John 2:20-28)
Deity of God:
• We Believe in the deity of the One True God, in the Trinity, God three in One, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, each as individuals, and as one being.
(John 4:24; 14:16; 16:27-27; 17:21-22)
• We Believe God is God, from beginning to end, the Alpha and the Omega that He is the only being in the natural and supernatural, that is…
o Perfect – Matt.5:48
o Infinite – 1Kings 8:27
o Eternal – Ps. 90:2, Deut. 33:27
o Intellectual – Isa 1:18
o Omniscient – Acts 15:18, Ps. 139:16, Heb 4:13
o Omnipotent – Gen. 1:1, Acts 5:30, Rev. 19:6,
o Omnipresent – Ps 139:7-10
• God CANNOT
o Lie or Go back on His Word – Num 23:19, II Tim 2:13, Titus 1:2, Heb. 6:18
o Change – Mal 3:6
o Cease to Be God – Deut. 33:27
o Fail – Ezra 4:22
Jesus Christ:
• We Believe in the deity of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was all God, He was the word made flesh, to dwell among men to be the way to salvation and eternal life and the ONLY way to get to heaven.
(John 1:1-16, 28-34; 3:16, Matt. 3:13-17, Mk.1:9-11, Lk 3:21, 22)
• We Believe that Christ was born of a virgin, who was conceived through the Holy Spirit and his birth, death, burial, and resurrection, was foretold in the Old Testament as the Messiah to be the Savior of the world.
(Isa 7:14; 9:6-7; 28:16, John 3:16, I John 4:9; Gen 3:15)
• We Believe Christ was born on earth, lived on earth for 33 years in a silent, growing time, and raised by Mary and her earthly husband Joseph.
(Luke 2)
• We Believe Christ began his earthly ministry at 33 years of age, he was rejected by his own people in Nazareth, and he began going out throughout Israel, teaching and preaching the Gospel to all who would hear. Calling disciples to work with and be taught the things of God, to continue the work after his return to Heaven.
(Matt 4:17, 18-25, Mk 1:14-15, 16-20, Lk 4:14-15, 16-30, 43-44)
Holy Spirit:
• We Believe that the Holy Spirit, as the third part of the Trinity, was sent by God as the comforter spoken throughout the New Testament and who also works and intercedes on our behalf to the Father.
(John 14:16-17, 26; 16:7-11, Romans 8:26-27,)
• We Believe that immediately after salvation comes to dwell in our spirit and leads you into God’s will and helps you gain understanding of the scriptures to grow in one-on-one relationship with God.
(John 16:13-15, Acts 1:5, 8, Col. 2:10)
• We Believe as you build that one-on-one relationship with God through the meditation of the scriptures, daily prayer and fellowship with God, the Holy Spirit not only dwells in you, but begins to fill you and consume you to entirety upon Spiritual Maturity, which will open your heart, mind, life, and spirit to walk in the Spirit and the fruit of the spirit will begin to show in your actions, words, life, and personality.
(John 16:12-15, Gal 5:22)
Creation:
• We Believe that God created the world by speaking it into existence and saying, “Let there be…” and it was done. (Gen 1:1, Col 1:16, 17)
• We Believe the God as the trinity was present at the time of creation. Let us make Man in Our Image…
(Gen 1:26; John 9:58, John 17:5)
• We Believe Adam was created from the dust of the ground, in the Spirit image and likeness of God, and that Eve was created from a rib in Adam’s side.
(Gen 1:26; 2:7-21-22)
Salvation:
• We Believe that through disobedience of Adam and Eve to not eat of the fruit of Good and Evil, they experienced spiritual death, which created a situation where all that are born as man are born as sinners, in need of a savior. God had to make a way through shed blood and forgiveness of sins for Salvation and eternal life because of their sin, there is no other way to God or Heaven.
(Gen 3:1-19, Romans 5:12-21)
• We Believe that Salvation is by faith, coming to God with a broken and humbled spirit, believing that Christ is the Son of God, confession our sins to God with our mouth for the forgiveness of our sins and true repentance. We also believe in the urgency of salvation through this process, as the coming of the Lord is imminent.
(Matt. 4:17, 18:4, Romans 10:9-13, II Cor. 6:2, 1John 1:9)
• We Believe true repentance is a change of heart, mind and life.
(Romans 12:1-3, Phil 2:5, II Cor 5:17)
• We Believe that salvation and faith does not come by works, but by faith only, and We Believe that faith without works is also dead. In other words, you can’t be saved my “doing” something, but if you are truly saved, by faith, your actions should change and you should WANT to perform works for others and for God when your heart and life changes for the Lord.
(Gal 2:16, 30, Jas 1:22-25, 2:14-26; 4:1-17)
• We Believe that immediately at the time of Salvation, when the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in your heart and life, God gives you all you need in your spirit to live a life in Christ to full abundance, and when you begin to walk in the spirit, you will be able to begin to access all those things that God gave you in your spirit to be absolutely, complete In Him.
(Rom. 8:9-17; Col 2:10)
Sanctification:
• We Believe Sanctification of the believer is a three fold process…
o Immediately at salvation, by God, He forgives you of your sins, fills your soul with the Holy Spirit, and sets you apart as Holy for His Service.
(John 17:17, I Thes. 4:3, Heb 2:11, 10:10)
o We are to DAILY set ourselves apart, Holy for God’s Service. Daily you CHOOSE to be set aside for God’s work and witness for each day. You have to choose to be His workmanship, have to choose to allow God to keep you as HIS for each day.
(II Cor 6:7, Eph 5:26, I Pet 3:15)
o Entire Sanctification happens when you get to heaven, it is the removal of all sins and desire of sin, where you will live perfect, without sin, Holy and set apart for God. Because of our daily struggle with the flesh and the fact that we are not made perfect after salvation, we know this happens once you are in Heaven to live perfect, holy, and righteously in the New Heaven and New Earth.
(I Thes. 5:23, Heb 10:14)
Discipleship:
• We Believe that each person that chooses Salvation is responsible for their own education and spiritual growth in their One-on-One Relationship with their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That this education and spiritual growth will come in various forms, but not limited to…
o Personal Bible Reading and Study the Scriptures – I Tim 4:6, II Tim 2:15; 3:16-17, II Peter 3:18, Proverbs 4:7, I Thes 2:12,13, Col 2:12-17
o Personal Prayer and Communion with God – I Tim 2:1-8, I Thes 5:17, Col 2:17: 3:2, Phil 3:10; 4:6-7, Eph 5:1-2, 19-20; 6:18
o Communion Between You and the Holy Spirit – Rom 8:1-2, 14, 26-27, I Cor 2:10-16, I Thes 1:5, 1 John 2:20, 27-28, Gal 3:5, 4:16-18, 5:22-26, Eph 3:16, 4:30, I John 2:20, 22-28
o Attending Church and Sitting Under the Preaching of an Anointed, Called, Man of God who has been placed in a position of authority to teach, preach, and train the congregation in Spiritual Growth and Understanding – Hebrews 10:25,
o Christian Elder or Godly Counsel – Ps 1:1-3, Prov. 6:20-23; 7:1-5, Titus 2, II Tim 1:2-5, II Tim 1:16-17
• We Believe when each person studies the Bible, spends time in prayer and communion with the Lord you build strength, able to withstand temptation, able to point others to the Lord, and build your faith in the Lord and all His promises. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God.
(I Pet 5:8-10, II Pet 1:1-8; 2:9)
Ordinances:
• We Believe there are two established ordinances given to each individual who become saved. Water Baptism and Holy Communion.
• Baptism – First ordinance ordered by God to be performed immediately after salvation – It is a one time act of immersion of your body, head to toe into water, signifying the Death, Burial and Resurrection of Christ. We teach Baptism as the obedience to God as an outward showing of the inward work of Salvation.
(Matt 28:19, Mark 16:16, Acts 2:28, Rom. 6:3-5)
• Lord’s Supper – Christ observed the first communion, known as the Lord’s Supper, in the upper room with His disciples, the bread represents the body broken for them at the cross, at the time of the crucifixion. The wine represents the blood of Christ, spilled out on the cross to cover our sins and making a way for Salvation of the believer. This ordinance is to be observed as often as you can in remembrance of Christ and what He did for us.
(Matt 26:26-29; John 6:51-58; 1 Cor. 11:23-34)
Christian Life of the Believer:
• We Believe that all who believe on the Name of God for salvation become a New Creation, all things are passed away, and all things became new. Therefore, they should strive to walk in the newness of life
(Rom. 6:4, II Cor. 5:17)
• We Believe that all who accept Christ has their Savior, must give up the things of the World, Renew their Minds, and begin a Transformed Life in Christ.
(Romans 12:1-2, Phil 2:5)
• We Believe the Bible says, that you should walk as Christ would walk, which means, your life style should match that of Christ Jesus, which matches Christ’s, to live a life of No Compromise as best we can as Humans on this earth.
(I Peter 1:16, 2:11, 21-25; I John 2:6)
• We Believe we must follow after the Will of God in a new life in Christ, and that the Holy Spirit will lead you in the Will of God, so you will know how you are to go in Christ.
(I John 2:20, 24-28; Rom. 8:11, 12-17, 23-27)
• We Believe God delivers us and/or sends angels to minister to our spirits, hearts, and minds when we face trials, troubles and despair to help His Children in anything they are going through.
(Ps. 103:20-21; Ps. 107; Matt. 4:11; Luke 22:43; Heb.1: 13-14)
Godly Family and Marriage:
• We Believe God created the institution of Marriage, and it is to be one man and one woman, that God laid out in detail how He wanted each one, to be a partner to the other, and how they are to love and treat one another.
(Gen. 2:23-24; Eph. 5:21-33
• We Believe the husband is the head of the household as Christ is the head of the church, that the Bible says they husband and wife are to submit to one another, growing in grace and in love as one. That the woman is to submit to the authority of the Headship of the Home as she and her husband both are to submit to God as the authority of the Body of Christ. That in submission you show honor and respect to one another.
(Gen.3:16, Eph. 5:21-33; Col 3:18-19
• We Believe God created the husband and wife to grow together in love, creating a Godly family, teaching, providing discipline, education, and training for their children as the grow physically and spiritually how to fear the Lord as God and Creator of all, to be a child of God from the beginning, to help them learn the Love of God early in their lives, teach them about salvation and how to grow up the knowledge, understanding and wisdom of God as well as teach them His commandments, to be humble and live with Godly, personal integrity, how we are to be in Christ, and teach them His ways and as well as, to recognize the deity of God in their lives.
(Prov. 1:2-9; 3:1-1;, 4:1-11; 9:10; 13:24; 15:5,9; 16:5-6,18; 22:6, 15; 24:21; Eph 6:1-4; Col. 3:1-17, 20-21, 23-25; 4:1-6; I Tim. 3:4-5,12; II Tim. 3:10-17; Titus 2-3; Heb. 12:6-8, 10-15; Jas.1:2-8, II Pet. 3:18) (The Bible is our instruction manual for all things, but in raising Children one may say Proverbs is a large, book of instruction for raising Children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. It shows all of us how to live a Christian life, with integrity, getting wisdom, gaining knowledge, and getting understanding.)
The Church:
• We Believe that the Great Commission in the New Testament was ordered by Jesus to His disciples and to all the saints a ministry, to go out and preach the Gospel to every creature, baptizing them, teaching them to be disciples and workers for Christ for Kingdom Advancement until Christ’s Return.
(Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:15-16)
• We Believe that who God commands to preach the Gospel by the Great Commission, who He has called and ordained to serve Him in Kingdom Advancement, Salvation of Unbelievers, Discipleship of the New Converts, and Preparation of the coming Rapture of the Saints, as well as the Tribulation. We know the scriptures teach, Whom He calls, He Ordains and Equips for His work.
(Eph. 2:10, Matt. 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-16, I Cor. 7:17)
• We Believe that the Church is the Saved, Sanctified, Body of Christ (Believers of the Lord, Jesus Christ) and their mission is. to “Seek and Save that which was lost…” Which in turn advances the Kingdom of God, and is the start of the Churches’ Outreach Ministry.
(Acts 2:42-47; 5:14)
• We Believe God commands all His Children, THE CHURCH, to Love the Lord our God with all their Heart, Mind, Soul, and Spirit, and to love your neighbor as yourself, and these are the first and second commandments, greatest of them all. To be a living example to new believers how to live for the Lord and live a life of No Compromise through the instructions in the Bible.
(Deut. 6:5, Ps119:1-24; Matt. 22:37; Mk. 12:30, Lk. 10:27, Jas. 1:6-8, 4:6-8, 15-17)
• We Believe God ordained various positions in the Church to run the local churches and ministries on this earth, to lead the church, congregations, outreach, and other offices to provide support to the Leadership of each local church body. (Eph, 4:11, I Tim 3:1-16)
o Apostles
o Evangelists
o Preachers
o Deacons
o Bishops
o Prophets
o Teachers
• We Believe in the rapture of the Church(I Thes. 5:2-3, Tit. 1:13)
End Times and Coming Judgment: Coming Tribulation, Second Coming, New Heaven and New Earth
• We Believe in a literal Heaven for God and His creation that followed Him after the fall of 1/3 of His angels and Satan, and for the Believers that accepted His Son, Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.
• We Believe in a literal Hell for the Devil, the fallen angels, demons, anti-Christ, and all people that chose NOT to follow after the Lord, and chose to deny the Gospel of Christ.
(II Thes.1:8-9)
• We Believe in the coming tribulation, appearance of the anti-Christ, the one world church, and the forced mark of the beast, which will all end in the Victorious Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ after 7 years of Tribulation.
(II Thes. 2:3-12)
• We Believe in the Millennial Reign of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Battle of Armageddon, and the ultimate punishment for the fallen angels, demons, Satan, the anti-Christ, and all who did not choose to accept Christ as their Savior.
(Rev.20:1-6, 8, 10)
• We Believe in the establishment of the new Heaven and the New Earth that God has promised as the New Kingdom of God.
(Rev. 21:1)
• We Believe in the final judgments awaiting the Christians to give an account for their life here on earth and a final judgment for the non-saved who had refused the Gospel of Christ.
(Rev. 20:11-15)
