|
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).
The
Pentecostal
Holiness
Church
has from its inception believed 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). For many
years we carried a statement respecting the Bible in our
General Rules. Then, in 1965, the Fifteenth General
Conference voted to include the language of paragraph 5
in our Articles of Faith, and this action was duly
ratified by our local churches.
Future of Believers & Unbelievers
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).
|
