Statement of Beliefs
Conditions to Salvation:
Salvation is received through repentance toward Yahweh and faith toward Yahshua. By the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, being justified by grace through faith, man becomes an heir of Yahweh according to the hope of eternal life. (Luke 24:47; John 3:3; Romans 10:13-15; Ephesians 2:8; Titus 2:11; 3:5-7)
The Evidences of Salvation:
The inward evidence of salvation is the direct witness of the Spirit (Romans 8:16). The outward evidence to all men is a life of righteousness and true holiness. (Ephesians 4:24; Titus 2:12)
The Baptism of the Holy Spirit
All believers are entitled to and should ardently expect and earnestly seek the promise of the Father, the baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire, according to the command of Yahshua. This was the normal experience of all in the early Christian Church. With it comes the endowment of power for life and service, the bestowment of gifts and their uses in the work of the ministry (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4,8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31). This experience is distinct from and subsequent to the experience of the new birth (Acts 8:12-17; 10:44-46; 11:14-16; 15:7-9). With the baptism in the Holy Spirit comes such experience as an overflowing fullness of the Spirit (John 7:37-39; Acts 4:8), a deepened reverence for Yahweh (Acts 2:43; Hebrews 12:28), an intensified consecration to Yahweh and dedication to his work (Acts 2:42), and a more active love for Yahshua, for His word and for the lost (Mark 16:20).
Divine Healing
Divine healing is an integral part of the gospel. Deliverance from sickness is provided for in the atonement and is the privilege of all Believers (Isaiah 53:4-5; Matthew 8:16-17; James 5:14-16).
The name of the Father and His Son
The Scriptures record that the Creator and His Son have personal names, yet these names remain virtually unknown and, consequently, unused. Since the Heavenly Father and His Son consider Their names to be important, the Church cannot ignore this issue.
The Five-Fold Ministry
A divinely called and Biblically ordained ministry of Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers (Ephesians 4:11-16) has been provided by our Lord for the threefold purpose of leading the Church in:
Evangelization of the world (Mark 16:15-20),
Worship of Yahweh (John 4:23-24),
Building a body of saints being perfected in the image of His Son (Ephesians 4:11-16).
Evangelist – calling sinners to be reconciled to Yahweh.
Teacher– teaching Yahweh’s people how to live in the Kingdom.
Pastor – nurturing, feeding, guiding, and protecting Yahweh’s people.
Prophet – giving direction, charting the course of action, encouraging and exhorting Yahweh’s people on to doing the work of Yahweh.
Apostle – fathering, correcting, and giving oversight to the life and work of the church.
Tithing
The basic meaning of tithe is one-tenth. But the Scriptures enlarge upon this basic meaning so that whenever the scriptural term–the tithe–is used, it is not just any one-tenth, but it is “the first and the best.” (Numbers 18:12,29; Malachi 3:8-9)
The Scriptures Inspired
The Scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments, are verbally inspired of Yahweh and the revelation of Yahweh to man, the infallible, authoritative rule of faith and conduct. (2 Timothy 3:15-17; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Peter 1:21)
The One True God
The one true God has revealed Himself as, Yahweh, the eternally self-existent “I AM”, the Creator of heaven and earth and the Redeemer of mankind. He has further revealed Himself as embodying the principles of relationship and association as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 43:10-11; Matthew 28:19; Luke 3:22)
The Deity of Yahshua
Yahshua is the eternal son of Yahweh. The Scriptures declare:
His virgin birth (Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:31,35)
His sinless life (Hebrews 7:26; 1 Peter 2:22)
His miracles (Acts 2:22; 10:38)
His substitution on the cross (1 Corinthians 15:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21)
His bodily resurrection from the dead (Matthew 28:6; Luke 24:39; 1 Corinthians 15:4)
His exaltation to the right hand of Yahweh (Acts 1:9, 11 2:33; Philippians 2:9-11; Hebrews 1:3)
The Fall of Man
Man was created good and upright; for Yahweh said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” However, man by voluntary transgression fell and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death, which is separation from Yahweh. (Genesis 1:26,27; 2:17; 3:6; Romans 5:12-19)
The Ordinances of the Church
Baptism in Water:
The ordinance of baptism by immersion is commanded in the Scriptures. All who repent and believe on Yahshua as Savior and Lord are to be baptized. Thus they declare to the world that they have died with Yahshua and that they also have been raised with Him to walk in newness of life. (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:16; Acts 10:47-48; Romans 6:4)
Holy Communion:
Holy Communion is the symbol expressing our participation in the divine nature of Yahshua. (2 Peter 1:4); a memorial of His suffering and death. (1 Corinthians 11:26); and a prophecy of His second coming. (1 Corinthians 11:26; and is enjoined on all Believers “till he comes.” It is the celebration of the New Covenant as established be Yahshua Himself. Holy Communion is the daily partaking of Yahshua by yielding to Holy Spirit’s guidance.
The Evidence of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit
The baptism of Believers in the Holy Spirit is witnessed by the initial physical sign of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit of Yahweh gives them utterance (Acts 2:4). The Speaking in tongues in this instance is the same in essence as the gift of tongues (1 Corinthians 12:4-10, 28), but different in purpose and use.
Sanctification
Sanctification is an act of separation from that which is evil, and of dedication unto Yahweh (Romans 12:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 13:12). The Scriptures teach of a life of “… holiness without which no man shall see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14). By the power of the Holy Spirit we are able to obey the command; “Be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:15-16).
Sanctification is realized in the Believer by recognizing his identification with Yahshua, in His death and resurrection, and by faith reckoning daily upon the fact of that union, and by offering every faculty continually to the dominion of the Holy Spirit (Romans 6:1-11, 13; Galatians 2:20; Philippians 2:12-13; 1 Peter 1:5).
The Church
The church is the body of Yahshua, the habitation of Yahweh through the Spirit, with divine appointments for the fulfillment of its great commission. Each Believer, born of the Spirit, is an integral part of the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven (Ephesians 1:22-23, 2:22; Hebrews 12:23). One does not join the church; each person who truly believes in Yahshua is baptized into the Body of Christ–the Church–by Holy Spirit.
The Blessed Hope
The resurrection of those who have fallen asleep in Yahshua and their translation together with those who are alive and remain unto the coming of Yahshua is the blessed hope of the Church (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Romans 8:23; Titus 2:13; I Corinthians 15:51-52)
The Final Judgment
There will be a final judgment in which the wicked dead will be raised and judged according to their works. Whosoever is not found written in the book of Life, together with the devil and his angels, the beast and the false prophet, will be consigned to everlasting punishment in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. (Matthew 25:46; Mark 9:43-48; Revelation 19-20; 20:11-15; 21:8).
The New Heaven and the New Earth
“We, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness.” (2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:22).
The Name of the Father
WHY YAHWEH? The term “God,” whether capitalized or not, is a general, not a specific term; it does not identify any particular elohim (god). Other religions identify by name the one to whom devotion is given, but by and large, Christians have been ignorant of or reluctant to identify by name the one to whom they give worship. That is even more strange when one considers the many exhortations recorded in scripture to identify Him by name.
There are documented reasons why the Jewish people moved away from identifying Yahweh by name and came to substitute, first of all in their oral reading and finally in their written scriptures, another word which came to be translated by the general term of “god.” Today, scripture translators are aware that Yahweh best expresses the name by which the Creator identified Himself, but because of religious tradition and other reasons, there is reluctance to restore this name to the written scriptures.
In the 16th century, an attempt was made to restore the proper name by the introduction of Jehovah, but that word falls short for different reasons, the chief one being that there is no “J” sound in the Hebrew language. The best evidence we have available to us indicates that Yahweh is the true name of our elohim, the one by whom and for whom all things were made, and therefore we are committed to using His true name — the one He gave to Himself. Yahweh means, “The one who exists, or whose nature it is to exist.
The Name of the Son
WHY YAHSHUA? Perhaps it would be better to ask: “Why Jesus?” Jesus is an English transliteration of the Greek I—sous, and is nothing like the Hebrew name, Yahshua which means Yahweh is salvation.
Wherever you travel in the world and no matter what is the language of the people, your name remains the same, it is never translated. This is an inviolate rule of language: a person’s name is not translated. You will notice this in the reporting of international news; the name by which a person is identified in this country would be pronounced exactly the same in their country, no matter what the language.
Being Hebrews, and bringing their infant son to the Jewish temple to be dedicated, it is unthinkable that Joseph and Mary would have given any but a Hebrew name to Him. The name they most certainly gave to that child is Yahshua. If that be true, then that is the only correct name by which He can be identified today.
We believe that the time has come to restore to the Scriptures and to our daily usage the correct names for the Father and for the Son, but it is not our purpose to make this a “bone of contention” with others in the Body of Christ. We make no discrimination against those who insist on using the terms “God” and “Jesus.” Agreement on this issue is not a requirement for fellowship or friendship with us.