Statement of Faith
Jay D. Mack, M.Div
The Bible: The sole basis of our belief is the Bible, composed of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments. We believe that Scripture in its entirety originated with God, and that it was written under His inspiration. Scripture thus at one and the same time speaks with the authority of ADONAI and reflects the backgrounds, styles, and vocabularies of the human authors. We hold that the Scriptures are infallible and inerrant in the original manuscripts. They are the unique, full, and final authority on all matters of faith and practice and there are no other writings similarly inspired by God (Second Timothy 3:16-17, Second Peter 1:19-21).
God: We believe that there is one true, holy God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each of whom possesses equally all the attributes of deity and characteristics of personality. We believe that God concerns Himself mercifully in human affairs, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ (Matthew 3:16-17, John 14:6, 16:23-27, Galatians 4:4-6, Ephesians 1:3, 17-23).
Jesus Christ: We believe that Yeshua Messiah, God’s Son, is both fully God (He is equal with God the Father in essence and attributes) and fully human (He was born of the virgin Mary and was like us in every way except that He had no sinful nature and committed no sin). We believe that He died on the cross to make payment for the sins of mankind and that He physically rose from the grave to claim victory over sin and death. We believe that following His resurrection, He ascended to His Father where He is the Mediator, as the High Priest, for each believer and is preparing to come again. Since He was without sin, Jesus’ death in our place fully satisfied God’s justice and thus made a way for us to enter into a reconciled relationship with Him. We believe that His Second Coming will be a literal return to the earth as King and Ruler of this earth at which time He will sit on the Throne of David (Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:31-33; 24:1-7; John 1:1, 14; Acts 1:9-11; First Timothy 2:5, 6; First Peter 2:22-24; Hebrews 5:9, 10; Revelation 19:11-16).
The Holy Spirit: The Spirit of God is the third person of the Trinity, equal to the Father and the Son in essence and attributes. His role is three-fold. First, that He was active in the creation; that in His relation to the unbelieving world He restrains the evil one until God’s purpose is fulfilled; that He convicts the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment; that He bears witness to the truth of the Gospel in preaching and testimony. Second, He is the initiator of our relationship with ADONAI. He convicts us of our sin, awakens in us a recognition of our need for a Savior and supernaturally transforms our hearts, infusing us with His spiritual energy. Thirdly, He is the sustainer of our relationship with God. At the point of salvation, the Holy Spirit permanently indwells every believer to become the source of assurance, strength, and wisdom, and uniquely endows each believer with gifts for the building up of the church body. The Holy Spirit guides believers in understanding and applying the Scripture. His power and control are appropriated by faith, making it possible for the believer to lead a life of Christ-like character and to bear spiritual fruit to the glory of the Father (Genesis 1:1-3; Matthew 28:19; John 3:3-6, 14:15-17, 25-26, 16:5-15, Acts 1:8; 5:3-4; Romans 8:14, 16, 26, 27; First Corinthians 12:4-13; Ephesians 1:13-14; Hebrews 10:15-18).
The Eternal Security of the Believer: We believe that all who are truly born again are kept by God the Father in Christ Jesus (John 6:37-41, 10:27-29; Romans 5:8-11, 8:28-39; Galatians 3:26-29; Philippians 1:6; Titus 3:7; Hebrews 10:1-10; Revelation 3:5, 20:12 and 15, 21:27).
Sin: The central purpose of God’s revelation in Scripture is to call all people into relationship with Himself. Although originally created for this relationship, we all have inherited from Adam a natural bent to resist ADONAI. This reliance on ourselves rather than God, the attitude that says to Him, “I will do as I choose, I am in charge,” is called sin. By ourselves, we are unable to overcome sin and the ruptured relationships it causes with God and others (Isaiah 53:6, Romans 1:21, 3:23, 5:12-21, James 4:1-2).
Satan: We believe in the personality of Satan, that he is the unholy god of this age, the author of all the powers of darkness, a liar, and an adversary of the children of God. We believe he is destined to the judgment of an eternal justice in the lake of fire (John 8:44; Second Corinthians 4:4; First Peter 5:8; Revelation 20:10).
The Church: The phrase, “the Church” refers not to a building but to that group of people who have a relationship with Jesus Christ and belong to God. This reflects the true Church and not the professing Church. In its broadest sense, as the “universal Church,” the Church consists of all people everywhere who have ever acknowledged Yeshua Messiah as their Lord. In narrower meaning, it refers to a local body of believers who gather regularly for worship, prayer, fellowship, and teaching of the Bible. They are committed to outreach to the world and to service to one another through the development and use of talents and gifts, and they observe baptism and communion as the ordinances established by Jesus Christ. Under the watchful care of elders and other supportive leadership, its members are to work together in love and unity, intent on the one ultimate purpose of glorifying Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:24-25, Acts 2:42-47, Matthew 28-18-20, Acts 8:1, Colossians 1:18, Hebrews 13:17).
Faith and Practice: Scripture is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice. We recognize that the local church cannot bind the conscience of individual members in areas where Scripture is silent. Rather, each believer is to be led in those areas by the Lord, to whom he or she alone is ultimately responsible (First Corinthians 8:9, Romans 14).
Human Destiny: Death is the end of physical life, but not of spiritual existence. All persons, whether they have a relationship with God or not, possess immortality. We believe in the personal, visible, premillennial second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ as the King of kings and Lord of lords. We believe that we are now living in the Dispensation of Grace (Acts 2:1 to Revelation 19:21). But as future events unfold, we believe that after the Rapture of the Church there will be a seven year peroid of tribulation on the earth, begining with the signing of a seven year covenant between Isra’el and the antichrist. After Yeshua physically returns to the earth, He will rule and reign from the Temple in Jerusalem for a thousand years. At the end of the millennium Satan will be temporarily freed from his chains and lead a rebellion that will be put down. Then all the lost will be judged at the Great White Throne Judgment. Books will be opened and those not found written in the Lamb’s Book of Life will be cast into the lake of fire; however, those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life will be ushered into the Eternal State. Those who formerly refused relationship with Jesus Christ will be separated from Him and every good thing forever; those who embraced relationship with Him will enjoy His presence forever in heaven. In heaven there will be no crying, pain, death, or evil. There, believers will be perfect in a perfect world, holy in the presence of a Holy God, dwelling with Him who will do immeasurably more than we ask or think or dare to dream (Matthew 10:28; John 14:1-4; Hebrews 9:27; 1 Corinthians 2:9, 15:12-23; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 4-16; 19:11-16; 20:11 to 22:6).
Jewish Perspective: We are a strong supporter of the Jewish people and approach the Scriptures from a Jewish perspective. God speaks of His love for the whole world yet He gave special promises the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We do not believe in Replacement Theology. In other words, the Church has not replaced Isra’el in God’s plan. Yeshua said, “Blessed are the peace-makers” and we pray for the peace of Isra’el and the entire Middle East. If everyone was listening to God and His Torah, there could be peace for all peoples. Irrespective of the world politics, UN resolutions and anti-Isra’el sentiment, we know that ADONAI will fulfill His promises in His own way and timing. We look forward to the return of King Messiah to establish His peace plan!