REJOICE ALWAYS INSTITUTE OF PRAISE AND WORSHIP
A Distance-Learning Center of
Chesapeake Bible College & Seminary
And All Divisions
STATEMENT OF FAITH
1. THE BIBLE: Sixty-six books of canonical scripture were plenary and verbally inspired by God in their original autographs (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20,21; 2 Peter 3:1,2). The Holy Scriptures are the only infallible rules for faith and practice (Matthew 5:17-19; John 10:35; 12:48).
2. GOD: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one in reality and yet three distinct persons thus composing the Triune God. Each member of the Godhead is a Unique Deity—An Eternal Spirit Being, yet with His relationship and ministry within the Godhead.
The Father is the Initiator of Salvation, the Son is the Agent of Salvation, and the Holy Spirit is the Applier of Salvation (John 10:30; 1 Peter 1:2; Ephesians 1:4,5,7,13; John 3:5,6,16,17).
3. OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST: Jesus of Nazareth was God and Man, with undiminished deity and spotless humanity in one Person forever (Philippians 2:6,7; John 8:58; Hebrews 4:14,15). He was virgin born (Matthew 1:18-25) and He was sent into the world to shed His blood on the cross for the remission of man’s sin (1 Peter 1:18,19; 2:24). Jesus rose from the dead and is the world’s only Savior (Romans 1:4; Acts 4:12). He now sits at the right hand of the Father where He, as the High Priest after the Order of Melchizedek, makes intercession for us (Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:10; 7:25). Jesus will come again to earth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 19:14-21).
4. HOLY SPIRIT: The Holy Spirit is the third Person in the Godhead. He is the Spirit of the Lord (2 Corinthians 3:17, 18) who has proceeded from the Father and the Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:7-11). He indwells the believer (Ephesians 5:18), baptizes the believer with power (Acts 1:8), and grants to the believer spiritual gifts and fruits which have never ceased. The Holy Spirit is sovereign and free to move any way He so chooses.
5. MAN: Man is the direct Creation of God, made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26, 27; 2:70). This image of God is a mental, moral, and social likeness that enables man to fellowship with God. Man is a tripartite being composed of spirit, soul, and body (1 Thessalonians 5:23).
But man through the fall marred God’s image (Romans 5:12), developed a sinful nature and, therefore, must be born again to be restored to the moral and social image of his Creator (Romans 8:16; Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10). Man was created for God’s glory and His pleasure (Isaiah 43:7; Revelation 4:11).
6. HEAVEN: Heaven is a literal place (Revelation 21, Revelation 22). It is the New Jerusalem, the city of the living God, where an innumerable company of angels serve Him (Hebrews 12:22-24). The spirits of just men made perfect lives in a state of eternal life, love, and pure light. It is a place of ecstasy and bliss far beyond anything human language could describe (2 Corinthians 12:1-4). The saved of all ages will worship and serve God in heaven forever (Revelation 7:9-17). Most significantly, it is a place of continuous and sustained worship around the Throne of God for THOSE WHO ARE REDEEMED, THE TWENTY-FOUR ELDERS AND THE FOUR BEASTS SAYING, “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, LORD GOD ALMIGHTY, WHICH WAS, AND IS, AND IS TO COME.”
7. HELL: Hell is a literal place of outer darkness and everlasting punishment prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41, 46; 13:49,50; Revelation 20:10).
It is also a place of weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth for those who die outside of the Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 8:12; Revelation 21:8; 22:15). The Bible describes it as a place of torment from fire and brimstone forever and ever (Revelation 14: 10, 11).
8. SALVATION: The literal meaning of this term is, “deliverance, preservation, rescue, safety, and healing.” It is, then, a deliverance from guilt and rescue from the penalty of sin, which is death. It is a deliverance from the power of indwelling sin through the gracious indwelling Presence of God and the Holy Spirit. Salvation is also preservation from the very presence and pollution of sin at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 2:3; 2 Corinthians 1:6; 1 Thessalonians 5:9). To experience salvation is to be in a state of inner safety and healing. Salvation is received through faith in the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:21; Acts 16: 31; John 3:17). Salvation is “… by grace through faith and that not of ourselves, it is the Gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8,9). The Bible commands those who are saved to be baptized in water and become disciples of Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:19-20).
9. BAPTISM: Water Baptism represents a believer’s complete trust and total reliance on the Lord Jesus Christ, as well as, a promise to live obediently to Him. Also, it expresses unison with all the saints (Ephesians 2:19), that is, with every person in every nation on earth who is a member of the Body of Christ (Galatians 3:27–28). Water baptism indicates this and more, but it is not what saves us. But rather, we are saved by grace through faith, separately from works (Ephesians 2:8–9). We are baptized because our Lord instructed us to: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).
10. CHURCH: The church is the literal Body of Christ of which He is the Head (Ephesians 1:22,23). This literal body is expressed both universally and locally. Every believer is a member of the Universal Church which is the whole family of God in Heaven and on Earth (Ephesians 3:14, 15).
The local church, however, is an organism that God has established in specific locations to carry on His work on the earth. It has officers such as elders and deacons (1 Timothy 3); it administers ordinances such as water baptism and the Lord’s Supper (Acts 2:38; 1 Corinthians 11: 17-34); it has orders, i.e., to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). Believers are commanded to be servants to each other and to those who rule over us in the Lord (1 Corinthians 16:15,16; Hebrews 13:17; 1 John 3:16).
11. THE PURPOSE OF THE CHURCH: The first purpose of the Church is to corporately worship God (Hebrews 13:15; Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16). This worship is to be obeyed by evangelism. The command to make disciples has never been rescinded (Matthew 28:19,20). God’s plan for the world is that the Church will carry out its mission by preaching the Gospel to the lost to bring them to salvation (Acts 1:8; 8:4).
Another purpose of the Church is to build up its members. This is facilitated by developing their gifts (Romans 12:5-8; 1 Peter 4:9-11).
The Five Gift-Ministries were set in the Church to equip the believers to do the Work of the Ministry (Ephesians 4:16). As a result, each believer will realize his/her call as a “Believer-Priest” whose function is to worship God and lead others to Him (1 Peter 2:5, 9)!
