At
West Fork Christian Fellowship we believe our purpose
is to develop a healthy, life giving church where believers
are equipped for service and empowered to take the Gospel
message of Jesus Christ to our communities, our nation
and to the nations of the world, declaring Gods' love
and acceptance for all of mankind........... (1 John 5: 19-20; Ephesians 2:1-6; Mark 16:15-16) |
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Statement
of Faith |
What
we believe forms the foundation of our strength and purpose |
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1. |
The
Godhead |
Our
God is One, but manifested in three persons: the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit. (Philippians 2:6; Matthew
3:16-17) |
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a. |
Father:
God has revealed himself as the eternally self-existent
One. He is greater than all, the Source of the Word and
the Begetter (John 1:14, 14:28, 16:28) |
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b. |
Son:
The Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God and as
much shares in the divinity and deity of God. He is the
One Begotten (John 1:1, 14, 18, 10:30) |
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c. |
Holy
Spirit: He proceeds forth from both the Father and the
Son and is eternal (John 15:26). We believe that the Holy
Spirit is a Person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness,
and of judgment (John 16:8-11; Romans 8:9; I Corinthians
12:12-14; II Corinthians 3:6; Ephesians 1:13-14) |
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2. |
The
Scriptures |
The
Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, is the inspired
Word of God, the product of holy men of old who spoke
and wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. (II
Timothy 3:15-17; I Thessalonians 2:13; I Peter 1:21) |
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3. |
Creation |
We
believe that God created the universe. We reject evolution
as an unscriptural theory of origin (Genesis 1-2; Exodus
20:11) |
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4. |
Man,
His Fall, and Redemption |
Man
is a created being, made in the likeness and image of
God, but through Adam’s transgression and fall,
sin came into the world. We believe that Satan is the
author of sin, and the cause of the fall of man; that
he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; and,
that he shall be eternally punished in the lake of fire.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was manifested to undo
the works of the devil and gave His life and shed His
blood to redeem and restore man back to God. (Job 1:6-7;
Isaiah 14:12-17; Matthew 4:2-11, 25:41; Romans 3:9-10,
3:23, 5:12, I John 3:8; Galatians 3:13, 14; Revelation
20:10) |
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5. |
Salvation |
“All
have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”(Rom.
3:23) We believe that there is only one way of salvation
and that salvation is the gift of God brought to man
by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary
for the forgiveness of our sins (John 1:12, 14:6; Ephesians
1:7, 2:8-10; I Peter 1:18-19) |
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6. |
Resurrection
and Eternal Existence |
We
believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved
to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting
punishment. (Matthew 25:46; John 5:28-29, 11:25-26;
Revelation 20:5-6, 12-13) |
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7. |
Separation |
We
believe that all the saved should live in such a manner
as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord;
and that separation from all religious apostasy, sinful
pleasures, practices, and associations is commanded
of God (Romans 12:12; 14:13; II Corinthians 6:14-7:1;
II Timothy 3:1-5; I John 2:15-17; II John 9-11) |
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8. |
The
Church |
We
believe that the church, which is the body and the espoused
bride of Christ, is solely made up of born-again persons.
(I Corinthians 11:2; 12:12-14; Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:25-27).
We believe that the establishments and continuance of
local churches is clearly taught and defined in the
New Testament Scriptures (Acts 14:27;20:17,28-32; I
Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11). |
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9. |
Sanctification |
The
Bible teaches that without Holiness no man can see the
Lord. We believe in the doctrine of sanctification as
a definite, yet progressive work of grace, commencing
at the time of regeneration and continuing until the
consummation of salvation (Hebrews 12:14; I Thessalonians
5:23; II Peter 3:18; II Corinthians 3:18; Philippians
3:12-14; I Corinthians 1:30). |
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10. |
Water
Baptism |
All
who repent of their sins and believe in Christ as Savior
and Lord are to be baptized. This is a declaration to
the world that they identify with Christ in His death
and have been raised with Him in newness of life. (Matthew
23:19, Mark 16:16, Acts 10:47-48, Romans 6:4) |
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11. |
Baptism
in the Holy Ghost |
The
Baptism in the Holy Ghost and Fire is a gift from God
as promised by the Lord Jesus Christ to those who are
believers in this dispensation and is received subsequent
to the new birth. This experience is accompanied by
the initial evidence of speaking in other tongues as
the Holy Spirit Himself gives utterance. (Matthew 3:11;
John 14:16-17; Acts 1:8, 2:4, 2:38-39, 19:1-7) |
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12. |
Laying
on of Hands |
A
simple belief that power or anointing or any other necessary
quality can be transmitted from one person touching
another. Laying on of hands was practiced by the Levitical
Priesthood. Jesus practiced it in Mark 10:13-16 as a
blessing, and is our grounds for baby dedication instead
of baptism. |
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a.
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Laying
on of hands for divine healing, which was provided for
in the Old Testament, and is an integral part of the Gospel.
(Exodus 15:23-26; Psalm 103:1-3; Is. 53:4-5; Matthew 8:16-17;
Mark 5:22-23,41, 28-31; Acts 28:8, 19:11-12; James 5:14-16) |
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b. |
Laying
on of hands to confer office (Acts 6:2-6) |
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c. |
Laying
on of hands to receive the Holy Ghost (Acts 8:16-18) |
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d. |
Laying
on of hands to believe words spoken, to receive anointing,
and to cultivate the anointing (I Timothy 4:14) |
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e. |
Laying
on of hands for ordination to consecrate and receive the
necessary ministry tools (I Timothy. 4:14). |
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13. |
Communion
- The Lord's Supper |
The
Lord’s Supper is a memorial of His sufferings
and death and a prophecy of His second coming. It is
enjoyed by all believers until He comes. (I Corinthians
11:26) |
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14. |
Giving |
We
believe that every Christian, as a steward of that portion
of God’s wealth entrusted to him, is obligated
to support his local church financially. We believe
that God has established the tithe, ten percent of one’s
total income, as a basis for giving, but that every
Christian should also give additional offerings cheerfully
to the support of various ministries of God’s
Kingdom, including, the relief of those in need, and
the spread of the Gospel. |
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15. |
Missions |
We
believe that God has given all believers a great commission
to proclaim the Gospel to all nations so that there
might be a great multitude from every nation, tribe,
ethnic group, and language group who believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ. As ambassadors of Christ we must
use all available means to go to the foreign nations
and not wait for them to come to us (Matthew 28:19-20;
Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; II
Corinthians 5:20). |
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16. |
Human
Sexuality |
We
believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual
activity be engaged in outside of marriage between a
man and a woman. We believe that any form of homosexuality,
lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication,
adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of
God’s plan. We believe that the only legitimate
marriage is the joining of one man and one woman. (Genesis
2:24, 19:5,13, 26:8-9; Leviticus 18:1-30; Romans 1:26-29;
I Corinthians 5:1, 6:9; I Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews
13:4) |
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17. |
Abortion |
We
believe that human life begins at conception and that
the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes
the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life.
Abortion is murder (Job 3:16; Psalm 51:5, 139:14-16;
Isaiah 44:24, 49:1,5; Jeremiah 1:5, 20:15-18; Luke 1:44). |
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18. |
Civil
Government |
We
believe that God has ordained and created all authority
consisting of three basic institutions: 1) the home;
2) the church; and 3) the state. Every person is subject
to these authorities, but all (including the authorities
themselves) are answerable to God and governed by His
Word. God has given each institution specific Biblical
responsibilities and balanced those responsibilities
with the understanding that no institution has the right
to infringe upon the other. The home, the church, and
the state are sovereign in their respective Biblically
assigned spheres of responsibility under God (Romans
13:1-7; Ephesians 5:22-24; Hebrews 13:17; I Peter 2:13-14). |
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19. |
Lawsuits
Between Believers |
We
believe that Christians are prohibited from bringing
civil lawsuits against other Christians, the church,
or Christian organizations to resolve personal disputes.
We believe the Christian community possesses all of
the resources necessary to resolve personal disputes
between believers. |
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20. |
The
Apostle's Creed |
We
believe in what is termed the Apostle's Creed as embodying
fundamental facts of the Christian faith and endorse
the historic orthodox creeds of the Church. |
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APOSTLE'S
CREED |
1.
I Believe in God the Father, Almighty, maker of heaven
and earth: |
2.
And in Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, our Lord: |
3.
Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin
Mary: |
4.
Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and
buried; He descended into hell: |
5:
The third day He arose again from the dead: |
6:
He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand
of God the Father Almighty: |
7.
From thense He shall come to judge the quick and the
dead: |
8.
I believe in the Holy Ghost: |
9.
I believe in the holy eternal church: the communion
of saints: |
10.
The forgiveness of sins: |
11.
The resurrection of the body: |
12.
And the life everlasting. Amen. |
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