What We Believe

"What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us." - A.W. Tozer

What We Believe

"What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us." - A.W. Tozer

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The Holy Bible

God

Sin & The Cross

A Changed Life

The Church

Spirit Empowered

Heaven & Hell

Communion & Baptism

Marriage & Sexuality

Fellowship Statements  

 

 

Core Beliefs

The following are the core beliefs of Maranatha Assembly of God based on the foundational truths taught in the Bible. All of our teaching and ministry is rooted in and flows out of these core beliefs. The following  belief statements are adapted from the 16 Fundamental Truths and position papers of the Assemblies of God which can be found here.

The Holy Bible is God Inspired & Infallible

The Bible is our compass for living. The Old and New Testament are given by God for us to study so we can apply its lessons and be transformed by its truth. Holy Scripture is the ultimate authority for life and conduct. 

One God, 3 Distinct Persons

There is one all-powerful God that is the creator of Heaven and Earth. The Father, Son & Holy Spirit dwell in perfect unity, for they are one, each is a distinct person with a distinct role. The Father ministers in Justice and Mercy, and in response to our sin and his great love sent his Son, to minister in grace and truth, to show us how to live & redeem us. Jesus Christ the son was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, fulfilled the law, died on a cross, resurrected from the dead and is now at the right hand of the Father. The Son has sent The Holy Spirit into the world, to minister in power and conviction, to dwell in & empower believers and convict the world of sin, righteousness & judgement. Each member of the trinity has been active since the beginning, creating, working, and holding together all of Creation. The Trinity is active now in our present world and will continue to be active in the future, working all things for good and the glory of the only one true God who deserves glory.

Sin & The Cross

God created man upright in His own image, but each of us have chosen disobedience. As such, we are guilty by our choices, not the choices of another. Because of each person’s choice of rebellion their just punishment is eternal separation from God. But God, who is rich in mercy, as an influence and testimony to all of His creation, took the due punishment and placed it on his Son, Jesus. Christ willingly went to the Cross for us. Through this mercy, this loving act of redemption, we can be forgiven by faith and the regeneration of the Holy Spirit. Christ did not just die for our sins, but rose in new life and made it possible for us to die to our life, defined by sin, and live a new life, defined by faith. This is why our faith, is not merely acceptance, acknowledgement, tears or trembling, but trust which is faith filled action, evident by a heart and life transformed by the Holy Spirit & surrendered to the King.

A Changed Life

The redemption of God is not partial, because holiness is wholeness. True repentance means to go in a different direction, to live a new way forsaking the old way. The Biblical word translated repentance carries meaning: to change the mind about how one thinks about sin and how one thinks about God. In view of God’s mercy, our lives should be completely and utterly surrendered to the lordship of Jesus Christ. We no longer think of Jesus as a good man or teacher, but as Lord. When we do this, by faith and the power of His Holy Spirit, we will bear the fruit of a holy life: keeping His commands, fleeing from sin, reconciling men and women to God, calling all men everywhere to repent.

The Church & It's Mission

The church is God’s agency of reconciliation. The Greek word we translate "Church" is "ekklesia" which means "those who are the called-out ones."  These called-out ones are purchased by the blood of the Lamb and set apart to full The Great Commission. These believers constitute the body of Christ on the earth; each member has a unique role in the body but share the same responsibility: go into all the world and make disciples who will make disciples. This ministry of reconciliation is ALL the children of God sharing the Gospel of Christ with ALL the world, Evangelism, and teaching them to obey all His commands and then teach others to do likewise, Discipleship. Evangelism & Discipleship go hand in hand; they are not for some people, but for all of God’s people, the Church. We are to remember Paul’s admonition,“Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace,” as this corporate body when unified in purpose and adoration ultimately will express the fullness of the kingdom of God on earth.

Holy Spirit Empowered People

The Holy Spirit is the 3rd part of the Trinity who is active throughout scripture, eternity and is presently ministering in the world. Some of the ways the Holy Spirit actively ministers in the world and church are to: convict, comfort, pray, indwell, empower, transform, renew, regenerate, give gifts, give wisdom, restore, heal and advocate. The Father has sent the Holy Spirit and Jesus Baptizes believers in the Holy Spirit power, this Baptism has corresponding initial physical evidence. The Holy Spirit empowers the Church giving to each different gifts  and abilities demonstrated in an orderly way as a beautiful and vital witness of Christ.

Heaven & Hell

The Bible says that Jesus will return to the earth to bring his followers to Heaven. Scripture portrays Jesus as a just judge, gracious high priest, conquering warrior, king of kings, and Lord of all, who will judge both the living and the dead at the end of all things. Everyone, whose name is not in the Book of Life, will be separated for eternity in Hell. Those whose names are written in the Book of Life will be rewarded and spend eternity with other followers of Christ in Heaven. 

2 Ordinances of The Church

There are two ways we can remember what Jesus did for us on the cross. Communion is a memorial and a celebration. The Lord’s Supper consists of two elements: the bread helps reminds of his body and the cup reminds of his blood. The Bible encourages us to follow his example by being immersed in water soon after we make a decision to follow him. It is a public way for us to show that we are changed.

Marriage & Sexuality

We believe that the only scriptural marriage is the joining of one man and one woman. In the beginning God created them male and female to be joined together in covenant relationship. God made man and woman, he makes them upright, but we exchange the natural, both biological and spiritual, for the unnatural and receive the penalty of our error which is due. God designed our bodies to experience and enjoy intimate sexual activity as a gift from God, created for the purposes of procreation and pleasure between one man, the husband a biological male, and one woman, the wife a biological female. Anything outside of this is sexual immorality.

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