WHAT WE BELIEVE
DOCTRINAL STATEMENT
This congregation:
GOD
1. Is founded upon the faith that there is one eternal God, who is the Creator (Genesis 1-2) and Sustainer (Colossians 1:16-17) of all the universe, who is a personal God existing in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19, Isaiah 48:16, Acts 5:3-4, 2 Corinthians 13:14).
THE BIBLE
2. Believes that the sixty-six books of the Bible are God's complete revelation to mankind, written without error, inspired by the Holy Spirit, authoritative, and trustworthy in all matters of belief and conduct (Isaiah 1:10; Psalm 119:89; 2 Timothy 3:14-17, 2 Peter 2:21).
JESUS CHRIST
3. Confesses Jesus Christ as Lord of the church and of all life (Colossians 1:15-20; Ephesians 5:23), believes in the deity of Jesus Christ (John 8:58, John 10:30), in His virgin birth (Matthew 1:23-25, Luke 1:34-35), in His sinless life (John 8:46, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 4:15), in His substitutionary death on the cross to provide for our redemption (1 Peter 3:18, Romans 5:6-8, Galatians 1:4), in His bodily resurrection (Matthew 28:1-9, Luke 24:1-35, John 20:1-20) and ascension into heaven (Luke 24:50-51, Acts 1:9-11), in His present ministry of intercession for us (Romans 8:34), and in His return to earth in power and glory (Acts 1:11b, John 14:3, Matthew 25:31, Mark 8:38).
HOLY SPIRIT
4. Believes in the personality and deity of the Holy Spirit (John 16:5-15, Acts 5:3-4), and that the Holy Spirit performs the miracle of new birth and indwells the hearts and minds of believers (Romans 8:9-11, 1 Corinthians 3:16), enabling them to live a godly life, creating and sustaining the church through guidance and comfort, uniting all believers with their Lord and with one another (John 14:26-27, Titus 3:5-6).
ORDINANCES
5. Observes the New Testament ordinances which are Baptism of penitent believers by triune immersion (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38), and the three-fold Love Feast (Communion) consisting of feet washing (John 13:1-17); the fellowship meal (Matthew 26:29, Revelation 19:9) and the bread and cup (Matthew 26:26-27, Luke 22:15-20). We also observe the privilege of anointing with oil and confession of sins for healing (James 5:13-18), and the laying on of hands by the leadership for consecration to special service (Acts 13:1-3; Hebrews 6:2).
CHRISTIAN LIFE
6. Believes the Christian is called by God to live a holy life (Romans 12:1-2, Ephesians 4-6, 2 Peter 1:3-11) and is empowered by the Holy Spirit to fulfill that calling through His indwelling (1 Corinthians 3:16, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Romans 8:11), sealing (Ephesians 1:14), filling (Ephesians 5:18) and His giving spiritual gifts to every believer for the edification of the church (Romans 12:3-8, 1 Corinthians 12:1-31, 1 Peter 4:10-11). Thus every believer is enabled to live a life of increasing holiness, continually growing in his or her understanding of the Word of God and of how that Word applies to daily life. In short, the Christian life is one of sanctification to God.
LOCAL CHURCH
7. Believes the local church is an assembly of professing believers (Romans 10:9) which is to manifest the unique presence of Jesus Christ indwelling its members (Philippians 2:15, 16; Matthew 18:20). It is to remain under the discipline of the Word of God (Acts 2:42; Acts 6:4), and is to carry out the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 5:42). We believe the church is the 'body of Christ' and is called to administer the ordinances of Baptism by triune immersion and the Love Feast (Communion) (Matthew 26:26-29, Luke 22:14-20, John 13:1-17, Revelation 19:7-9). The church is also to be a light and a witness for Christ by carrying out the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20).
MANKIND
8. Believes that Adam, the first man and representative of the human race, was created in God’s image with the opportunity to worship God in perfect holiness. However, in the exercise of his free will Adam chose to disobey God resulting in the entrance of sin into the world. Therefore, all humanity is born with a sin nature and all of creation has been affected because of sin (Romans 5:12, Romans 8:20-22).
SALVATION
9. Believes that even though man is separated from God because of sin, God provided the way through the substitutionary death and resurrection of Jesus for man to be restored to a right relationship with Himself (John 14:1-6). That restored relationship involves acknowledgement of Jesus Christ as Lord and confession and repentance from sin (Romans 10:9-10). Man cannot earn salvation. It is received by faith as a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5-7).
FUTURE EVENTS
11. Believes that the next prophetic event to happen to the church is the Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:17). The dead in Christ will rise first and those believers who are living will be caught up together with Christ in the air, at which time we will receive our resurrection bodies. Believers will be rewarded for faithful service to Christ at the Bema Seat judgment (2 Corinthians 5:10, 1 Corinthians 3:10-15). The Rapture will initiate a seven-year tribulation period on earth (Daniel 9:24-27; Revelation 6-19)). The end of the tribulation period will climax with the revelation of Christ at His second coming and the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:6-9). Jesus will set up a literal, one thousand-year period of His kingdom on earth (Revelation 20:1-4). After the Millennial Kingdom, the Great White Throne Judgment will occur. All of the rebellious millennial citizens and all of the ungodly persons of all ages will be raised to life and consigned to the Lake of Fire forever (Revelation 20:7-15). The present heavens and earth will be destroyed and God will create a new heavens and earth which will be the home of the redeemed forever (2 Peter 3:10-13, Revelation 21-22). The saved will spend eternity with God in the new heavens and earth, while the unsaved will spend eternity in the Lake of Fire. We believe in the Pre-tribulational, Pre-millennial, rapture of the church.
MARRIAGE
12. Believes God ordained that the union of a man and a woman as husband and wife would be the foundation of human society and the bond in which humanity would be perpetuated (Genesis 2:18-25). Jesus Christ recognized the legitimacy and importance of the marriage bond and of a formalized marriage ceremony through His attendance and the performance of His first miraculous work at the wedding in Cana of Galilee (John 2:1-11). The Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, uses the relationship between husband and wife as an illustration of the relationship between Jesus Christ and His Church (Ephesians 5:22-33). And the writer of Hebrews clearly states, “Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.” (Hebrews 13:4) In Matthew 19:4-6, Jesus affirmed the pattern of uniting a male and a female in marriage which was established by God at Creation. In light of these biblical statements Brandts Church affirms that marriage was, and is, intended by God to be a permanent bond between a man and a woman.
HUMAN LIFE
13. Believes that all human life is sacred and created by God in His image (Genesis 1:27). Therefore, human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged and every other stage or condition from conception through natural death (Psalm 139). We are therefore called to defend, protect, and value all human life.
This congregation:
GOD
1. Is founded upon the faith that there is one eternal God, who is the Creator (Genesis 1-2) and Sustainer (Colossians 1:16-17) of all the universe, who is a personal God existing in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19, Isaiah 48:16, Acts 5:3-4, 2 Corinthians 13:14).
THE BIBLE
2. Believes that the sixty-six books of the Bible are God's complete revelation to mankind, written without error, inspired by the Holy Spirit, authoritative, and trustworthy in all matters of belief and conduct (Isaiah 1:10; Psalm 119:89; 2 Timothy 3:14-17, 2 Peter 2:21).
JESUS CHRIST
3. Confesses Jesus Christ as Lord of the church and of all life (Colossians 1:15-20; Ephesians 5:23), believes in the deity of Jesus Christ (John 8:58, John 10:30), in His virgin birth (Matthew 1:23-25, Luke 1:34-35), in His sinless life (John 8:46, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 4:15), in His substitutionary death on the cross to provide for our redemption (1 Peter 3:18, Romans 5:6-8, Galatians 1:4), in His bodily resurrection (Matthew 28:1-9, Luke 24:1-35, John 20:1-20) and ascension into heaven (Luke 24:50-51, Acts 1:9-11), in His present ministry of intercession for us (Romans 8:34), and in His return to earth in power and glory (Acts 1:11b, John 14:3, Matthew 25:31, Mark 8:38).
HOLY SPIRIT
4. Believes in the personality and deity of the Holy Spirit (John 16:5-15, Acts 5:3-4), and that the Holy Spirit performs the miracle of new birth and indwells the hearts and minds of believers (Romans 8:9-11, 1 Corinthians 3:16), enabling them to live a godly life, creating and sustaining the church through guidance and comfort, uniting all believers with their Lord and with one another (John 14:26-27, Titus 3:5-6).
ORDINANCES
5. Observes the New Testament ordinances which are Baptism of penitent believers by triune immersion (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38), and the three-fold Love Feast (Communion) consisting of feet washing (John 13:1-17); the fellowship meal (Matthew 26:29, Revelation 19:9) and the bread and cup (Matthew 26:26-27, Luke 22:15-20). We also observe the privilege of anointing with oil and confession of sins for healing (James 5:13-18), and the laying on of hands by the leadership for consecration to special service (Acts 13:1-3; Hebrews 6:2).
CHRISTIAN LIFE
6. Believes the Christian is called by God to live a holy life (Romans 12:1-2, Ephesians 4-6, 2 Peter 1:3-11) and is empowered by the Holy Spirit to fulfill that calling through His indwelling (1 Corinthians 3:16, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Romans 8:11), sealing (Ephesians 1:14), filling (Ephesians 5:18) and His giving spiritual gifts to every believer for the edification of the church (Romans 12:3-8, 1 Corinthians 12:1-31, 1 Peter 4:10-11). Thus every believer is enabled to live a life of increasing holiness, continually growing in his or her understanding of the Word of God and of how that Word applies to daily life. In short, the Christian life is one of sanctification to God.
LOCAL CHURCH
7. Believes the local church is an assembly of professing believers (Romans 10:9) which is to manifest the unique presence of Jesus Christ indwelling its members (Philippians 2:15, 16; Matthew 18:20). It is to remain under the discipline of the Word of God (Acts 2:42; Acts 6:4), and is to carry out the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 5:42). We believe the church is the 'body of Christ' and is called to administer the ordinances of Baptism by triune immersion and the Love Feast (Communion) (Matthew 26:26-29, Luke 22:14-20, John 13:1-17, Revelation 19:7-9). The church is also to be a light and a witness for Christ by carrying out the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20).
MANKIND
8. Believes that Adam, the first man and representative of the human race, was created in God’s image with the opportunity to worship God in perfect holiness. However, in the exercise of his free will Adam chose to disobey God resulting in the entrance of sin into the world. Therefore, all humanity is born with a sin nature and all of creation has been affected because of sin (Romans 5:12, Romans 8:20-22).
SALVATION
9. Believes that even though man is separated from God because of sin, God provided the way through the substitutionary death and resurrection of Jesus for man to be restored to a right relationship with Himself (John 14:1-6). That restored relationship involves acknowledgement of Jesus Christ as Lord and confession and repentance from sin (Romans 10:9-10). Man cannot earn salvation. It is received by faith as a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5-7).
FUTURE EVENTS
11. Believes that the next prophetic event to happen to the church is the Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:17). The dead in Christ will rise first and those believers who are living will be caught up together with Christ in the air, at which time we will receive our resurrection bodies. Believers will be rewarded for faithful service to Christ at the Bema Seat judgment (2 Corinthians 5:10, 1 Corinthians 3:10-15). The Rapture will initiate a seven-year tribulation period on earth (Daniel 9:24-27; Revelation 6-19)). The end of the tribulation period will climax with the revelation of Christ at His second coming and the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:6-9). Jesus will set up a literal, one thousand-year period of His kingdom on earth (Revelation 20:1-4). After the Millennial Kingdom, the Great White Throne Judgment will occur. All of the rebellious millennial citizens and all of the ungodly persons of all ages will be raised to life and consigned to the Lake of Fire forever (Revelation 20:7-15). The present heavens and earth will be destroyed and God will create a new heavens and earth which will be the home of the redeemed forever (2 Peter 3:10-13, Revelation 21-22). The saved will spend eternity with God in the new heavens and earth, while the unsaved will spend eternity in the Lake of Fire. We believe in the Pre-tribulational, Pre-millennial, rapture of the church.
MARRIAGE
12. Believes God ordained that the union of a man and a woman as husband and wife would be the foundation of human society and the bond in which humanity would be perpetuated (Genesis 2:18-25). Jesus Christ recognized the legitimacy and importance of the marriage bond and of a formalized marriage ceremony through His attendance and the performance of His first miraculous work at the wedding in Cana of Galilee (John 2:1-11). The Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, uses the relationship between husband and wife as an illustration of the relationship between Jesus Christ and His Church (Ephesians 5:22-33). And the writer of Hebrews clearly states, “Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.” (Hebrews 13:4) In Matthew 19:4-6, Jesus affirmed the pattern of uniting a male and a female in marriage which was established by God at Creation. In light of these biblical statements Brandts Church affirms that marriage was, and is, intended by God to be a permanent bond between a man and a woman.
HUMAN LIFE
13. Believes that all human life is sacred and created by God in His image (Genesis 1:27). Therefore, human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged and every other stage or condition from conception through natural death (Psalm 139). We are therefore called to defend, protect, and value all human life.
BRANDTS CHURCH
8003 BRANDTS CHURCH ROAD, SAINT THOMAS, PA
8003 BRANDTS CHURCH ROAD, SAINT THOMAS, PA