Beliefs

A statement of Christian faith is an expression of beliefs about God, the origin of the universe, mankind, why people behave sinfully, the existence of angels, how we got our Bible, where history is going, and other issues relevant to mankind. Here is a link to a short article on The Essentials of the Christian Faith.

The Bible

All Scripture is inspired by God. Inspiration means God the Holy Spirit superintended the human authors of Scripture (Prophets and Apostles) so that without sacrificing their particular literary style, the words they wrote in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, precisely communicated God’s thoughts to mankind (Mark 13:11; Acts 1:16; Rom 1:18-25; 2 Tim 3:16-17; 2 Pet 1:21). The Bible is God’s Word and is without error in the original autographs. The Bible alone provides special revelation from God to us, and without it, we cannot know anything particular about Him, His creation, or His redemptive work in history through His Son, Jesus Christ (Luke 24:27, 44; John 5:39; Acts 17:2-3; 18:28; 26:22-23; 28:23).

The Bible provides us with the necessary information to make sense of our world; that is, the Bible provides the necessary presuppositions to have a correct worldview, as Scripture alone gives the true origin of the universe created in six literal days and reveals that mankind came from the hand of God as a special creature made in His image and in no way evolved from a lower species. More so, the Bible explains the origin of sin and evil, the beginnings of language and society, and why the earth is in a state of decay. Scripture gives hope to mankind, showing that God has provided salvation to all who trust in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior (John 3:16-18; 20:31; Acts 4:12; 16:30-31; Eph 2:8-9; Tit 3:5). Lastly, God’s Word shows that evil—which had a beginning—will eventually come to an end, and that God will at some time in the future create a new heaven and earth (Gen 3-11; Rev 21-22).

The Trinity

The Bible teaches that God exists as Trinity; that there are three Persons in the Godhead who are co-equal, co-infinite, and co-eternal, possessing exactly the same attributes, but functioning in different roles (Deut 6:4; Matt 28:18-19; John 1:1, 14, 18; Acts 5:3-4; 2 Cor 13:14; Heb 1:1-3; Rev 1:4-6).

God the Father

God the Father is the first Person in the Godhead. God the Father is the master planner of all creation and the Father of all those who believe in Jesus Christ for salvation (1 Cor 8:6; Gal 3:26), but is by no means the Father of unbelievers (John 8:42-44). God the Father sent God the Son into the world as an expression of His love and to provide salvation for lost sinners (John 3:16-18). The Father was completely satisfied with the substitutionary death of Jesus who died in the place of sinners (Mark 10:45; Rom 3:25; 1 John 4:10).

God the Son

Jesus is the eternal Son of God who came into the world (John 1:1, 18), born of a virgin in the kingly Jewish line of David (Luke 1:30-35). Being truly God, He took upon Himself true humanity that He might live righteously according to the Mosaic Law (John 1:14; Gal 4:4; Heb 4:15), and thus be a qualified substitute to die in the place of sinners (Mark 10:45). After His bodily crucifixion, Jesus was in the grave for three days and was resurrected to life never to die again and has ascended to heaven where He currently intercedes for the saints until He returns to receive them to Himself at the rapture (1 Cor 15:3-4; Phil 3:20-21; 1 Th 4:13-18).

God the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is God (Gen 1:2; Acts 5:3-4). God the Holy Spirit has a special ministry in the Church Age in which He indwells and seals every believer at the moment of salvation (John 3:3; 14:16-17; 1 Cor 6:19; Eph 1:13; 4:30). At the moment of regeneration, the Holy Spirit baptizes each believer into union with Christ and gives a spiritual gift that can be developed for the edification of others through spiritual maturation (1 Cor 12:13; Rom 12:6-8). The Spirit empowers, teaches, and guides the believer in accordance with Scripture, which believer is often under the teaching ministry of a mature Pastor-Teacher (John 16:13-15; Rom 12:6-8; Eph 4:11-13).

Angels

God created an unknown number of spirit beings known in Scripture as angels. These spirit beings have intelligence, emotion, and volition. Angels are classified as either unfallen or fallen. One angel, according to the high order of Cherub, known in Scripture as Lucifer, Satan, the Devil, the Dragon, and the Serpent, at some time before the fall of Adam (Gen 3:1-7), led an angelic revolt in heaven and convinced many angels to follow him in rebellion against God (Isa 14:12-17; Ezek 28:11-19). Satan and his many fallen angels (known in the Bible as demons) continue in their rebellion (1 Tim 4:1; 1 Pet 5:8; Rev 16:14); whereas unfallen angels continue in their faithful allegiance to God and serve as His ministers in heaven and on the earth (Heb 1:14; 13:2). Eventually, God will assign all fallen angels to the Lake of Fire for eternity (Matt 25:31; Rev 20:1-10).

Mankind

Adam and Eve were uniquely created in the image of God with intelligence and volition that was untainted by sin and were completely free to serve Him in the perfect environment of the Garden of Eden (Gen 1:26-27; Gen 2:8-15). Adam corrupted his human nature, as well as the nature of all his children (excluding Jesus), when he willfully sinned by eating the forbidden fruit (Gen 2:16-17; 3:1-7; Rom 3:23; 5:12; 1 Cor 15:21-22).

Sin

Adam sinned against God when he ate the forbidden fruit, bringing death to himself, the creation, and all his descendants (Gen 2:16-17; 3:1-7; 5:3; 6:5; Rom 5:12; 8:19-22; 1Cor 15:21-22; Eph 2:1-6). Biblically, all of Adam’s children are sinners by imputation (Rom 5:12-18; cf. Heb 7:9-10), nature (Psa 51:5; Rom 7:19-21; Eph 2:3), and choice (1 Ki 8:46; Eccl 7:20; Isa 64:6; Rom 3:9-18). Sin so completely permeates every part of our being (mind, will, and body) that we are helpless to live up to God’s perfect standard of righteousness and must rely completely on God for salvation and spiritual advance after regeneration (Rom 5:6-10; Eph 2:1-6; Tit 3:5). Jesus’ shed blood is the sole basis for the forgiveness of sins (Col 1:14; Eph 1:7; Heb 10:10-14). By the work of Christ on the cross, the believer is saved from the penalty of sin (Rom 8:1; Eph 2:5, 8), the power of sin (Rom 6:1-14), and will ultimately be saved from the presence of sin (1 Pet 1:3-5; Rev 21:4).

Unlimited Atonement

Christ died for everyone; however, His death is only beneficial to those who believe in Him for salvation (2 Pet 3:9; 1 John 2:2; 1 Tim 4:10; Heb 2:9).

Salvation

Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. We contribute nothing to our salvation, as it rests completely on the finished work of Jesus Christ who died as a substitute for us (Mark 10:45; John 19:30; Acts 4:12; 16:30-31; Rom 3:21-28; 1 Cor 15:3-4; Gal 2:16; 3:26; Eph 2:8-9; Phil 3:9; Tit 3:5).

Eternal Security

Salvation is completely the work of God and never the work of people; and those whom the Lord saves He preserves until He brings them home to heaven (John 5:24; 10:28; Phil 1:6; 1 John 5:13). The biblical truth regarding eternal security is in no way a license to sin, as God calls His children to live righteously in this world (Tit 2:11-14; 1 Pet 1:14-16), and disciplines them when they rebelliously turn from His will (1 Cor 5:1-5; 11:27-30; Heb 12:5-7).

The Church

There is both a universal church and a local church. The universal church is composed of all who are united by the Holy Spirit to the risen and ascended Son of God, are baptized by the Holy Spirit into one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, and are part of one spiritual family (Acts 2:42-27; 1 Cor 12:12-27; Eph 1:20-23; 4:3-10; Col 3:14-15).

The local church is an assembly of believers, committed to the Lord and to each other for the purpose of carrying out the universal church’s visible activities; that is, the communication of God’s truth to the people of God, worship and prayer to God, loving care for one another, and the spread of the gospel to the ends of the earth (Matt 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-47; 4:19; 5:29; 1 Cor 1:1-2; 1 Th 1:1; Heb 10:24-25).

The two ordinances for the church are the Lord’s Supper and water baptism by immersion (Matt 28:19; Luke 22:19-20; Acts 2:42; 1 Cor 11:23-34).

The Rapture of the Church

The next prophetic event to take place is the rapture, in which all those who are in Christ—whether dead or alive—will meet the Lord in the air when He comes for His church (John 14:1-3; 1 Cor 15:51-52; 1 Th 4:13-18; Tit 2:13).

The Tribulation

After the rapture of the church God will bring a time of judgment on the earth known in Scripture as the Tribulation, which will last seven years and will culminate with the return of Jesus to establish His millennial reign on the earth (Dan 9:24-27; Matt 24-25; Rev 6-20).

The Second Coming and Millennial Reign of Christ

Immediately after God completes His time of judgment on the earth during the seven years of Tribulation, Jesus will personally return to reign as King in Jerusalem for one thousand years (Matt 24:27-30; 1 Cor 15:23-24; Rev 19:11-21; 20:1-6).

The Eternal State

After Christ completes His millennial reign on the earth, heaven and earth will be destroyed and God will create a new heaven and a new earth that will be free from sin, death, pain, or sorrow of any kind (2 Pet 3:10-13; Rev 21-22).

Position Statements

Because society is drifting away from biblical morals, it is becoming increasingly necessary to stand on certain biblical truths that define Christian faith and conduct. The following position statements are intended to provide clarity for those who partner with Catch Bible Ministry. These statements are open for discussion and should be considered regularly to make sure they are biblically based and relevant to culture.

1. God Created the Universe, Earth, and Humankind in Six Literal Days. The popular teaching today is that of evolution which denies the biblical account of creation in Genesis. Based on a plain reading of the text in Genesis, God created the universe, earth, and humankind in six days, with each day consisting of twenty-four hours (Gen 1:1-31). And God created everything in a state of maturity, which gives the appearance of age. A young earth view is consistent with the revelation Scripture.
2. Christian Identity. As those who have believed in Jesus as Savior (1 Cor 15:3-4), we are no longer “in Adam”, but are “in Christ” (1 Cor 15:22; cf. 2 Cor 5:17), and our new “citizenship is in heaven” (Phil 3:20). This means our Christianity identity supersedes all other forms of identity; especially those that are artificially manufactured on humanistic philosophies and values that are antithetical to biblical teaching.
3. Marriage as a Divine Institution. Marriage is clearly defined in Scripture as being between one man and one woman (Gen 2:24; Matt 19:6). However, marriage is being redefined as though it were merely a social construct to be tinkered with. This is why we see a rise in divorce, as well as the introduction of same-sex marriage and polyamorous relationships. This ministry supports marriage ceremonies based solely on the biblical model of one man and one woman.
4. Family as a Divine Institution. The family is the smallest social unit intended to train succeeding generations for godliness and authority orientation (Deut 6:6-7; Eph 6:4). Training children belongs primarily to parents and not the state. The state may help in the educational development of children, but not contrary to the parent’s authority or values, and only as parents may consent.
5. One Human Race. Biblically, there is only one human race (Gen 1:27; 9:18-19; Acts 17:26). The idea of multiple races confuses and divides people in harmful ways, allowing for racism. However, we should see all people as part of one human race, and help them to understand that God loves them and Christ died for them.
6. God Created Two Genders. Biblically, there are only two genders, male and female (Gen 1:27). However, today there are teachings that gender is a matter of personal choice, and not a matter of divine design.
7. Life Begins in the Womb at Conception. The Bible teaches that human life begins at conception (Psa 139:13; Isa 44:24; Jer 1:5), not at a later time outside the womb. This means babies in the womb are full persons, and to abort a baby is a choice to end its human life prematurely.
8. Israel as the Covenant People of God. God created Israel when He called Abraham and entered into a unilateral covenant with him, promising him and his descendants the land of Canaan (Gen 12:1-3; Isa 43:1; cf. Gen 15:18; 17:8; Josh 1:2-4). Though Israel is currently under divine discipline (Matt 23:37-38), God has a future for His people and national Israel will be restored (Rom 9:1-5).
9. Freedom. God desires that we be free, both physically and spiritually, as this provides us occasion to exercise our volition in godly ways (Gal 5:1, 13; 1 Pet 2:16).
10. Nationalism. God has separated the nations of the world in order to hinder the advancement of evil and human tyranny. He divided the nations by multiplying languages and confusing the efforts of defiant persons, as these tried to build the Tower of Babel by using His language and resources independently of His wishes (Gen 11:1-9). Today, many would like to see a one world government, but Christians should oppose it, realizing it’s God’s will that national boundaries exist (Acts 17:24).

Dr. Steven R. Cook