Belief that the Holy Scriptures are from God:

Be it known to all people – Apostles College of Theology & Seminary is a College built on the ideals of being nondenominational; without opinion for others’ wealth, social status, race, gender, or national origin, and is founded on the belief:

• ·        We believe that all “Scripture is given by inspiration of God,” by which we understand the whole Bible is inspired in the sense that holy men of God “were moved by the Holy Spirit” to write down God’s words to mankind.
  • That the Bible is God’s Holy Word and that it is the absolute authority in all matters of faith, the duties and personal conduct of mankind to both God and their fellow mankind.
  • That the Holy Bible is as accurate and without error as the day they were originally written. (1 Corinthians 2:13 – Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.  – 2 Timothy 3:16 – All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness :).

o   That the Holy Bible is the living word of God, in that it contains God’s directions for mankind’s salvation while allowing people the ability to think and prosper in their own knowledge and enjoy the bounty of life so graciously given by our Lord.

o   The Holy Bible also gives us guidance for our faith, words to guide use during times of sorrow, joy, and everyday life.

• We endeavor with our goal to promote regular fellowship in normal places of worship to include homes, groups, and social gatherings.
• We promote Christian beliefs of Christ as set forth in the Holy Bible.
• The Deity of Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, born as a man from a virgin named Mary for the soul purpose of dying for mankind’s sins. He came as the Messiah to give the true message of God in that “He that believeth in God shall not perish but shall have everlasting life”.
• Resurrection: If in this life we keep faith in God and Christ then we shall also be resurrected in Heaven. This spiritual resurrection takes place when we hear the voice of God just like the Holy Spirit said: Romans 10:9 That if you shall confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that rose up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelled in you.

We Believe:

We Receive Christ Through Faith
“By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

By God’s own words unto Moses when Moses asked who he was and God replied, “I am that I am” speaks volumes that we as humans will never be able to fathom. All that we can do as true believer and teachers of God is to preach that the Lord God is who he is and that only by faith in him will you be resurrected in Heaven.

We believe in salvation by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone:
We believe that no one can enter the kingdom of God unless born again and that no degree of merit can be gained or earned to help the sinner to take even one step toward heaven; but a new nature imparted from above, a new life implanted by the Holy Spirit through the Word, is absolutely essential to salvation. The new birth of the believer comes only through faith in Jesus Christ – John 3:7-18 - Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. – Romans. 5:6-9 – For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

The Deity of Jesus Christ, Much has been written and counseled on the Deity of Christ and the one central idea that has passed through the ages is Jesus is of one substance with the Father and the Spirit; He shares in the divine essence and continued to through the incarnation. With this in mind we must accept that Jesus is a preexistent divine personal substance with two natures – a divine nature that added a human nature to His substance. Which allows Jesus to be a mediator in the full sense of revealing God himself because He is God.

Belief in the Holy Trinity:
We believe that the Godhead eternally exists in three persons; Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, and that these three are one living God. Although each is a separate identity they share precisely the same nature, attributes, and perfections; thereby being worthy of precisely the same homage, confidence, and obedience – Matthew 28:18-19 – And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: – Mark 12:29 – And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: – John 1:14 – And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. – Acts 5:3-4 – But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. – 2 Corinthians 13:14 – The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. – Hebrews 1:1-3 – God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; – Revelation 1:4-6 – John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Resurrection, The Bible teaches the bodily resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that He ascended bodily into the heavens, and is now at the right hand of God as our Mediator, Priest and Advocate. Knowing that the doctrine of the resurrection is one of the fundamental teachings of God it is of maximum importance to study them and understand them. The word of God teaches us that: If in this life we keep faith in God and Christ then we shall also be resurrected in Heaven. This spiritual resurrection takes place when we hear the voice of God just like the Holy Spirit said: Romans10:9 That if you shall confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelled in you.

Salvation, The Bible teaches that unless a man is born again he will not go to heaven, but will go to hell. A man must repent of his sins and believe on the Lord Jesus to be saved. Scriptures: John 3, Romans 10:13, Revelation 21:8. Basically salvation is the atonement of man’s fallowness and culpability. This follows from the gospel message. Romans 6:23 says, “All have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God.”

A person may say he has not sinned, 1 John 1 says that you’ve called God a liar and you are still in your sins. He may not even feel guilty of certain things, but guilt is not a feeling. Guilt is a judicial reality. If we say that we have not sinned, then the truth is not in us and we call God a liar. Romans 11:32 says, “God has shut up all in disobedience that He might show mercy to all.” Because of the gospel message, if you don’t acknowledge the bad news, you can’t make use of the good news. The bad news is that we have sinned and are guilty before God. Salvation is therefore the acceptance of your sins and receiving salvation by grace through faith.
Baptism, There are many thoughts on Baptism with some churches believing that you must be baptized with water or the immersed in water in the beginning as a sign of faith. In Acts 2:38 Peter says, “Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

The actual baptism itself is man’s first step for atonement of his sins and acceptance of the Holy Spirit. Without repenting of their sins and accepting of faith in God they condemn by their own actions their soul to hell. Having water placed on you or being immersed is actually the outward sign to others that you have accepted the Holy Trinity and are filled with the Holy Spirit.

Jesus is the Messiah, Christ is the Greek word for Messiah and should be remembered that Messiah is roughly translated as God in flesh. You must believe that Jesus is the Messiah. If you repudiate such a notion, you cannot be saved. 1 John 2:22 says, “Who is the liar, but the one who denies that Jesus is the Messiah? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father, the one who confesses the Son has the Father.”

1 John 4:2 says, “By this you know the Spirit of God, every spirit that confesses that Jesus Messiah has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God, and this is the spirit of antichrist.” 2 John 7 says, “For many deceivers have gone out into the world. Those who do not acknowledge Jesus Messiah as coming in the flesh, this is the deceiver and the antichrist.“ 

It is clear, that if you can accept that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one in the same in spirit and follow what Jesus said was the greatest commandment: Deuteronomy 6:5 – And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be opened to you. It really is, that simple, God ask so little and in return he gives so much.

EFCA Statement of Faith

The Evangelical Free Church of America is an association of autonomous churches united around these theological convictions:

God

1. We believe in one God, Creator of all things, holy, infinitely perfect, and eternally existing in a loving unity of three equally divine Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Having limitless knowledge and sovereign power, God has graciously purposed from eternity to redeem a people for Himself and to make all things new for His own glory.

The Bible

2. We believe that God has spoken in the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, through the words of human authors. As the verbally inspired Word of God, the Bible is without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for salvation, and the ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor should be judged. Therefore, it is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises.

The Human Condition

3. We believe that God created Adam and Eve in His image, but they sinned when tempted by Satan. In union with Adam, human beings are sinners by nature and by choice, alienated from God, and under His wrath. Only through God’s saving work in Jesus Christ can we be rescued, reconciled and renewed.

Jesus Christ

4. We believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully man, one Person in two natures. Jesus—Israel’s promised Messiah—was conceived through the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father as our High Priest and Advocate.

The Work of Christ

5. We believe that Jesus Christ, as our representative and substitute, shed His blood on the cross as the perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins. His atoning death and victorious resurrection constitute the only ground for salvation.

The Holy Spirit

6. We believe that the Holy Spirit, in all that He does, glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. He convicts the world of its guilt. He regenerates sinners, and in Him they are baptized into union with Christ and adopted as heirs in the family of God. He also indwells, illuminates, guides, equips and empowers believers for Christ-like living and service.

The Church

7. We believe that the true church comprises all who have been justified by God’s grace through faith alone in Christ alone. They are united by the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ, of which He is the Head. The true church is manifest in local churches, whose membership should be composed only of believers. The Lord Jesus mandated two ordinances, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, which visibly and tangibly express the gospel. Though they are not the means of salvation, when celebrated by the church in genuine faith, these ordinances confirm and nourish the believer.

Christian Living

8. We believe that God’s justifying grace must not be separated from His sanctifying power and purpose. God commands us to love Him supremely and others sacrificially, and to live out our faith with care for one another, compassion toward the poor and justice for the oppressed. With God’s Word, the Spirit’s power, and fervent prayer in Christ’s name, we are to combat the spiritual forces of evil. In obedience to Christ’s commission, we are to make disciples among all people, always bearing witness to the gospel in word and deed.

Christ’s Return

9. We believe in the personal, bodily and premillennial return of our Lord Jesus Christ. The coming of Christ, at a time known only to God, demands constant expectancy and, as our blessed hope, motivates the believer to godly living, sacrificial service and energetic mission.

Response and Eternal Destiny

10. We believe that God commands everyone everywhere to believe the gospel by turning to Him in repentance and receiving the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that God will raise the dead bodily and judge the world, assigning the unbeliever to condemnation and eternal conscious punishment and the believer to eternal blessedness and joy with the Lord in the new heaven and the new earth, to the praise of His glorious grace. Amen.

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