Statement of Faith

Our Common Points Faith 

 Proclaim Ministries is an independent, nondenominational ministry of Christian believers. We are committed to the Church as revealed in the New Testament, to the unity of the church for the purposes of world evangelism, and to the principles of our Christian Church heritage as expressed by phrases like these:    Where the Bible speaks, we speak; where the Bible is silent, we are silent.    In essentials, unity; in opinions, liberty; and in all things, love. 

We are not the only Christians, but we are Christians only.   Here’s what we believe: 

  The Bible    The basis for our belief is the sixty-six books of the Bible, which are uniquely God-inspired, without error, and the final authority on all matters of faith and practice (2 Timothy 3:15-17; Hebrews 4:12; 2 Peter 1:20, 21). 

  God    There is one true and living God (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 45:5-7; 1 Corinthians 8:4), Who is perfect in all His attributes. God is one, but exists in three persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14) – each possessing all the attributes of deity and deserving of our worship and obedience. In the beginning God created the universe and everything in it out of nothing. By His sovereign power, He continues to sustain His creation. By His providence, He is operating throughout history to fulfill his plan of redemption. 

  Jesus Christ    Jesus Christ is equal with God (John 10:30; Philippians 2:5-8), but surrendered the privileges of deity and came to earth to pay the debt for the souls of people. Jesus was born of a virgin (Matthew 1:23-25). He lived a sinless life, and so was qualified to pay for our sins by dying on the cross as our Substitute (John 10:15; Romans 3:24-25; 1 Peter 2:24). He physically rose from the dead and ascended to the right hand of the Father where He now mediates as our Advocate and High Priest (Matthew 28:6; Luke 24:38-39: Acts 2:30-31: Romans 4:25; Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25; 1 John 2:1). Jesus will return to earth visibly to fulfill history and judge all mankind according to the eternal plan of God (John 5:22-23; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 2 Corinthians 5:10). He will return in a majestic and triumphant second coming. 

  Holy Spirit   The Holy Spirit is a divine person, coequal with the Father and the Son in all the divine attributes (Matthew 28:19; 1 Corinthians 12:4-6; 2 Corinthians 13:14). He convicts the minds of sinners, awakens in them recognition of their need for a Savior and offers them new life in Christ. At the point of salvation, He permanently indwells every believer and equips him or her for personal growth and service to the church (John 16:7-9; Acts 2:38; 1 Corinthians 12:13; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Ephesians 2:22). The indwelling of the Spirit is a divine guarantee of a believer’s salvation until the day of redemption (Romans 8:9; Ephesians 1:13-14). The Holy Spirit endows Christians with spiritual gifts. These gifts are intended to strengthen the Church and glorify Christ (John 16:13-14; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 2 Corinthians 3:18). The Holy Spirit is empowering all who believe and producing the fruit of the spirit in their lives (Acts 1:8; Galatians 5:22-26). SALVATION Man’s relationship with God has been broken by his own sin. We can be restored to a relationship with God only through the sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ. Apart from Christ, man remains eternally separated from God, and is ultimately consigned to hell. This restored relationship is based on God’s grace, not our efforts. God invites us to accept His gift of grace through faith in Jesus Christ. The same grace that saves will also sustain the believer. The salvation of humankind, therefore, is completely a work of God’s free grace, not the result of human works or goodness. This salvation is a gift, made available through faith in Jesus Christ and Him only A repentant life, a confession of Christ’s Lordship, and baptism by immersion are primary responses of our faith as modeled in the New Testament. (John 3:1-21; Acts 2:37-39, 8:26-39, 10:1-48, 16:11-34, 22:2-16; Rom. 3:21-31, 5:6-11, 6:1-23; I Cor. 6:9-11, 15:1-58; Gal. 3:13-14; Eph. 2:8-9; Heb. 9:11-14, 10:10-13; I Peter 3:18; I John 1:8-10). 

  The Church    All Christians are part of one united spiritual body, the church (Ephesians 4:4), the bride of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2), of which Christ is the head (Ephesians 1:22; Colossians 1:18). The Scripture directs believers to gather together to devote themselves to worship, prayer, teaching of the Word, the Lord’s Supper, fellowship, service to the body, and outreach to the world (Acts 1:8; Acts 2:38-42; Ephesians 4:12). Wherever God’s people meet regularly, this is the local expression of the church (Acts 20:17; Galatians 1:2; Hebrews 10:25). Under the protection and oversight of elders (Acts 20:28), its members are to work together in love and unity, intent on the ultimate purpose of glorifying Christ and making disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20; Ephesians 3:21). 

  Baptism    In Matthew 28:19, Jesus instructed his disciples to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Furthermore, in Acts 2:38, Peter told the crowd, ”Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” This gift of the Holy Spirit ensures that the Christian has the spiritual power to live for Christ. (See section “The Holy Spirit” above.) In Acts 2:38-41, Acts 8:35-39, and Acts 16:31-33, baptism occurred soon after confession of faith. Paul taught in Romans 6:3-4 that “all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death” and that “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” Mark 16:16 

  The Lord's Supper    The purpose of the Lord’s Supper is to remember Christ’s death until He comes, and should always be preceded by solemn self-examination (1 Corinthians 11:28-32). Even though the bread and cup are only representative of the flesh and blood of Christ, the Lord’s Supper is nevertheless an actual communion with the risen Christ, who is present in a spiritual way, in fellowship with His people (1 Corinthians 10:16). 

  Human Destiny    Death seals the eternal destiny of each person (Hebrews 9:27). For all humankind, there will be a resurrection of the body into the spiritual world and a judgment that will determine the fate of each individual. The saved will be raised to eternal life and will be rewarded for works done in this life (John 6:39; Romans 8:10-11, 19-23; 2 Corinthians 4:14), and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment (Daniel 12:2; John 5:29).