The Bible – Faith and Practice
Basic Doctrines
Teachings
Testimonies
The Bible - Faith and Practice
In this prophetic moment, when apostasy is on the rise, the Church of the Lord Jesus is being strengthened by a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit, over all that is flesh, and by its faith in the Holy Scriptures – the Old and New Testaments. The Church believes in the plenary inspiration and inerrancy of the Sacred Scriptures, both the Old Testament and the New Testament. They were inspired by the Holy Spirit (2 Tim. 3:16), and therefore, express God’s will for the life of the church, both collectively and for each believer individually.
Due to our faith in the Bible as the Word of God, expressing the eternal and gracious will of our Creator, the Faithful Church understands that any and all communion between churches or pastors should be based on our common faith in biblical doctrines and in the common experience of the operation of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church.
The Church of the Lord Jesus grasps that the Bible contains all the doctrines necessary for the edification of the church. Every rule of faith (that which the Church believes) and practice (that which the church lives, serving and adoring God) is found in the Holy Scriptures. When we refer to the doctrines revealed in the Scriptures – and in which the Faithful Church has always believed – we mean the Bible as the revealed Word of God, the Trinity, the Plan of Salvation, and the person and work of the Lord Jesus.
In this Last Hour, all together, the Lord has led the Church to announce in a more consistent manner the Second Coming of Christ, and the practice and doctrines of the Church as the Body of Christ, the Baptism with the Holy Spirit, the Spiritual Gifts, and the Fivefold Ministries. The practical application of these doctrines is necessary in order for the Church to hear the voice of the Lord Jesus (John 10:16), and for the Church to have power to preach the gospel (Acts 1:8), with signs confirming the preaching (Mark 16:20).
To walk in the Spirit (Gal. 5:16) and live a life filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:18), the Church needs at least to believe and practice all the doctrines taught in the Word of God (the Bible), fully obeying the Lord, to hear the voice of the Spirit and to live in sanctification. In addition, she should use the Means of Grace: meditation on the Word, fasting, and prayer – including vigils late into the night and prayers in the morning before dawn. The Church does not need the doctrinal novelties that have arisen in the last 50 years, especially since the beginning of the Charismatic Movement. Even though this movement had been fruit of the great outpouring of the Holy Spirit, part of this movement lost the Spirit’s direction along the way and failed to perceive the significance of the Sacred Scriptures as the only and sufficient source of faith and practice for the Church.
Nevertheless, to God’s glory, there are examples in various nations of Churches filled with the Spirit, who are walking in the Spirit and living the fullness of the Spirit. Their members are baptized in the Holy Spirit, and they receive and practice the spiritual gifts regularly. These churches, who continue to use the spiritual gifts according to the Biblical pattern, and seek the direction of the Holy Spirit, never accepted the doctrinal or practical novelties.