THIS WE BELIEVE
By Chris & Jenny Kokenos

God

There is only one true God. All others were made up in the minds of men, and are actually non-existent. God is the Supreme Being, the Creator and Ruler of all that exists. He always was and always will be and never changes. God is existent in three distinct persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, yet They are still one. God is all powerful, all knowing, and is everywhere at the same time. God is love. God is holy.

God the Father

God the Father is greatest of all. He sent Jesus Christ His Son to be the Savior of the world, has committed all judgment to Him, and has appointed Him to be Head over the Church. He is the One that Jesus Christ is the Way to. Jesus taught that we should direct our prayers to God the Father in His name. At the end of all things, everything will be brought to His feet, with Jesus Christ subjecting Himself to Him as well. 

God the Son: Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is the Son of God and is the Lord and Savior of mankind. All things were created by Him and for Him. He is the Word of God made flesh and is therefore also called the Son of man being fully God and fully man. He is an exact representation of the Father. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, lived a perfect sinless life, and died upon a cross for the sins of all mankind, past, present, and future. Three days later He was resurrected from the dead and now sits at the right hand of God the Father making intercession for the saints. He is the one and only Way to God the Father. He has all authority in Heaven and Earth. Every person will stand before His judgment seat after their death to receive the things done in the body, whether good or evil. One day, Jesus Christ will come in the clouds to gather to Himself all those who have believed in Him, whether dead or alive, to forever remain with Him in Heaven.

God The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. He participated in the creation of all that exists, raised Jesus Christ from the dead, and resides within all persons who repent of their sins and place their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation. In Old Testament times the Holy Spirit would apparently rest upon individuals either continuously or for short periods of time but not indwell them. Believers first received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit when Jesus appeared to them after His resurrection, breathed upon them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Afterwards, on the day of Pentecost, the believers that were assembled in Jerusalem were “filled” with the Holy Spirit, which is a separate experience from salvation. The Holy Spirit bestows spiritual gifts upon believers as He wills. He prays for believers according to the will of God and is our Comforter and our Guide into all truth. He can be quenched, grieved, and sinned against.

The Holy Bible
The Bible is God's Holy inspired Word. Although the Bible was written by the hand of man, God was the author by way of inspiring what was written. It was completely without error in its’ original written form and is the only book that has ever existed that meets this criteria. It is the ultimate authority for all truth. Its’ words are alive and powerful. It provides nourishment for the spirit of those who believe in Jesus Christ. It should be read, studied, and meditated upon by all believers as a daily discipline whenever possible. All will be judged by what is written in it.  

Who is Satan?
Satan was created by God as an angel. He eventually turned against God, led a rebellion along with a third of the angels of Heaven, and is now God’s enemy. God made Hell for the devil and his angels as a result of this rebellion. Satan tempted and deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden which led to mankind being separated from God. Jesus Christ defeated Satan by His redemptive work on the cross and stripped him of all authority. Satan has blinded the minds of those who do not obey the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Deliverance from his power and influence is only obtained through Jesus Christ. At the end of the world, Satan will be cast into Hell to be tormented for all eternity.

The Fall of Man

Adam and Eve were the first people created by God and were sinless. Eve was tempted by Satan and sinned when she ate of the tree which God had forbidden them to eat from. Adam followed and both of them died spiritually. Their sin separated them from God. This state of sinfulness (sin nature) has passed to all of mankind through the seed of Adam. Man is incapable of escaping his sinfulness on his own and is therefore in need of a savior to be able to enter into the Kingdom of God.

 
Salvation

Because of God’s great love for mankind, He has provided salvation through Jesus Christ His Son. His sinless life, substitutionary death upon a cross, and resurrection from the dead, has provided all that is needed to satisfy God’s requirement for the forgiveness & salvation of man. This is called the grace of God. Grace is a free gift that is obtained by repenting of one’s life of sinfulness and placing one’s faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. God’s grace cannot be earned by good works, nor can it remain in the lives of those who possess it without producing good works. Jesus Christ must be accepted as Lord as well as Savior, for He is both. To not accept Him as Lord, is to not accept Him. God made people with the freedom to choose, therefore leaving it up to us as to whether or not we will choose salvation. It is offered, not forced. But, for someone to come to God for salvation the Father must first draw them by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are also free to depart from Him, if we so desire.

Security of the Believer

A believer in Jesus Christ is kept secure by the grace of God through his faith in Christ. If one’s faith is alive, it will produce good works in the life of the one who has it. If it ceases to produce those good works, it has died, and is good for nothing. The Bible does not teach that a one time relationship with Jesus Christ is all that is needed to enter in Heaven, but rather, that a continuous relationship must be maintained. Satan himself once served the Lord and is now His eternal enemy. Adam and Eve were both created sinless and turned from God as well. The whole mess we are in was caused by those who were once sinless and then became sinners. We must continue in the faith or in the end we will be rejected from entrance into the Kingdom of God. Once saved, we are to no longer live for ourselves, but for the One who died for us.

Water Baptism

All believers in Jesus Christ are commanded to be baptized as an outward testimony to the world that they have died to their old life and have been raised to a new life in Christ Jesus. The act of water baptism does not save anyone, but is rather an act of obedience as commanded by Jesus Christ Himself. There is no record in the Bible of babies being baptized or of the sprinkling of water upon someone for baptism. Immersion in water is the Biblical way to be baptized.

Heaven

Heaven is where God’s throne is. Jesus Christ is sitting at His right hand making intercession for the saints. Believers in Jesus Christ are granted citizenship into the Kingdom of Heaven at the moment of salvation. Death, suffering, sickness, pain, etc. does not exist in Heaven. Those who enter into Heaven will be there eternally with God the Father, His Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit along with the heavenly host of angels and all believers in Jesus Christ.

Hell

Hell is a literal place. It was not created for man, but for the devil and the angels that rebelled against God. God alone will determine who will spend eternity there. It as a place of torment with unquenchable fire & outer darkness and the people that are there will be wailing and gnashing their teeth. It is also described as a lake of fire. It is not God’s will or desire for anyone to go there, but rather, that all would come to a place of repentance and belief in His Son Jesus Christ and to escape this place of eternal damnation. But, all who reject salvation through faith in Jesus Christ will be condemned to Hell and separated from the presence of God eternally.