Organizational Statement of Faith
1. Scripture: The 66 books of the Old and New Testament are complete, verbally and plenary inspired Word of
God, being inerrant, infallible, and final authority for faith and life. As divine revelation of God, they shall
be interpreted according to grammatical-historical meaning (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21).
2. The Godhead: There is one triune God, eternally existing in three persons?Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?each
eternal, identical, and equal in power and glory, having the same attributes and perfections and executing
distinct but harmonious offices in the great works of creation and redemption (Deut. 6:4; Matt. 28:19; 1 John
5:7).
a. Father: The Father is perfect in holiness, infinite in wisdom, and measureless in power. He concerns
Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, hears and answers prayer, and saves from sin and death all who come to Him
through Jesus.
b. Son: 1. Jesus Christ became man without ceasing to be God, was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the
virgin Mary so that He might reveal God and redeem sinful humanity (Isa. 7:14; John 1:14; Gal. 4:4-5. 2. He
accomplished our redemption through substitionary death on the cross, and our justification is made sure by His
physical resurrection from the dead (Acts 2:18-36; 1 Peter 1:3-5). 3. He ascended to Heaven and is now exalted at
the right hand of God. There, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Intercessor and Advocate (Rom.
8:34; Heb. 7:25-28; 1 John 2:1-2) 4. Christ will visibly return with His saints to establish His earthly
Messianic Kingdom, as promised to the nation of Israel (Dan. 2:31-45; I Thess. 1:10; 4:13-18).
c. Holy Spirit: 1. The Holy Spirit has come to complete and perfect in us all Christ accomplished on our
behalf by His atonement. He convicts of sin, regenerates, sanctifies, gifts us for ministry, and assures of
salvation. He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling
and sealing them unto the day of redemption (John 16:7-11; Eph. 1:13-14). 2. As divine Teacher, He assists
believers to understand the Scriptures (Eph. 1:17-18; 5:18; 1 John 2:20, 27) 3. He gives spiritual gifts to every
believer and uses evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip believers in the assembly so they can do the work
of the ministry (Rom. 12:3-8; 1 Cor. 12:4-7).
3. Spiritual Gifts: We believe in the continued expression of the spiritual gifts. The more demonstrative or
?sign gifts? such as healing, raising the dead, and speaking in tongues were given for the authentication of
the apostolic generation and are not normative for today. (1 Cor. 1:22; 13:8; 14:21-22).
4. God and man: God is sovereign and allows humanity free will.
a. Salvation: 1. Salvation is the gift of God brought to by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ, whose blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of sins. All sins, except blasphemy of the
Holy Spirit, are forgivable (Matt. 12:31; John 1:12; Eph. 2:8; 1 John 1:9). 2. Man was created in the image of
God, but, through Adam's sin, humanity fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God. Man is
totally depraved and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition (Gen. 1:27; Rom. 5:12). 3. Once
saved, all the redeemed are kept by God's power, thus secure in Christ forever (John 10:27-30; Rom. 8:1; 38-39). 4.
Believers have the privilege of rejoicing in the assurance of their salvation through God's Word, which
clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh (Rom. 13:13-14; Gal. 5:13).
b. The Church: 1. The church, which is the body and bride of Christ, is solely made up of born-again persons
(1 Cor. 12:12-14; Eph. 5:25-27). 2. The establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and
defined in the New Testament (Acts 14:27; 1 Tim. 3:1-13). 3. The local church is autonomous and free of external
authority or control (Acts 15:19-31; 1 Pet. 5:1-4). 4. Water baptism and the Lord's Supper are Scriptural
ordinances of obedience for the church (Matt. 28:19-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-26).
c. The Personality of Satan: Satan is a person, the author of sin and the cause of the Fall of Man. He is the
declared enemy of God and man and shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire (Isa. 14:12-17; Rev. 20:10).
d. The Eternal State: 1. All people will be bodily resurrected: the saved to eternal life and the unsaved to
judgment and everlasting punishment (Matt. 25:46; Rev. 20:12-13). 2. At death, souls of the redeemed are absent
from the body and present with the Lord; in conscious bliss, they await the first resurrection, when spirit,
soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord (Luke 23:43; 2 Cor. 5:8; I Thess. 4:16-17). 3.
After death, souls of unbelievers remain in conscious punishment and torment until the second resurrection;
with soul and body reunited, they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment and be cast into the Lake of
Fire to suffer everlasting punishment (Matt. 25:41-46; Rev. 20:11-15).
Faith in Practice:
1. Separation: All the saved should live so as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord. God commands
His people to separate from all religious apostasy, worldly and sinful pleasures, practices, and associations,
and to refrain from all immodest appearances (Rom. 12:1-2; 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1).
2. Civil Government: God has ordained and created all authority consisting of three basic institutions: Home,
Church, and State. Everyone is subject to these authorities, but all (including these authorities) are
answerable to God and governed by His Word. God has given each institution specific biblical responsibilities and
balanced those responsibilities with the understanding that no institution has the right to infringe upon another.
Home, Church, and State are separate and sovereign in their respective, biblically assigned spheres of
responsibility (Rom. 13:1-7; Eph. 5:33; Heb. 13:17).
3. Love: We should demonstrate love for others, not only toward fellow believers but also toward unbelievers.
We are to deal with those who oppose us graciously, gently, patiently, and humbly. God forbids stirring up
strife, taking revenge, or threatening/using violence as a means of resolving personal conflict or obtaining
personal justice. Although God commands us to abhor sinful actions, we are to love and pray for any person who
engages in sinful actions (Matt. 5:44-48; John 13:34-35).
4. Human Sexuality: God has commanded us to refrain from any intimate sexual activity outside marriage. Any
board member, staff member, or volunteer of the Mission confirmed to be involved in sexual sin (including
molestation, homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, pornography, and/or
transexualism) will be immediately removed from any positions of ministry or service by the Executive Director
or Board of Directors (Leviticus 18; Romans 1:26-29). The only legitimate marriage is the joining of one man
and one woman (Genesis 2:24).
5. Divorce and Remarriage: God hates divorce and intends marriage to last until one spouse dies. However,
Biblical provisions allow divorce within limited conditions; in such cases, divorced persons may hold positions of
service and be used of God to minister at the Mission (Malachi 2:14-17; Matt. 19:3-12).
6. Abortion: Human life begins at conception; an unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes
taking human life. We reject any teaching that abortions are acceptable (due to rape or incest, birth defects,
gender selection, birth or population control, or for the mental well-being of the mother) (Psalms 127:3,
139:14-16; Jeremiah 1:5; Luke 1:44).
7. Lawsuits Between Believers: Christians are prohibited from bringing civil lawsuits against other
Christians to resolve personal disputes. The Mission possesses the resources to resolve personal disputes between
Mission staff and/or volunteers (1 Corinthians 6:1-8; Ephesians 4:31-32).
8. Slanderous Gossip Forbidden: Slandering the character or hurtful destructive criticism of methods and
practices of others is sinful and not to be permitted (1 Timothy 5:17, Proverbs 6:16-19).
Authority of Statement of Faith:
The Statement of Faith does not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible itself is the sole and final source
of all we believe. We do believe, however, that the foregoing Statement of Faith accurately represents the
teaching of the Bible and, therefore, is binding upon all members of the Board of Directors and managerial and
counseling staff. All educational and promotional materials used in the ministries of the City Rescue Mission
shall be in complete agreement with this Statement of Faith.
] [
] [
] [
] [
]