Doctrinal Statement of Adelphos-USA
(translated directly from the Doctrinal Statement of Adelphos-Chile)
A. RELATIVE TO THE SCRIPTURES
We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and the New Testaments, as they were originally written, were verbally and plenarily inspired by God. We believe that God is true to His promise to preserve His Word. We believe that God, who is Truth, has communicated His Word in all that it teaches and that it is authoritative in all matters that it covers. We believe that the Bible is the Supreme revelation of God's will for man and is the only infallible guide for faith and life. Matthew 5:18; Mark 12:36; John 10:34 - 35; Acts 1:16; Romans 3:1-4; Galatians 3:16; II Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 4:12; II Peter 1:19-21; Revelation 22:18, 19.
B. CONCERNING THE TRUE GOD
We believe in one God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth; and that within the Unity of the Godhead there are three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – that all three persons are equal in power and glory, and that they fulfill different, but harmonious, offices in the great work of redemption. Genesis 1:1; Exodus 20:2, 3; Deuteronomy 4:35; 6:4; 32:39; Isaiah 45:14; 46:9; Matthew 28:19, 20; John 1:1-3; 5:36-40; Romans 1:1-6; I Corinthians 8:6; Ephesians 1:3-10; 4:3-6.
C. CONCERNING THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the Eternal Son of God, was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. His birth was unique among men. He is truly God, being "God manifest in the flesh." He lived an absolutely sinless life, and His death made a full and vicarious atonement for our sins. He died, not as a martyr, but as volitional substitute in the place of sinners. He rose from the dead on the third day and ascended bodily into heaven. He will come again to rapture His saints, to establish the throne of David, and to establish His Kingdom. The Rapture is imminent - personal, pretribulational and premillennial. Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-25; 28:6; John 1:1; 14:3; Acts 15:16; I Thessalonians 2:6-8; I Peter 2:22; 3:18.
D. CONCERNING THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine person possessing all the attributes of personality and deity. He is equal to the Father and to the Son and is of the same nature. His relationship to the unbelieving world is that He convinces them of sin, justice and judgment. He is the agent of the new birth and His work among the believers is to dwell in them, seal them, fill them, guide them and teach them the ways of Justice. We believe that there is a distinction between the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament and His ministry in the New Testament. There is a new and unique work of the Holy Spirit in relation to the body of Christ. We believe that the Holy Spirit gives believers gifts for service at the time of their conversion. We believe that the Bible teaches that the sign gifts - such as prophecy, speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues, miracles and healings are not for today. Therefore we do not accept the charismatic movement or any of its ecumenical practices. John 7:39; 14: 16, 17.26; Acts 1:5; Romans 12:3-8; I Corinthians 12:8-13; 12:28-31; I Corinthians 13:8-12; Ephesians 1:13, 14; 4:7-11; Hebrews 9:14; Revelation 22: 18,19.
As we relate this statement to the charismatic movement, no missionary who supports or participates in a church or denomination of charismatic practice or tendency will be received in Adelphos.
E. CONCERNING MAN AND SEXUALITY
We believe that the Scriptures teach that man was created by a direct act of God, and not some form of
previously existing life. By voluntary transgression man fell from his state of innocence and as a result, all mankind are now sinners by nature and by choice, entirely devoid of Holiness required by law, and are wholly inclined toward evil, and therefore under just condemnation of eternal punishment and eternal existence separate from God without defense or excuse. Genesis 1:27; Isaiah 53:6; Romans 3:23; 5:12-19.
We believe that God created human sexuality when He created the woman for the man in the Creation week. As the Creator of sex, we also believe that God has the right to lay out the principles for its proper use and greatest fulfillment. We further believe that the intimacy of the sexual union is picture of the closeness Jesus Christ has with His Church and therefore, its proper use must be guarded as closely as any doctrine involving Jesus Christ and the Church.
We believe that the only legitimate marriage is the joining of one man and one woman for life and that it is only within this committed marriage bond that sexual intimacy is to take place. Furthermore, we believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex. We believe that God disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one’s gender by surgery or appearance.
Gen. 2:24; Gen. 19:5, 13; Gen. 26:8-9; Lev. 18:1-30; Rom. 1:26-29; I Cor. 5:1; 6:9; I Thess. 4:1-8; Heb. 13:4; Gen. 2:24; Rom. 7:2; I Cor. 7:10; Eph. 5:22-23
F. CONCERNING SALVATION
We believe that the Scriptures teach that the salvation of sinners is divinely initiated entirely by grace and achieved only through the intermediary of the Son of God; that is totally apart from works, with the sole condition of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and is never without genuine repentance (a complete change of mind - admitting one’s sinfulness and total inability to save him/her self, as well as acknowledging the exclusive ability of Christ to save); that to be saved, the sinner is born again, being regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit by faith in the word of God, and receiving a new nature. We believe that the great blessing of the Gospel which Christ secures to those who believe in Him is justification, that judicial act of God accompanied by the forgiveness of sin and the attribution of divine justice, not by any work by justice on our behalf, but only by faith in the blood of the Redeemer; that the believer who has deposited his personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is justified fully and in possession of the salvation that is eternally secure. John 3:3-6; 3:16; 10: 28, 29; Acts 13:39; Romans 2:4; II Corinthians 7: 9, 10; I Timothy 2:5, 6; Hebrews 4:2; I Peter 1:18 - 23; II Peter 1:4.
G. CONCERNING THE CHURCH
We believe that the Scriptures teach that the Church of Jesus Christ is separate from Israel of the Old Testament and was inaugurated on the day of Pentecost, and has to be considered in two aspects: the local church and "the Church which is His body."
The local church is a congregation of baptized believers, which have by covenant associated with those of like faith and fellowship of the Gospel in a local area for the observing of the Ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws, and exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word. Its Biblical officers are pastors/bishops/elders, and deacons, whose requirements, rights and duties are defined in the epistles to Timothy and Titus. These offices are clearly limited to men. This definition of the local church leads us to the following biblical features: 1. the sole authority of the Scriptures for all faith and practice; 2. the autonomy of the local church; 3. the baptism by immersion of the believer as a prerequisite of membership in the local church; 4. two offices: Pastors/Elders/Bishops and deacons; 5. two symbolic Ordinances: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper; 6. the individual priesthood of the believer and the freedom of conscience; 7. the separation of the Church from the State.
The "Church which is His body" is the total company of believers in Christ, whether Jews or Gentiles, regardless of their denominational affiliation or position, in heaven or on Earth. Matthew 28:19, 20; Acts 1:5; Acts 2:1-4; 10:44, 45; 11: 15, 16; I Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 1:22, 23; I Timothy 2:11-14; Titus 1; Hebrews 12:23.
H. CONCERNING BAPTISM AND THE LORD’S SUPPER
We believe that the Scriptures teach that Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water a single time, in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, to demonstrate through a solemn and beautiful act their identification with Christ, illustrating the death of the believer to sin and resurrection to a new life.
We believe that the Lord's Supper is the commemoration of the death of Christ until He come and should be practiced by the Church in common and fraternal love. The observation of the Lord's Supper is for believers only. The ordinances of Baptism and the Lord's Supper should be observed under the auspices of the local church. Acts 8:38-39; Romans 8:3-5; I Corinthians 11:23-28.
I. CONCERNING THE ETERNAL STATE
We believe that the Scriptures teach the bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust. All those who through faith are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ will spend eternity in the full delight of the presence of God. Those who refuse to accept the offer of mercy from God by impenitence and unbelief will spend eternity in eternal judgment. Psalms 16:11; Matthew 25:46; John 5:28, 29; 14:2; Revelation 20: 14, 15; 21:4.
J. CONCERNING SATAN
We believe that the Scriptures teach that there is a personal devil who is "the god of this age" and "the prince of the power of the air," who is full of all subtlety, who seeks continuously to thwart God's purposes and trap the children of men. We believe that he was defeated by Christ on the cross and sentenced to eternal judgment. II Corinthians 4:4; 11:13-15; Ephesians 2:2; Hebrews 2:14; Revelation 12:9.
K. CONCERNING PERSONAL SEPARATION
We believe that the Scriptures teach that the believer should be separated to God and from the world and with the help of the Holy Spirit, walk in Christian love and Holiness, exhibiting the qualities of honesty, integrity, forgiveness and kindness. We also believe that any achievement in the practice of these qualities will be indicated with a sincere humility and genuine zeal for the advancement of the cause of Christ. We also believe that Scripture admonished all believers to not love the world and the things of the world, but rather to flee the evil desires, avoiding all sorts of evil and refraining from any dubious practices that destroy the testimony, offend the brethren and do not glorify God. Proverbs 15:33; Romans 14:19-21; I Corinthians 6:18-20; 8:9-13; 10:23, 33; II Corinthians 7:1; I Peter 5:5, 6; Galatians 5:22-25; Ephesians 4:32; 5:1, 2; 5:7-10; 5:15-20; Philippians 4:8.
L. CONCERNING ECCLESIASTICAL SEPARATION
We believe that the Scriptures teach that the believer must be separated from all apostasy, exemplified in ecclesiastical organizations that are liberal or modernist and undermine biblical doctrine. This doctrine is based on the eternal divine principle of division between truth and error and, specifically, the mandates to live separate from unbelieving and disobedient brothers. This truth should be practiced with an attitude of consecration to God, humility, compassion, and even conviction, to create the condition and enabling environment to achieve the main objective, the salvation of the lost through the Gospel of God. We believe that ecumenical evangelism that involves apostates violates the principles taught in the Word of God. Matthew 10:34-39; Matthew 18:15; Romans 16:17; I Corinthians 5:7-13; II Corinthians 6:14; 11:4; 1:8, 9; Galatians I Timothy 6:3-6; II Timothy 2:16-18; Titus 3:10; II John 9-11.