Statement of Faith

STATEMENT OF BIBLICAL AUTHORITY
The Refuge Fellowship statement of faith does not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible itself, as the inspired and infallible Word of God that speaks with final authority concerning truth, morality, and the proper conduct of mankind, is the sole and final source of all that we believe. For purposes of church doctrine, practice, policy, and discipline, our governing board of pastors is the church’s final interpretive authority on the Bible’s meaning and application.
 
The Bible
We believe the Bible, the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, is the Word of God,
comprises the totality of Holy Scripture, is fully inspired and without error in the original
manuscripts, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and has supreme authority in all
matters of faith and conduct.
 
The Trinity
We believe there is one living and true God, eternally existing in three persons (God the Father,
God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit); they are equal in every divine perfection, and execute
distinct but harmonious roles in the work of creation, providence, and redemption.
 
God the Father
We believe in God the Father, an infinite, personal spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power, and love. We believe he infallibly foreknows all that shall come to pass, he concerns Himself
mercifully in the affairs of man, he hears and answers prayer, and he saves from sin and eternal
judgment all who come to him through Jesus Christ.
 
Jesus Christ
We believe in Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit, both fully God and fully man. We believe in his virgin birth, sinless life, miracles, and teachings. We believe in his substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, perpetual intercession for his people, and personal visible return to earth.
 
Holy Spirit
We believe in the Holy Spirit, who was sent forth from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and to regenerate, sanctify, and empower all who believe in Jesus Christ. We believe the Holy Spirit indwells and empowers all who repent and believe in Christ, and He is an abiding helper, teacher, and guide.
 
Humankind
We believe all human beings are created by God in his own image. Adam and Eve sinned,
thereby incurring physical, spiritual, and eternal death, which is separation from God. As a consequence, all human beings are born with a sinful nature and are sinners by choice and therefore under condemnation.
 
Satan
We believe, in accordance to Scripture, that satan is real and a created angel fallen from his
original position because of his pride, and now leader of many fallen angels who have purposed to destroy man's relationship with God. He is called man's adversary, and we are told to resist
him in faith. To this end, we believe there is a continual spiritual warfare in the unseen realm, in which we are directed to be involved through the help of God's Holy Spirit, God’s Word, and prayer. Yet satan’s power is limited by God to only what God permits him to do; satan has been defeated positionally at the Cross of Christ, and will be defeated practically which will eventuate
in the permanent quarantine and punishment of satan in the lake which burns with fire and
brimstone.
 
The Gospel
We believe Jesus Christ is the gospel. The good news is revealed in his birth, life, death,
resurrection, and ascension. Christ's crucifixion is the heart of the gospel; his resurrection is the
power of the gospel; his ascension is the glory of the gospel; and his promised return is the hope of the gospel. Christ's death is a substitutionary sacrifice to God for our sins. Jesus Christ
is the only mediator between God and man. There is no other name by which man must be
saved.
 
Salvation
Salvation, redemption, and forgiveness are offered to all people as a free gift by the Lord Jesus Christ based on His grace alone. When a person repents of sin and receives Jesus Christ as
personal Savior and Lord, trusting Him to save, that person is immediately born again and
sealed by the Holy Spirit, all his/her sins are forgiven, and that person becomes a child of God, destined to spend eternity with the Lord.
 
Assurance of Salvation
We believe every believer has the privilege of assurance of his salvation, knowing that he has
eternal life and will dwell with Christ in heaven forever.
 
Empowered by the Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit empowers believers for Christian witness and service. While all genuine believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit at conversion, the New Testament indicates the
importance of an ongoing, empowering work of the Spirit subsequent to conversion. The Holy Spirit desires to fill each believer continually with increased power for Christian life and witness.
He imparts his supernatural gifts for the building up of the body of the church and for various works of ministry in the world. All the gifts of the Holy Spirit at work in the church of the first century are still available today, are vital for the mission of the church, and are to be earnestly desired and practiced within scriptural guidelines. We as believers are to exercise them in love
that the whole Body of Christ might be edified. We believe that love is more important than the most spectacular gifts, and without this love all exercise of spiritual gifts is worthless.
 
The Church
We believe the universal church is a living spiritual body of which Christ is the head. We believe in the local church, consisting of a body of believers in Jesus Christ, who are baptized on a
credible profession of faith, and associated for worship, work, and fellowship.
The church has the responsibility to share the good news of Christ’s death and resurrection to the world, making disciples, baptizing believers, and teaching them to observe sound doctrine
and live morally pure lives by the grace of God. We believe church dependence upon the Holy Spirit to lead, rather than on fleshly promotion or worldly wisdom.
 
Baptism and The Lord's Supper
We believe the Lord Jesus Christ has committed two ordinances to the local church - baptism and the Lord's supper. We believe Christian baptism is the immersion of the believer in water into the name of the triune God. Water baptism is not necessary for salvation, and cannot remove sins, but is a picture of the salvation already received by the believer. We believe the Lord's Supper was instituted by Christ for commemoration of his death. We believe the two
ordinances should be observed and administered until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
Jesus' Second Coming
We believe that Jesus Christ is going to return in the clouds to Rapture His church before the great tribulation of God’s wrath on the wicked that is coming upon the whole earth.
We believe the teaching of a pre-tribulaton rapture reflects the heart of God since His people are not appointed to God’s wrath. We believe that Jesus will return in the Second Coming with His saints and all His holy angels to the earth at the end of the great tribulation to set up His kingdom on earth, ruling and reigning for a thousand years, binding satan in the bottomless pit during this time. Then satan will be released for a little while. Jesus will then defeat satan and his followers casting them in the lake of fire forever, then creating a new heaven and a new earth.
 
Heaven and Hell
We believe people will either exist eternally separated from God by sin, or eternally with God through forgiveness and salvation. To be eternally separated from God is eternal death in Hell.
To be eternally in union with Him is eternal life in Heaven. Heaven and Hell are real places.
 
Statement of Marriage and Sexuality
We believe that God created humankind as male and female, and that He created them different so as to complement and complete each other. God instituted monogamous, exclusive, faithful marriage between male and female as the foundation of the family and the basic structure of human society. We believe that marriage is exclusively the union of one genetic male and one genetic female, sanctioned by God and evidenced by a marriage ceremony. We also believe that biblical marriage, thus defined, is the only legitimate and acceptable context for sexual relations.
Hence, all other sexual activities such as, but not limited to, adultery, fornication, pre-marital sex, incest, polygamy, homosexuality, transgenderism, bisexuality, cross-dressing, pedophilia and bestiality are inconsistent with the teachings of the Bible and are sinful. Further, lascivious
behavior, the creation, viewing and/or distribution of pornography are incompatible with a true
biblical witness. We do not condone or recognize same-sex marriages, civil unions, or domestic
partnerships, and we do not affirm the resolution of tension between one’s biological sex and
one’s experience of gender by the adoption of a psychological identity discordant with one’s
birth sex.
We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. Malicious and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be
repudiated and are not in accord with scripture nor the doctrines of this church.
We believe that not all are called to be married either for a season of life or permanently. We believe singleness is a gift from God, a calling, and can be used to honor and glorify Him.
 
We do not adhere to the following doctrines:
1. The teaching of positive confession.
2. The belief that Christians can be possessed by demons.
3. “Dominion theology” or “Kingdom Now theology”.
4. Prophesy that overrides or supersedes Biblical Scripture.
5. The incorporation of psychology or philosophy that contradicts clear Biblical teaching.
6. The over-emphasis upon spiritual gifts, experiential signs and wonders, etc.
7. The doctrine of limited atonement.
 
Code of Discipline
We believe in the Bible’s code of discipline as described in the book of Matthew 18:15-17.
“Moreover, if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.”
Then, said person may be asked to leave the Fellowship.