BELIEFS | Africawithoutborders

Below is the Doctrinal Basis for unity with other churches and mission groups that hold to the fundamentals of the faith. We will work with any denomination or church that has clarity of the basics of the faith. If any church or group denies any of the fundamentals of the faith we cant work with them . All African Without Borders Mission Stations and churches unite around these fundamentals . We also have accepted confession statements to which our member churches agree to abide. These are intended to bring clarity to our life and ministry as a Fellowship.

Doctrinal Basis

1. God

There is one God, who exists eternally in three distinct but equal persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God is unchangeable in his holiness, justice, wisdom and love. He is the almighty Creator; Saviour and Judge who sustains and governs all things according to his sovereign will for his own glory.

2. The Bible

God has revealed himself in the Bible, which consists of the Old and New Testaments alone. Every word was inspired by God through human authors, so that the Bible as originally given is in its entirety the Word of God, without error and fully reliable in fact and doctrine. The Bible alone speaks with final authority and is always sufficient for all matters of belief and practice.

3. The Human Race

All men and women, being created in the image of God, have inherent and equal dignity and worth. Their greatest purpose is to obey, worship and love God. As a result of the fall of our first parents, every aspect of human nature has been corrupted and all men and women are without spiritual life, guilty sinners and hostile to God. Every person is therefore under the just condemnation of God and needs to be born again, forgiven and reconciled to God in order to know and please him.

4. The Lord Jesus Christ

The Lord Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, and lived a sinless life in obedience to the Father. He taught with authority and all his words are true. On the cross he died in the place of sinners, bearing God’s punishment for their sin, redeeming them by his blood. He rose from the dead and in his resurrection body ascended into heaven where he is exalted as Lord of all. He intercedes for his people in the presence of the Father.

5. Salvation

Salvation is entirely a work of God’s grace and cannot be earned or deserved. It has been accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ and is offered to all in the gospel. God in his love forgives sinners whom he calls, granting them repentance and faith. All who believe in Christ are justified by faith alone, adopted into the family of God and receive eternal life.

6. The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit has been sent from heaven to glorify Christ and to apply his work of salvation. He convicts sinners, imparts spiritual life and gives a true understanding of the Scriptures. He indwells all believers, brings assurance of salvation and produces increasing likeness to Christ. He builds up the Church and empowers its members for worship, service and mission.

7. The Church

The universal Church is the body of which Christ is the head and to which all who are saved belong. It is made visible in local churches, which are congregations of believers who are committed to each other for the worship of God, the preaching of the Word, the administering of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper; for pastoral care and discipline, and for evangelism. The unity of the body of Christ is expressed within and between churches by mutual love, care and encouragement. True fellowship between churches exists only where they are faithful to the gospel.

8. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper

Baptism and the Lord’s Supper have been given to the churches by Christ as visible signs of the gospel. Baptism is a symbol of union with Christ and entry into his Church but does not impart spiritual life. The Lord’s Supper is a commemoration of Christ’s sacrifice offered once for all and involves no change in the bread and wine. All its blessings are received by faith.

9. The Future

The Lord Jesus Christ will return in glory. He will raise the dead and judge the world in righteousness. The wicked will be sent to eternal punishment and the righteous will be welcomed into a life of eternal joy in fellowship with God. God will make all things new and will be glorified forever.

Here are the accepted ethos statements to which our member churches agree to abide.

We believe in God the Holy Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – one God who exists eternally as a communion of three persons [Matthew 3:13-17; Matthew 28:18-20; 1 Corinthians 12:4-6; 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 Peter 1:1-2].
- We believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. [Genesis 1-2; Isaiah 45:18; Psalm 104; Jeremiah 10:10-12; Acts 17:22-31]
- We believe in Jesus Christ the Son our Lord, fully God and fully man, who for us and for our salvation took on flesh and was born of the virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit. We believe that Jesus died for us according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that on the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures, that he ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father, and that he will return in glory to judge the living and the dead. [Isaiah 9:1-7; Isaiah 53; John 1:1-18; Matthew 1; Romans 1:2-4; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 1:1-4; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11]
- We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, who together with the Father and Son is worshipped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets and inspired the Scriptures, who indwells and empowers the Church, and who convicts the world. [Genesis 1:1-2; Joel 2:28-32; Acts 2; John 14-16; Romans 8; 1 Corinthians 12-14; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Galatians 5:16-26]
We believe in the Holy Scriptures as the inspired, trustworthy, and authoritative written word of God. [John 5:37-40; Romans 1:1-2; 2 Timothy 3:14-17; 2 Peter 1:16-21].
We believe in one, holy, universal church, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, the body of Christ, the bride of Christ, the temple of the Holy Spirit, and the new covenant people of God. [Matthew 16:13-20; Luke 22:14-23; Acts 2; 1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 2; 1 Peter 2:1-12; Revelation 7:9-12; Revelation 19:6-10]
We believe that the mission of the church flows from the mission of God to redeem and restore his creation: we are called to make disciples of all nations, baptizing in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teaching disciples to obey Jesus in all things. [Genesis 12:1-3; Matthew 28:16-20; Mark 16:14-20; Luke 24:36-49; John 20:19-23; Acts 1:1-8; 2 Corinthians 5:11-21]
We believe in the forgiveness of sins and salvation by God’s grace. We believe that a person enters into salvation and the life of Christian discipleship through faith, repentance, baptism, and confession of the name of Christ. [Mark 1:14-15; Matthew 28:16-20; John 3:16-21; John 14:1-11; Acts 2-3; Romans 3:21-25; Romans 6:1-4; Romans 10:5-13; 1 Peter 3:18-22]
We believe that humans were created in the image of God and that therefore all human life has great sanctity and is worthy of utmost respect. We believe that all people are sinners separated from God who stand in need of God’s redeeming grace. [Genesis 1:26-28; Exodus 20:13; Psalm 8; John 3:16; Genesis 3; Romans 1:18-3:20]
We believe in the resurrection of the dead at the return of Jesus and in the fullness of God’s kingdom in the coming new heavens and earth. [Isaiah 65:17-25; Isaiah 66:15-25; Matthew 25; John 5:25-29; 1 Corinthians 15; Revelation 20-22