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The following is a statement of our position of basic Christian
doctrines. As once stated by a great missionary, "There are certain
basic Christian truths about which there must be agreement. On all
other doctrines there should be liberty. In all things there must be
charity." It is our resolution to take an uncompromising stand on
the essential doctrines of the faith, and extend "the right hand of
fellowship" to all who hold to them. It is also our resolution to
protect the liberty of Christians to hold different perspectives on
the "non-essential" doctrines.
There are doctrines we may consider non-essential, but which are
important. We therefore make known our belief on these, while
presenting them with tolerance toward those who may hold a different
position. We are committed to truth and accuracy in doctrine, but
also understand that one can hold right doctrines and still do
damage to the body of Christ by causing divisions over the
non-essentials. Therefore, we are just as committed to the essential
Christian character, believing that "In all things there must be
charity." As the apostle stated, "The goal of our instruction is
love, from a pure heart and a sincere faith" (I
Timothy 1:5).
That, too, is our goal and commitment as we promote the
following teachings that we hold as truth:
On the
Person of Jesus
Jesus Christ is the Word (Logos) of God. The Word was with God in
the beginning, which states His pre-existence as one with God. "By
Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth" (Colossians
1:16), therefore making Jesus the Creator. Jesus Christ is the
Purpose of God found in all of creation. He is the Father's delight
and desire, and the Father is looking for the reflection of His Son
in all created things. Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the
Beginning and the End. In the beginning, it was the ultimate purpose
of God for all things to be summed up in Christ (Ephesians
1:10).
Jesus Christ, Who pre-existed with God in the
form of God, emptied Himself to become fully a man that He might be
the propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of mankind. Through His
propitiatory sacrifice made on the cross, all who believe in Him and
His sacrifice have their sins remitted and are restored to the
fellowship with God lost by man's transgression.
Jesus was born of a virgin, by the seed of the
Holy Spirit. His virgin birth is a testimony that only the Spirit
can beget that which is Spirit. Those of the new creation are not
solely of human origin, but are born from above by the Holy Spirit.
The resurrection of Jesus' physical body after His crucifixion was
literal, as will be the resurrection of both the just and the unjust
on the Day of Judgment.
"There is one God, and
one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (I
Timothy 2:5). All who seek restoration
and fellowship with God must go through Jesus and cannot approach
God through any person, spirit or doctrine. It is also a supreme
presumption for any person or institution to seek to be mediator for
others in place of Christ Jesus Himself.
The apostolic
commission was for His followers to labor until Christ was formed in
His church, to present every person complete in Christ, and to
manifest the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.
When Jesus is lifted up, He will draw all people to Himself. We
consider it the primary purpose of the church to esteem and exalt
Jesus in every way. It is the focus and devotion of DayStar
Ministries to know and preach Him, and not ourselves. We pray for
the grace to continually respond to His call to return to our first
Love, that we might passionately devote ourselves to pleasing Him in
all things while preparing for His
return.
On
Man
We believe that
God created man from the dust of the earth, without sin or the
knowledge of good and evil. The first man, Adam, transgressed the
command of God, and as God had warned, the process of death entered
him and all of his descendants because of that transgression.
Therefore, all have sinned and are worthy of the sentence of death.
Because of our unrighteousness, we are unable to approach a holy
God, except through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus. Through Jesus,
we not only can come before the Throne of Grace, but we may approach
it boldly since our confidence is not in ourselves, but in the Lord
Jesus.
On the
Atonement
Because all have
sinned and are therefore under the sentence of death, all must trust
in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus for the remission of sins. There
is no other way to reconcile with God or escape from eternal
judgment, except through the propitiatory sacrifice of
Jesus.
Those who trust in Jesus Christ
have access to the Throne of Grace by His sacrifice and by His
sacrifice alone. Good works are acceptable to God only as a love
offering given to Him because of His worthiness, and have no bearing
on our acceptance, standing or approval, all of which were
accomplished by the cross. Good works offered for the purpose of
acceptance, standing or approval are therefore an affront to the
cross by which all of these things were gained for us by Jesus. Good
works are not offered for His approval, but for His joy and glory,
and must be offered through the Son (
I Peter 2:5
) in obedience to Him. Therefore, the goal of our service is
obedience and not sacrifice.
On the New
Birth
Believing in
our hearts that Jesus is the Son of God and in His propitiation made
for our salvation results in a regeneration and renewal that
constitutes our new birth into new creations. Although this does not
imply immediate perfection in our temporal life or lifestyle, it
does mean that true faith will result in a radical change in us.
Being "born again" implies a new beginning, not an ending. Christian
maturity in faith, truth and life is a process. Even so, this
process must begin with spiritual regeneration or new birth. While
it is possible to change our behavior without regeneration, changing
our hearts requires the new birth, and it is our hearts upon which
God looks.
On the Purpose of
Faith
True faith is
of the heart and not just the mind (Romans
10:10). God's purpose in requiring faith for salvation is to
raise our focus and concentration above the temporal to the One who
is eternal. Therefore, the gospel that is able to save souls must be
preached in the power of the Spirit of God. The gospel is not
dependent upon human eloquence or persuasion that may change minds,
but cannot change hearts. Only the Spirit of God can reveal the Son
of God, and only the Son of God can reveal the
Father.
On the Authority of
Scripture
We believe in the
Divine inspiration and authority of the 66 books of the Holy Bible
as the complete canon of God's testimony to mankind. We are
committed to esteeming Scripture as the very Word of God, inerrant
in its original form. We do not accept any doctrine that contradicts
Scripture.
We understand
that there are many practices and doctrines that are considered
orthodox which do not contradict the Scripture, but which are not
directly addressed in His Word. We are committed to giving liberty
in the belief and practice of these teachings, but we will endeavor
to maintain the simplicity of the biblical testimony and its stated
practices as we are given grace to perceive them. We do not accept
any spiritual experience as having its source in the Holy Sprit that
does not have a precedent in Scripture. We do not accept any
revelation, vision, dream, prophecy or discernment as truth that
contradicts Scripture, or cannot be verified by it. We do not
believe that any other writings have the same authority as the canon
of Scripture.
On the Lord's
Supper
We acknowledge
the ordinance of the Lord's Supper in remembrance of Jesus and as a
testimony of our communion (common-union) with Him in His body, the
church. We consider it a holy ordinance, but we do not accept the
teaching that communion is for the purpose of remitting sins, which
Scripture testifies is based solely in the sacrifice of Jesus on the
cross (Hebrews
9:25-28).
On Water
Baptism
We believe that
water baptism should be by immersion and accomplished immediately
after commitment to the Lordship of Jesus and His atoning sacrifice
for our sin. This ordinance is a personal and public statement of
faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ on our
behalf, and is a commitment to lay down our lives to be one with Him
in His death, burial and
resurrection.
On the Baptism of the
Holy Spirit
We believe that the
"baptism in the Holy Spirit" is an additional impartation that may
be subsequent to regeneration (see Acts
8:15-17 and 19:1-6).
This baptism is usually accompanied by the gifts of the Spirit, such
as speaking in tongues, prophecy,
etc.
We believe that this
gift is presently available to all who believe (Acts
2:38-39), but is not essential for salvation or regeneration.
While these are accomplished by the Holy Spirit (Acts
19:1-7), there were disciples who did not even know that there
was a Holy Spirit. Just as Paul made it a priority to instruct those
believers and pray for them to receive this gift, we are committed
to doing the same.
The purpose of the
baptism in the Holy Spirit is to impart spiritual power to the
believer to be a witness (Acts
1:8, 5:32).
This baptism is to be distinguished from being filled with the
Spirit (Acts
4:31, 7:55,
13:9,52),
which can be a special and repeated empowering for specific
purposes.
We believe that
when Christians truly have been baptized with the Holy Spirit, they
should begin to take on His nature and fruit, becoming "helpers" and
"comforters", leading others into truth, and testifying of
Jesus.
On the Present Ministry
of the Holy Spirit
We believe that
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews
13:8) and that His ministry in and through the church by the
Holy Spirit has not changed from the beginning. We accept,
acknowledge, encourage and seek all of the biblical gifts and
ministries of the Holy Spirit as present and vital for the church to
accomplish her full purpose today.
On the Second Coming of
Christ
We believe in the literal, physical return of the Lord Jesus Christ
to take authority and rule on earth. We believe that those who are
alive and remain at the return of our Lord will be changed and
caught up to be with Him in the air. Those who have died in the
faith will be resurrected and precede those who are alive in being
changed and caught up to be with
Him.
We believe in the literal, physical resurrection
of both the just and the unjust for the Day of Judgment. For those
of us who have been justified by faith in Jesus Christ and His
sacrifice on our behalf, this resurrection is for eternal life in
fellowship with God. Those who are not justified by faith in Jesus
are resurrected for an eternal judgment.
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