Shawnee Church of God

3075 Yoakam Road    Lima, Ohio 45806    419-999-2051

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WHAT WE BELIEVE

We believe in God.  We believe God is three persons but one God.  We believe God is both unknowable and knowable.  We believe God--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent.  We believe in the holiness of God.  We believe the work of God is primarily creation, grace, justice, mercy.  We believe God wants us to know him and has revealed himself in various ways.

We believe in the pre-existence of Christ.  We believe in the incarnation.  We believe Christ's nature is human and divine.  We believe the characteristics of Jesus' divinity are the very characteristics of God.  We believe Jesus is Savior and Lord.  We believe in the resurrection and ascension of Jesus.  We believe in the second coming of Jesus Christ.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, who is God.  We believe that the Holy Spirit was active in the old covenant.  We believe the Holy Spirit came into the world in a new way on the day of Pentecost.  We believe the Holy Spirit can be known and experienced.  We believe the Holy Spirit endows the followers of Christ with the "unity of the Spirit."  We believe the Holy Spirit enables believers to grow spiritually.  We believe the Holy Spirit dispenses spiritual gifts for the building up of the Church.

We believe the Bible is the inspired, infallible authority, the Word of God, our only rule of faith and practice.  We believe God spoke, using the words of men to convey divine truth.  We believe the central message of the Scriptures is the Good News that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.  We believe proper interpretation of the Scriptures come from the Holy Spirit.  We believe original infallible manuscripts were written in Hebrew and Greek and other ancient languages.

We believe in our importance to God.  We believe in our created nature.  We believe we have a sinful nature.  We believe in the potential of our new nature in Christ.

We believe God has created us as free moral agents.  We believe every individual is accountable to God for choices made.  We believe that since believers were free to make the decision to accept Christ as Savior and Lord, they are not less free at any time to turn away from God and be lost.  We believe God provides power for living a victorious Christian life.

We believe in regeneration (new birth).  We believe we must respond to God's offer.

We believe we are justified by faith in Christ, not by the works of the law, or by works of our own righteousness.  We believe the Scriptures teach four essentials in the act of justification: remission, restoration, God-bestowed righteousness, and new standing before God.

We believe sanctification is both instantaneous and progressive.  We believe transformation of the believer's life and character follows from our consecration to God.  We believe it is the privilege and responsibility of believers to live holy lives.

We believe the Church is God's called-out people.  We believe the Church is "the body of Christ."  We believe the church enjoys a special kind of fellowship.  We believe the Church is to apply New Testament principles to its life.

We believe Christ has given the church three divine ordinances.             

  • Baptism - We believe in the ordinance of baptism as a celebration of our new life in Christ.  We practice "believer's baptism."  We believe baptism is not essential for salvation.  We believe the biblical form of baptism is by immersion.
  • Feetwashing - We believe in the ordinance of feetwashing as a celebration of the incarnation.  We believe the service of feetwashing reminds us of our calling to be servants.  We believe in this ordinance is an expression of our love for one another.  We believe this ordinance reminds us of our need to minister and be ministered to.  We believe this ordinance helps us prepare for the Lord's Supper.
  • The Lord's Supper - We believe in the ordinance of the Lord's Supper as a celebration of our redemption.  We believe this ordinance is intended to remind us of Christ's atoning death.  We believe the Lord's Supper is a proclamation of hope.  We believe the Lord's Supper is open to all Christians.

We believe in the presentation of children for the Lord's blessing.   We believe children are a gift of God.  We believe children are a part of the covenant community.  We believe parents are responsible for the spiritual nurture of their children.  We believe the congregation is responsible for the spiritual nurture of children presented for the Lord's blessing.  We believe we ought to follow Jesus in ministering to children.

We believe in the healing power of faith for the whole person.  We believe that all suffering became a part of human experience at the fall of humankind into sin.   We believe that sickness and suffering are not necessarily the result of the sin of the sufferer.   We believe that God has the power to heal all diseases and to reconcile all circumstances to His ultimate will.  We believe that the Church is a means of God's grace in healing.

We believe Christians should be servants in their relationships with God and others.   We believe Christians have a primary obligation to be a witness to the Good News.  We believe Christians have a responsibility to society.  We believe the Christian has a dual citizenship.

We believe in the Second Coming and ultimate victory of Jesus Christ.  We believe that Almighty God will bring history to its proper close in His way and in His time.  We believe that the Scriptures do speak of times and events which are part of the movement of history toward the fulfillment of the purposes of God.  We believe the message of the end times is always one of victory and fulfillment for the Christian and the ultimate triumph of God's kingdom.  We believe the mission of God's people until that day is to be salt and light in the world.  We believe in the bodily resurrection of believers.  We believe judgment will accompany Christ's return.

(This is a summary of the doctrinal statement of the Churches of God, General Conference, found in We Believe)

 

For more on the beliefs of our church and denomination see We Believe from the Churches of God, General Conference website.