Tenents of Faith

Tenents of Faith

What We Believe

“Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembly of ourselves together, as in the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:19-25).

Foundation: Above all beliefs, first and foremost, the Living Waters Tabernacle of Exeter is a Christian church, spreading the good news of the Gospels and working towards discipleship. Our church is built upon the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the head of the church. The doctrines and practices of the church are founded on His teachings and carried out under His authority.

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me’” (John 14:6). “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:16-17). “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to my father.” (John 14:12)

Purpose:

That the Living Waters Tabernacle shall embrace and continue the purpose given to Paul by Jesus on the road to Damascus, “Open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are Sanctified by faith in Me” (Acts 26:18). Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross became the propitiation of our sins, and therefore, we have been reconciled to God. Through repentance, accepting Christ as our Savior, and the power of the Holy Spirit, we shall be ambassadors of Christ. As described in Ephesians 5:8, those renewed in Christ have become “Light in the Lord.” Jesus spoke, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Paul asks us as believers not to be ignorant. Therefore, we are committed to discipleship, fellowship, worship, and the exercise of the Five-Fold ministry to reveal the mysteries of the Kingdom of God and to build up the body of Christ.

Declaration of Faith:

The members of the Living Waters Tabernacle of Exeter believes in the complete Bible, Old and New Testaments, as divinely inspired by God, written by man's hand that it is the written Word of God, “Heaven and Earth shall pass away but My words shall not pass away”(Matt 24:35). We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

We Believe:

• In the verbal inspiration of the written Bible.
• In one God eternally existing and three persons, self revealed as, ""I am,"" and further revealed as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
• God: There is one and only one living true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the Universe. God is is infinite in Holiness and all other perfections. God is all powerful and all knowing, and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. The true Triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit with distinctpersonal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.
• The Son: Christ is the Eternal Son of God. In His Incarnation as Jesus Christ, He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature with its demands and necessities and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. He honored the Divine Law by His personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death on the cross, He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before the crucifixion. He ascended into Heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the one mediator, fully God, fully man, and whose person is affected the reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever-present Lord.
• Holy Spirit: The Holy Ghost is the Third Person of the Trinity, fully divine. He inspired holy men of old to write the scriptures. Through illumination He enables men to understand truth. He is the spirit of truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts men of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He calls men to the Savior, and effects regeneration. At the moment of regeneration, He baptizes every believer into the body of Christ. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian individual is the guarantee that God will bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service. The Holy Ghost empowered Jesus during His ministry and bestows gifts on believers as He wills, for the building up of the body of Christ. The manifestation of the Holy Spirit is for the profit of God’s people. We are to pursue, and desire the spiritual gifts and exemplify the Fruit of the Spirit.
• Sin: That all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
• Salvation: involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer.
• Regeneration: or the new birth, is a work of God's grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Redemption and Faith are inseparable experiences of Grace.
• Repentance: repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward god. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Savior.
• Justification: is God's gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer unto a relationship of peace and favor with God. We Believe according to the Apostle Paul and his writings in Romans, that we are justified by faith alone. It is solely God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ that we are redeemed. Christ has imputed righteousness into the born again believer. We do believe however, that once a sinner is saved, they should produce good fruit. The fruit we speak of will be found in our actions and our good works.
• Sanctification: Is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart to God's purposes. They are enabled to process toward moral and spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Ghost dwelling in him. Growth and grace should continue throughout the regenerate person's life.
• Glorification: Is the culmination of Salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed.
• Holiness: is God's standard of living for His people.
• Spiritual Gifts: We believe in the manifestation of the Holy Spirit for the common good. These are different kinds of gifts, but the Same Spirit who distributes them. The gifts include wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miraculous powers, prophecy, discernment, speaking of tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. All of these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He distributes them to each one, just as He determines. The Spiritual Gifts have been blessed upon those who receive them for the continuation and aid in ministry for the inclusion and expansion of God's Kingdom.
• Fruit of the Spirit: Is the standard of salvation and continued behavior of a Christian. The Fruit of the Spirit includes, love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and gentleness. A true believer should endeavor to produce all of these attributes.
• Five-Fold Ministry: As described in the book of Ephesians, we support apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers as a sign of a growing and healthy church congregation.
• We believe in Water Baptism by immersion.
• We believe in the Baptism of the Holy Ghost just as Jesus described to Nicodemus and John 3.
• The Lord's Supper: We often partake as a congregation of the Lord's Supper. Doing as Jesus instructed. That the Bread and Wine, Body and Blood shed for us, represent the marking of the New Covenant. We are reminded to seek forgiveness of all our sin in order to be in communion with our Lord.
• Bodily Resurrection: We hope for the pre-millennial second coming of Christ. Believing that there will be a 7-year tribulation. And that Jesus will resurrect the righteous dead and to catch away the living Saints to Him in the air. Jesus will reign on the earth 1,000 years.
• Final Judgment: We believe in an eternal heaven and eternal punishment often referred to as hell. Before the Great White Throne of Judgment, and before the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. There will be eternal life for the righteous and eternal punishment for the wicked.

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