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DECLARATION OF FAITH – ‘ WHAT WE BELIEVE '

The members of the Mission do affirm and declare their belief in and defense of the Christian

faith, as set forth in the following:

WE BELIEVE

• Article 1 - That the Bible is the infallible Word of God, verbally inspired, as God gave it

in the original manuscripts; that it should be our sole guide in faith and practice (2 Tim

3:16 and 2 Peter 1:21).

• Article 2 - That Jesus is very God, one with the Father and with the Holy Spirit;

that He was conceived by the Holy Spirit; born of a virgin, lived without sin; died on

the cross for our transgression; rose from the dead bodily and ascended into Heaven.

(Matt 3:16-17, Jn. 10:30, Luke 1:35, 1 Pet 2:22, 2 Cor. 5:21, 1 Pet 2:24 and 1 Cor.

15:1,3-4; Acts 1:9-11).

• Article 3 - That man was created in the image of God, not by evolution, but by direct

act of God; that since Adam’s sin, all are sinners and can only become children of God

by being born again. (Gen 1:26, Rom 5:12, Rom. 3:23, Jn. 3:7 and Jn. 1:12)

• Article 4 - That salvation is the gift of God and is received only through repentance to

God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and is not of works. Further, that the sinner is

immediately saved and receives eternal life, when he thus repents and believes in the

Lord Jesus Christ; that then, he shall not come into condemnation as a lost sinner

anymore and shall not perish. (Eph. 2:8-9, Acts 26:20, Jn. 5:24, Jn. 10: 9-10, 28-29).

• Article 5 - The saved shall live eternally with Christ and those who die without

trusting in Him as Saviour will enter into everlasting punishment. (Jn. 14:3, Jn.10:27-

29, and Rev. 20:10, 15).

•  Article 6 - That the Holy Spirit convicts sinners and dwells in the believer to guide,

comfort, make fruitful and powerful; that each Christian should be filled with the Holy

Spirit; that the evidence of this filling is not sinless perfection nor speaking in tongues,

but the soul-winning power, as promised in Acts 1:8. (Jn. 16:7-11, 1 Cor. 3:16, 6:19, Jn.

16:13, Rom. 8:9, Gal. 5:22-23, Eph. 1:4-6, 1 Cor. 12:28-31, Rom. 12 and Eph. 4)

• Article 7 - That a real, scriptural Church is a local body of baptized believers, following

the Bible alone and being led by the Holy Spirit in the conducting of its affairs; its

officers being: Pastors, Deacons and Leaders approved by the church; whose duty and

responsibility it shall be to attend to all matters of discipline and to deal with any

member who are not conforming to the terms of the Code of Conduct.

(Acts 2:41-47 and Acts 16:1-4).

• Article 8 - That Scriptural baptism is the immersion of the believer in water,

symbolizing the burial and resurrection of Christ, and the believer’s death to sin and

resurrection to a new life; that all saved persons should be baptized. (Matt. 28:19, 3:16-

17 and Rom. 6:3-5).

• Article 9 - That Christians should constantly watch for the personal, bodily return of

Jesus Christ. (Jn. 14:1-3, Acts 1:10-11 and 1 Thess. 4:13-18).

 Article 10- That the work of the church is soul-winning, baptizing converts and

teaching the Bible; that it should reach every person possible (Matt. 28:19-20, 2 Tim.

4:2 and 2 Tim. 2:2).

• Article 11- The existence of Satan and his control over unregenerate man are

present-day realities. Matt 4:8-9, Ezekiel 28:12-17; Isa 14:12-15; 2Cor.4:4; 1John 4:4

• Article 12- There are biblical roles for women in the church. Acts 9:36; 16:14-15;

18:26, Rom 16:1-3, 1 Tim 2:9-15, 1 Tim 3:11, Titus 2:3-5, Luke 10:38, 39, 42.

• Article 13- That all outstanding local problems and difficulties and also questions

relating to the interpretation of the above Declaration of Faith should be referred to the

Chairman, Executive and Senior Officers of the Mission.

• Article 14- The Family and Related Issues

I. To uphold and promote family life as portrayed in the Scriptures,

emphasizing:

a) That Christian Marriage is heterosexual, that is, between persons of two different

genders

(Gen. 1:27-28; 2:24), and monogamous, that is, between one man and one wife (1 Tim.

3:2, 12, Eph. 5:21-33).

b) The permanence and exclusiveness of the marriage relationship. Rom. 7:2, Gen. 2:24,

Gen. 20:3. Matt. 19:6

c) Marriage as the God-ordained context for producing and rearing children. Psalm

128:1-3, Duet. 23:2.

II. The Jamaica Evangelistic Mission takes a firm stance on the following moral issues:

a) Upholding chastity (sexual purity) and takes a firm stance against all forms of sexual

immorality including:

• Fornication – 1 Cor. 6:18-20; 7:2, Eph. 5:3, Col. 3:5,; 1 Cor. 7:1,2
• Adultery – Exod. 20:14, Lev. 20:10, Matt. 5:27-28, 1 Cor. 6:9, 10.
• Incest – Lev. 18:6-18; 2 Sam. 13:12-14
• Bestiality – Lev. 18:23
• Homosexuality – Rom. 1:26, 27, 1 Cor. 6:9-10, Lev. 18:22

b) Divorce followed by re-marriage Matt. 19:3-9 (N.B. ‘except for marital

unfaithfulness’).

Mark 10:2-12, 1 Cor. 7: 10-11.

c) The common-law union falls short of the biblical meaning of marriage, implied in

passages such as Gen. 24 and Mark 10:6-9 particularly with respect to the

commitment to permanence and exclusiveness

d) Abortion and Euthanasia both negate the unique worth and value of each human

being which derives from the fact that each is created in the image of God. Gen.1:26-

27. The unborn child is recognized by God and known to him as a person. Ps.

22:9,10; 71:6, 139:13-16, Jer. 1:5, Isa. 49:1,5; and both are opposed to the attitude of

our God, who takes special care of the weak and the defenceless (Ps. 72:12-14), and

who promises a blessing to those who follow His example. Ps. 41:1, 3.

III. Given the seriousness of the chronic breakdown of Christian family values

and practices in our society:

a) The Jamaica Evangelistic Mission seeks to be constantly aware of the many ways in

which this breakdown has damaged individuals in character and personality to the

detriment of their social, emotional, moral and spiritual life, and aims to address these

problems in knowledge and in love.

b) The Jamaica Evangelistic Mission’s policy is to inculcate Christian family values and

principles in the minds of the children and young people who attend Sunday school,

Youth Groups etc.

c) The Jamaica Evangelistic Mission aims to make pre-marital and marital counseling

available as part of the ministry of the Church.