| OUR PURPOSE
Our purpose is to glorify God, in obedience to the Scriptures, by communicating the love of God to those who are suffering - by word and deed, through prayer and action.
OUR MISSION
Our mission is to share the love of God by serving the persecuted, poor and suffering in the conflict and disaster regions of the world.
OUR VISION
Christ-centered families and communities (relief aid is temporary assistance;
Christ and obedience to His teachings are the long term and only solution).
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CHRIST: THE CENTER OF OUR FAITH
The doctrine of Christ usually includes the study of His person and His work. The doctrine of the person of Christ is crucial to the Christian faith. The basis of our salvation, our faith, and the way we choose to live our lives is founded on the Lord. If the Lord is not who he claimed to be, then His death is insufficient and deficient for our sin and our salvation.
DEITY OF CHRIST
Scripture points to His preexistence (Mic 5:2; Isa 9:6; Jn 1:1; 8:58). The importance of His preexistence means that He is God and therefore, eternal as a member of the Trinity. All evidence from creation to His relationship with God and the Holy Spirit attested to by His attributes affirms His Deity.
HUMANITY OF CHRIST
Scripture indicates that He became flesh (I Jn 4:2; 2 Jn 7; Jn 1:14; Luke 4:2). The importance of His humanity was to provide an example for our lives (I Peter 2:21; I Jn 2:6), to be able to provide an effective sacrifice for sin (Heb 10:1-10), to fulfill the Davidic covenant (Luke 1:31-33), to destroy the work of Satan (I Jn 3:8), to become our sympathetic priest (Heb 4:14-16), and to be the qualified judge (Jn 5:22,27).
WORK OF CHRIST
In order to comprehend the accomplished work of our Lord for our salvation, it begins with the Kenosis, or emptying (Phil 2:5-11). Jesus chose to condescend from His place on high to take on the likeness of humanity (sinful flesh) in order to take on the sins of the world. His death paid the price for the penalty of sin (Mt 20:28; I Tim 2:6). His death satisfied this penalty so that man could be reconciled with God (2 Cor 5:18-19). Ultimately, Christ rose from the dead to fulfill His word (Mt 20:29) and to give impetus to all ministries including FIA. If Christ did not rise from the dead, our witness is false, our faith is without meaning, and our prospects for the future are hopeless. The current work of Christ includes being the Head of the body (Eph 1:20-23), a priest for his people (Heb 2:18; 4:14-16), and a preparer of our future place (Jn 14:1-3).
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DEFINING AND LIVING OUR FAITH
MEANING
Faith means to have confidence or trust based on something held as true (Hebrews 11:1-2). The Old Testament does not have a particular word that defines faith, but the Hebrew uses many verb forms to convey the idea of faith. The Hebrews regarded faith as something that one does rather than as something one has; an activity rather than a possession. The New Testament uses one primary word, pisteo. First it means to believe what someone says as true (I John 4:1). Equally as important, the word is used to signify personal trust (Mark 1:15; Matthew 18:6; John 2:11).
NECESSITY
Salvation is always through faith, not because of faith (Eph 2:8). It is a channel through which we receive God's gift of eternal life (John 5:24; 17:3). Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6).
KINDS
The Scriptures seem to distinguish at least four kinds of faith.
•Intellectual or historical. Truth that is learned through education or passed on from generation to generation, it is human in nature and does not save (Matt 7:26; Acts 26:27-28; James 2:19).
•Miracle. It is seen as an ability to perform or have performed miracles and is not necessarily accompanied by salvation (Matt 8:10-13; 17:20; Acts 14:9).
•Temporary. Similar to intellectual with personal interest (Luke 8:13).
•Saving Faith. Reliance on the truth of the Gospel as revealed in the Word of God (John 20:25ff; 16:8-11;6:4).
AS RELATED TO FAITH IN ACTION
We believe that we are exercising our trust and confidence in the person of Jesus Christ, not only eternally, but practically by responding to His command to love others (John 15:12). As we catch a glimpse of God's faithfulness in our lives, we choose to express our faith by living our lives differently than what the world expects (Eph 5:2) by loving others well. |
Statement of Faith
1. We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God and the supreme and final authority in faith and life. (II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:20-21)
2. We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Deut. 6:4; Matt. 28:19; II Cor. 13:14; Eph. 4:6)
3. We believe that our Lord Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, that He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, lived a sinless life, performed miracles, died on the cross to atone for the sins of all who would believe in Jesus Christ as Lord, was resurrected in bodily form, ascended to the right hand of the Father, and that He will return, as our "Blessed Hope," in power and glory. (Matt. 1:20-25; Acts 1:11 and 2:22-24; John 1:14; Rom. 8:3; I Cor. 15:3-4, Phil. 2:5-11; I Thess. 4:13-17, Titus 2:13; Heb. 1:1-4 and 4:15)
4. We believe that man was created in the image of God; that all men have sinned in the transgression of Adam and subsequently in their personal experience; that they are therefore totally depraved and destined for eternal condemnation; and that the only way to escape eternal condemnation is through the one gracious provision of the love of God. (Gen. 1:25-27; Jer. 17:9; Rom. 3:22-26; I Cor. 15:22)
5. We believe that salvation is a gift of God offered to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, that the Son of God gave "His life a ransom for many" and "bore our sins in His own body on the tree," and that all who truly believe in Him and receive Him by faith, are born again by the Holy Spirit and are eternally saved on the basis of His shed blood. (Matt. 20:28; John 3:3, 6-7, 16 and 10:28-30; Eph. 2:8-9; I Peter 2:24)
6. We believe in the bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust, the everlasting blessedness of the saved, and the everlasting, conscious punishment of the lost. (Matt. 25:31-34, 41, 46; Mark 9:43-48; Rev. 20:14-15 and 22:3-5, 11)
7. We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells every believer to enlighten, enable, and guide in all aspects of life and service according to Scripture. (I Cor. 2:12; John 14:16-17, 26; Rom 8:14; I Cor. 3:16)
8. We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ and that all true believers are members of his body, the Church. (Eph. 1:22-23; I Cor. 12:12,27)
9. We believe that God has prepared specific good works for all Christians to do, including a command to care for fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Such work done by believers, in obedience to Christ, is evidence of ones faith. (Matt. 25:31-40; John 15:12; Eph. 2:10; Col. 1:10; James 2:15-18) |
