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RESTORATION END TIMES MINISTRIES

        The End Times Jesus Christ warned about are here now....

Statement of Faith

The following is a statement of our position of Christian doctrines. 

We are committed to truth and accuracy in doctrine. 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.

God the Father

God the Father is the originator and sustainer of all things, and He created the universe in love, because God is love (1 John 4:8). He created man in His own image for fellowship and called man back to Himself through Christ after the rebellion and fall of man. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob known to them and their descendants as Yahweh. Just as these early faithful men believed, we also believe HE is ONE God.       

Jesus the Son of God

Jesus Christ is the Word (Logos) of Father God (John 1:1) .  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 the Lord Jesus the master worker alongside the Father Yahweh.

Jesus Christ is the Purpose of Father 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.  The Lord Jesus Christ is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.  In the beginning, it was the ultimate purpose of God the Father for all things to be summed up in Christ (Ephesians 1:10).

Jesus Christ, who pre-existed with the Father as the WORD or Logos in the form of God, emptied Himself to become fully 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 other person, saint, 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 labour 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 The Lord Jesus Christ is lifted up, He will draw all people to Himself.  We consider it the primary purpose of the Ministry to esteem and exalt the Father Yahweh and his Son the Lord Jesus Christ in every way.  It is the focus and devotion of ‘Lifespring 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.

The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father our Lord and giver of life, who was active in the Old Testament and given to the Church in fullness at Pentecost. He empowers the saints for service and witness, cleanses man from the old nature and regenerates us to the image of Christ. The baptism of believers into the Holy Spirit either at or subsequent to conversion, releases the fullness of the Holy Spirit to be displayed by the fruits and gifts 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 means of 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.  We also believe that we can do nothing of our own initiative to bring people to faith as this is the work of the Holy Spirit, who draws his elect to himself.  We can only tell people about him and the Holy Spirit does the rest. 

Authority of Scripture

We affirm that the Bible, containing the Old and New Testaments, is alone the only infallible, inspired Word of God, and that its authority is ultimate, final and eternal. It cannot be added to, subtracted from or superseded in any regard. The Bible is the source of all doctrine, instruction, correction and reproof. It contains all that is needed for guidance in godliness and practical Christian conduct.

The Atonement  

Because all have sinned and cannot stand before our Holy God, we are all under the sentence of death, therefore all must trust in the atoning sacrifice of The Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.  There is no other way to reconcile with God or escape from eternal separation and judgment, except through the propitiatory sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Those who totally trust in the Lord 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.

Salvation

The Word of God declares clearly that salvation is a free gift of God, based on the merits of the death of His Son, and is appropriated by faith. Salvation is affected by personal repentance, belief in the Lord Jesus (justification) and personal acceptance of Him into one’s life as Lord and Saviour (regeneration). The new life in Christ includes the privileges of adoption and inheritance in the kingdom of God’s beloved Son. Salvation is an act of free will in response to God’s personal love (Grace) for mankind. It is predestined in the sense that God, through His omniscience, foreknew those who would choose Him. It is secure in the eternal, unchanging commitment of God who does not lie and is forever the same. Salvation should produce an active lifestyle of loving obedience and service to Jesus Christ our Saviour.

The Christian Life and New Birth

To be a Christian is to Believe with all our heart and soul that Jesus Christ is the Son of God; and in His propitiation made for our salvation, results in a regeneration and renewal that constitutes our ‘new birth’ as a new creation (2 Corinthians 5: 17).  However this does not imply immediate perfection in our temporal life or lifestyle, but it does mean that true faith will result in a radical change in us.

Being "born again" implies a new beginning, not an ending (John 3: 3-8).  Christian maturity in faith, truth and life is a process.  Even so, this process must begin with spiritual regeneration or new birth.  Whilst it is possible to change our behaviour without regeneration, changing our hearts requires the new birth, and it is our hearts upon which God looks. Water baptism is an outward symbol that we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour and that; we have died to our old nature.

We believe that the Scriptures portray the life of the saint in this world to be one of balance between what is imputed to us as Christians and what is imparted to us according to our faith and maturity. Hence, God’s provision for His children is total, and the promises are final and forever. The shortcomings of the individual and of the Church are because of the still progressing sanctification of the saints. The Christian life is filled with trials, tests and warfare against a spiritual enemy. For those abiding in Christ until their deaths or His return, the promises of eternal blessing in the presence of God are assured. To remain faithful through all circumstances of life requires dependence upon the Holy Spirit and a willingness to die to personal desires and passions.

The Church

The goal of the Church is to make disciples of all nations Matthew 24: 14 and to present the saints complete in Christ. The five-fold ministry of Ephesians 4 governs the Church, the offices of elder and deacon, as well as other offices mentioned in scripture. Church policy is a balance between congregation and elder-ship authority, emphasizing the final authority of the Church leadership. It is essential to the life of the Church that scriptural patterns of discipline are practised and that oversight for Church discipline, individual and corporate, is exercised by the leadership of the Church.  The Word of God bestows on the Church two perpetual ordinances of the Lord Jesus Christ and they are Water Baptism and the Lords Supper or Communion.

Water Baptism

We believe that water baptism should be by total immersion in water into the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and accomplished as soon after commitment to the Lordship of Jesus Christ 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.

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 on the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus on the cross (Hebrews 9: 25-28).  We prefer to use unleavened bread in the communion as our Lord used unleavened bread on the night of the Passover/Last supper and it fittingly represents Jesus sinless body. We also prefer to use red wine/grape juice rather than any other type of juice.  Both institutions are restricted to those who are believers.

Second Coming of Christ

We believe in the literal, physical return of the Lord Jesus Christ to take authority and rule on earth.  We also 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; often referred to as the rapture.  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 Judgement.  For those of us who have been justified by faith in Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on our behalf to the resurrection of eternal life in fellowship with God.  Those who are not justified by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ are resurrected for eternal alienation from God and consequently fiery judgement.  These are the basic beliefs of our Ministry and we will be pleased to explain them more fully to any who would like to go deeper into Gods Word.

 

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