Statement of Faith

The following is our Statement of Faith defining what the board of Directors of Practice Ministries believe, and forms the foundation of all of our lessons and teachings throughout Practice Ministries Bible Study lessons.

Truth

“I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6).

We believe there is absolute truth, proceeding from the Author of Truth, Jesus Christ. His truth is accurately revealed and communicated in the Bible.

God

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).

• God the Father is the source of all that is created (Genesis 1:1).
• We see and know God the Father through His Son Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:15) and that God has revealed His plan of salvation through Jesus (Acts 4:12).
• We experience Jesus’ presence in our lives through the Holy Spirit who dwells in those who have received Him (John 16:13).

We believe that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are each equally and fully and eternally the one true God; God making Himself known through three Persons (Mark 1:9-11). Each is necessary, each is distinct, and yet all are one. Although difficult to understand, the truth of the Trinity is taught throughout Scripture.

The Resurrection

“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles” (1 Corinthians 15:3-7).

We believe that Jesus Christ was crucified for claiming to be the Son of God. He died, being pronounced dead at the scene. He was buried in a wealthy man’s tomb. A two-ton stone was rolled in front of the tomb entrance. Roman guards were posted at the tomb so that Jesus’ followers could not take His body, thus “proving” Jesus’ claim that He would rise from the dead three days later. His disciples hid in a locked room for three days, fearing that the Jewish authorities would arrest and kill them.

On the third day after His crucifixion, women, upon visiting His tomb, found the stone rolled away, the tomb empty, except for the grave clothes which were still there. The women did not go to the wrong tomb. When told by the women what they had seen, Jesus’ disciples Peter and John did not go to the wrong tomb. The Roman soldiers had not guarded the wrong tomb. The Jewish authorities could not produce His body.

Jesus then appeared to the disciples and to many more over a period of 40 days. The disciples, who once cowered in fear behind locked doors, were transformed into men who boldly proclaimed the message that Jesus is the risen Christ. Eleven of the twelve were put to death for refusing to take back what they had seen and heard: He Is Risen!!

Man

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27).

We believe each person is created in God’s image, giving each one great worth. We are body, soul and spirit (Hebrews 4:12). The spirit is housed in the soul, which is eternal, and the soul is housed in the temporary body. When the body dies, the soul goes to its eternal home.

A soul with its spirit quickened or made alive by the Holy Spirit goes to live in God’s presence in His Heaven. A soul with a dead spirit goes to Hell, a place where there is no life, away from God’s presence forever.

Every person is born with a dead spirit, unable to commune with God; and there’s nothing we can do on our own to make it quickened or living (Ephesians 2:1). But when Jesus Christ is received (Romans 10:9), He brings the spirit to life by the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s called being re-born. Because of this gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-9), your relationship with Him, once disconnected, is now reconnected and restored, and your soul allowed into His heaven.

Sin

“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12).

“We all like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6).

Sin is doing things our own way, rather than God’s way. People are born sinful and also sin by choice – it’s our nature – it’s the way that we are. And it is this “sinful nature” within us that leads us away from God. Sin leads us away from God’s ways, and because God is holy – set apart from sin – it results in spiritual death (Romans 6:23) us being cut off from Him forever, like a branch that is cut off from a tree. But there is one hope for rescue.

Salvation

“…Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).

We believe there is one hope of rescue from sin and separation from God forever:

• Sin must be punished to satisfy the just, holy and righteous nature of God (Hebrews 10:28).
• Salvation is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-9). There is nothing that you can do to save yourself from sin.
• Salvation is finished. What’s needed to pay the penalty has already been done by Jesus’ sacrifice upon the cross (John 19:30). You can add nothing to what Jesus did for you.
• Salvation comes through faith alone in Jesus Christ (John 3:16).
• Salvation is assured and permanent (John 10:27-30).

Receiving Salvation

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

We believe, in order to receive this gift of salvation:

• You must acknowledge and confess there is sin in your life, being truly sorry for it and wanting to do things God’s way (1 John 1:8-9).
• Believe that Jesus is the Son of God and ask Him to be your Savior (Romans 10:9).

May I ask you a question? Have you received the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ? This is the most important question you will ever be asked or will ever answer because it determines where you will spend eternity. Click here the button below to find out more.

YOUR MOST IMPORTANT DECISION

The Bible

“For clearly prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21).

We believe the Bible is God’s Word – what God Himself wanted to be written down (2 Timothy 3:16). His Word is the standard for all truth (Proverbs 30:5). God’s Word was not only true when it was written, but it is true today and will be true forever (Psalms 119:160).

In it you can find the truth about your present spiritual condition (Romans 3:23); the truth about what God has done for you (John 3:16); the truth about what you must do to be saved (Romans 10:9); the truth about how you should live and worship God (Romans 12:1-2).

We believe that because the Bible’s claims are true, then God exists, that Jesus is God’s Eternal Son, and you have the truth about the meaning and purpose for your life.

Teaching

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates” (Deuteronomy 6:4-9).

We believe that parents and especially fathers (Proverbs 1:8) have the primary responsibility and privilege to teach their children God’s words and His ways, so that they may always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks them to give the reason for the hope that they have in this life and the life to come doing so with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15).