Statement of Faith
GOD
We believe there is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God 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 eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being. More details on God here
BIBLE
The Bible was written over a period of 1,500 years by more than 40 authors in three languages, on three continents. Rather than contradicting one another, the writers maintained 100 percent historical, moral, prophetical, and theological accuracy, writing with harmony and continuity from Genesis to Revelation. In other words, God was the author and men were His writing instruments. As the verbally inspired Word of God, the Bible is without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for salvation, and the ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavour should be judged. We believe the Bible is the final authority in every area it addresses for every individual Christian, as well as for the church collectively. We believe in the literal, historical and grammatical interpretation of the bible, therefore, it is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises. See more on the deception of ear tickling in the church here
MAN
Man is the special creation of God, made in His own image. He created them male and female as the crowning work of His creation. The gift of gender (only male and female) is thus part of the goodness of God’s creation. In the beginning man was innocent of sin and was endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice. By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Through the temptation of Satan man transgressed the command of God and fell from his original innocence whereby his posterity inherits a sin nature and an environment inclined toward sin. Therefore, as soon as they are capable of moral action, they become transgressors and are under condemnation. Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God. The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for man; therefore, every person of every race possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.
JESUS CHRIST
We believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully man, one Person in two natures. Jesus, Israel’s promised Messiah, was conceived through the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father as our High Priest and Advocate. We believe that Jesus Christ, as our representative and substitute, shed His blood on the cross as the perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins. His atoning death and victorious resurrection constitute the only ground for salvation.
HOLY SPIRIT
We believe the Holy Spirit was sent by the Father and the Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. We believe the Holy Spirit regenerate, indwells and seals believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, and that He empowers them to live as His witnesses. We believe that the Holy Spirit, in all that He does, glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. He regenerates sinners, and in Him they are baptized into union with Christ and adopted as heirs in the family of God. He also indwells, illuminates, guides, equips and empowers believers for Christ-like living and service. So we believe that all of the gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned in Scripture are available to and active in His church today. See more about the gifts of the Holy Spirit here
THE CHURCH
A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel; observing the two ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. The church is not a kingdom but the body and Bride of Christ; that it is composed of all Jewish and Gentile believers from Pentecost to the Rapture of the church. We meet together to 1) biblical doctrine is taught, 2) provide a place of fellowship for believers, 3) observe the Lord’s supper, 4) pray and 5) share the gospel message inside and outside the church. We keep it simple and mark and avoid false theological movements like Dominionism, Word of Faith, New Apostolic Reformation or Emergent Church. We believe that the church has an obligation to be separated from the world and from apostasy, i.e. errors that undermine the authority of Scripture, the integrity of the gospel, the Jesus of the Bible, and the fundamental doctrines of the faith.
STRUCTURE AND ROLES
Agape Simple Church follows a simple yet biblical approach: Jesus → You for individual accountability and at a corporate/group level Jesus → You → One-to-Another. Elders and deacons are present, but receiving, ministering, and sharing in the Lord is not centralized to them only. Jesus’s life could be expressed through all members of the church equally. We believe that from the beginning, God’s design for men and women has been for them to both equally and uniquely rule over His creation, working together to fulfil His purposes and to glorify His name (Genesis 1:26-28). This principle continues in the New Testament which describes the exalted position of believing men and women as co-heirs of the grace of Christ and co-recipients of the gifts of the Holy Spirit to be used to serve the church and to participate in fulfilling the Great Commission. All believing men and women are therefore called to Christlike maturity and significant kingdom leadership. We also believe that God has reserved certain roles and functions within the church for mature, believing men, namely the role of elder and the function of teaching/preaching when the gathered church worships. Our position therefore most closely aligns with a “Complementarian” interpretation of scripture (men and women have different but complementary roles in the church and home) See when we meet
ISRAEL
We believe God called a people to Himself who are the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; that Israel is the Wife of Jehovah, unfaithful in the past, divorced in the present, and to be reunited in the future; that God has made one conditional covenant (The Mosaic, which has now rendered inoperative since the Messiah has fulfilled the law) and has made four unconditional covenants (Abrahamic, Land, Davidic, and New) with this elect nation that have remained unfulfilled. God intends to fulfil all His promises to Israel in a literal way just as His warnings and judgments were fulfilled in a literal way; that in Israel’s history of unbelief there has always been a believing remnant according to the election of grace; that there will be a national regeneration of Israel at the end of the Tribulation at which time all of the provisions of the unconditional covenants will be fulfilled, including the seed, land, and blessing aspects which will be realized in the Millennial Kingdom. Currently, Israel becoming a nation again in 1948 is prophetically significant since this predicted by the prophets concerning the last days. Therefore, we do not support the false and demonic doctrine of Replacement Theology or Supersessionism as God is not finish with the nation of Israel as we read throughout scriptures including in Romans 9-11.
CHRISTIAN LIVING
All matters of faith and conduct must be evaluated on the basis of Holy Scripture, which is our infallible guide (2 Timothy 3:16–17). Since the Holy Bible does speak to the nature of human beings and their sexuality, it is imperative that we correctly understand and articulate what the Bible teaches on these matters. We are committed to the home and family as set forth in Holy Scripture. We believe God has ordained and created marriage to exist only between one man and one woman, with absolute marital fidelity. The Holy Scripture grants two life-enhancing options for human sexual behaviour: (1) the conjugal “one flesh” marital union of one man and one woman, and (2) celibacy. Either is a gift from God, given as He wills for His glory and the good of those who receive and rejoice in His gift to them. Celibacy and faithful singleness is celebrated and affirmed at Agape Simple Church. Also, we believe that God’s justifying grace must not be separated from His sanctifying power and purpose. God commands us to love Him supremely and others sacrificially, and to live out our faith with care for one another, compassion toward the poor and justice for all. With God’s Word, the Spirit’s power, and fervent prayer in Christ’s name, we are to combat the spiritual forces of evil. In obedience to Christ’s commission, we are to make disciples among all people, always bearing witness to the Gospel in word and deed.
GIVING
The Bible has a lot to say about Christians and their money. In fact, the Bible contains more than 2,000 Bible verses on the subject. Time and again, the Bible associates our money with our commitment and relationship to the Lord. The word give has been defined as “to make a present of.” One of the many ways we can help others is to give financially. Since Agape Simple Church is a home fellowship there are no overheads costs for buildings, rent or bills but we do welcome giving for events, community and people which enables us to fulfil our core values which is the love God, love others and make disciples.
CHRIST’S RETURN
We believe in the pre-tribulational and pre-millennial return of our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ will return into the air for the purpose of gathering the Church to Himself both dead and alive; that this event is both imminent and Pre-Tribulational; that this is the blessed hope of the true church. Among many descriptions of Jesus is described as the bridegroom and we the church as the Bride. The bride is not appointed to the wrath of God (day of the Lord) and the Lamb recognising what John 5:22-23 states "for the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honour the Son just as they honour the Father. He who does not honour the Son does not honour the Father who sent Him". The coming of Christ for the church, at a time known only to God, demands constant expectancy and, as our blessed hope, motivates the believer to Godly living, sacrificial service and energetic mission. We need to occupy until He comes and we know as the world is getting darker the more our light will shine, this can lead to persecution which we expect for all true followers of Jesus who stand for the word of God and Jesus. For true believers in Jesus, the world might be falling apart but it is falling into place leading to the second coming of our true King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Please see our timeline of events
RESPONSE AND ETERNAL DESTINY
We believe that God commands everyone everywhere to believe the gospel by turning to Him in repentance and receiving the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation is available to everyone with Jesus' work on the cross. We believe that God will raise the dead bodily and judge the world, assigning the unbeliever to condemnation and eternal conscious punishment and the believer to eternal blessedness and joy with the Lord in the new heaven and the new earth, to the praise of His glorious grace. Amen.