What We Believe

THE ARTICLES OF FAITH

• We believe the Bible is the inspired, infallible and authoritative Word of God.
• We believe in the Godhead and in the Oneness of the Godhead.
• We believe that there is only one God manifested as Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and that Jesus, who represents the fullness of the Godhead bodily, was the Eternal Father made visible.
• We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His atoning death and in His bodily resurrection.
• We believe in Original Sin, the Fall of Man and that for the salvation of sinful men, one must be born again which includes genuine repentance, water baptism, and the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
• We believe in baptism by immersion in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
• We believe in the observance of Communion or The Lord’s Supper as a sacrament and in the observance of Foot Washing as an ordinance.
• We believe in the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, with speaking in tongues as the evidence of that baptism.
• We believe in justification by faith, repentance and holy living through sanctification.
• We believe in Divine Healing.
• We believe in the Second Coming of Christ and in His Millennial Reign.
• We believe in The Final Judgment and the creation of a New Heaven and a New Earth.
• We believe in the Resurrection of the Dead, in the Rapture of the Church, and in the personal return of Jesus Christ for His Church.

THE SACRAMENTS

Water Baptism

Water Baptism is one of the two sacraments we celebrate.
Water baptism is to be accomplished by complete immersion in water. Water baptism has a twofold purpose: Water baptism is for the remission of one’s sins; water baptism is an outward and visible sign of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Water baptism is significant because it is through baptism that a candidate is initiated into the fellowship of Jesus’ Holy Church and becomes a partaker of Jesus’ righteousness and heir of Christ’s life. In baptism, one “puts on Christ,” confessing belief in Jesus’ life, death, burial, and resurrection. As Paul writes to the Romans, “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore, we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:3-4).

The Baptismal Formula
We believe the baptismal formula is to be pronounced “In the Name of Jesus Christ.” Baptism in the Name of Jesus Christ is Apostolic in origin and practice (Acts 2:38; 8:12-17; 10:47, 48; 19:1-6). Bible students agree that the apostles founded and gave directions about baptism to the Church of God, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone.
Their teachings and doctrines are the fundamental principles upon which the church is built. Following Jesus’ resurrection, the disciples saw him alive and he opened their understanding. The two men en route to Emmaus had their understanding opened as Jesus said unto them, “Thus it behooved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day; and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached IN HIS NAME among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things” (Luke 24:46-47).
According to Acts 2:38, the Apostles obeyed the command of Jesus Christ cited in Luke 24:46 -47. In their obedience to the command of Jesus, the Apostles became first in the long line of believers to baptize in the Name of Jesus Christ. The United Church of Jesus Christ (Apostolic) does not believe that there is a contradiction between Matthew 28:19; Luke 24: 45 -48, Mark 16:15-19, and Acts 2:38. In Matthew 28:19, a commission or a command is given; in Acts 2:38, the command is executed. In the former, the Apostles were told what to do; in the latter, they did it.

Communion (The Lord’s Supper)
Communion or The Lord’s Supper is the second sacrament we celebrate.
The Lord’s Supper is a sacramental rite instituted by our Lord. It was an act first instituted by the Lord to commemorate His suffering and death. The twelve disciples were witnesses as narrated in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. When Paul wrote to the Corinthians concerning Communion, he said that it was given to him by revelation. The Lord’s Supper, therefore, is a sacred rite to be carried out by the Christian Church. The Lord’s Supper cannot be neglected by Church leaders or believers without causing them serious harm and incurring the gravest spiritual consequences.