Maranatha Bible Church

PHILOSOPHY OF MINISTRY

Our Premise

Our premise is that the truths contained in Scripture need to drive all that we do in life and ministry. We believe that the inerrant, inspired Word has authority over and is fully sufficient for every issue we encounter. The following essential truths contained in Scripture comprise the most basic components which form the foundation upon which Maranatha Bible Church is built:

The Centrality of God
We believe that there is one true God (Deut 6:4; Is 45:5-7) who is supreme in all His nature and attributes. He is the creator of all things (Gen 1:1), has existed from all eternity (Ps 90:2), is sovereign over all (Ps 103:19), and continually directs, maintains and controls everything (1 Chron 29:11-12). God exists in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matt 28:19). He consistently works all things after the counsel of His will (Eph 1:11) accomplishing what He has ordained in eternity past (Is 46:8-11) for the praise of His glory (Eph 1:6, 12, 14; Rom 11:36), even using the sin of men to accomplish His purposes (Gen 50:21). Because God is glorious (Ps 24:10) and majestic (Ps 8:1, 9), our premise at MBC is that He is worthy of worship (Ps 95:6), praise (Ps 150), and blessing (Ps 103:1, 2) and should be treasured (Ps 16:11) and delighted in (Ps 37:4) by all.

The Supremacy of Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ is God’s only begotten Son (John 3:16) and is the second Person of the Trinity (Matt 28:19). He is the creator (John 1:3; Heb 1:2) and sustainer ( Col 1:17) of all things. He was born of a virgin (Is 7:14; Matt 1:23) and lived a sinless life as God incarnate (John 1:1,14). He died a substitutionary atoning death on the cross (Rom 5:8), rose again from the dead (Rom 1:4; Acts 2:24), and ascended into heaven (Acts 1:9). He is the mediator between God and man who makes intercession for His people (Rom 8:34; Heb 7:25). One day, He will return to gather the church for Himself at the rapture (1 Cor 15:51-52) and will personally return to the earth with His Church in glory (1 Thess 3:13; Jude 14-15) to establish His millennial kingdom and reign on the throne of David (Is 9:6; Luke 1:31-33). As such, Jesus Christ will be the final judge of all men (John 5:22-23; Acts 17:30-31). Because of the greatness of Christ, our premise at MBC is that we are to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength (Matt 22:37), seeking Him such that we might not be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ (2 Cor 11:3).

The Sufficiency of the Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a Person (John 14:26; 16:13) who comprises the third member of the Trinity (Matt 3:16-17). He was instrumental in the creation of the world (Gen 1:2) and the inspiration of the Word of God (2 Pet 1:21). His ministry is to convict sinners of sin (John 16:8), regenerate the hearts of the elect (John 3:5; Titus 3:5), indwell believers (1 Cor 3:6), incorporate them into the body of Christ at conversion (1 Cor 12:13), and seal believers for a future inheritance (Eph 1:13; 2 Cor 1:22). He also fills believers for daily obedience (Gal 5:22-25; Eph 5:18), teaches them God’s truth (1 Cor 2:12), guides believers (Rom 8:14), prays for believers (Rom 8:26), and bestows believers with spiritual gifts (1 Cor 12:7). Because of His work in salvation and sanctification, our premise at MBC is that the Holy Spirit is essential to our spiritual lives individually and the growth and equipping of the body of Christ corporately.

The Authority of the Word
We believe that the Bible is God’s Word and that each word in it is fully inspired (2 Tim 3:16) and without error in the original (Ps 19:7-9; Is 30:8; Matt 5:18, John 10:35; 17:17). Each of the writers of the Bible was moved by the Holy Spirit and wrote the very words of God (2 Pet 1:20-21). As a result, the Word is alive (Heb 4:12), that which God uses to accomplish His purposes (Is 55:10-11), and what saves sinners (James 1:18; 1 Pet 1:23) and changes lives (2 Tim 3:17). The Word is completely sufficient for all of life and ministry (2 Pet 1:3) and is that which alone determines what to believe and how to live to the glory of God (Acts 17:11). It stands as absolute truth to be known and applied in every area of life. As such, Scripture is the very foundation upon which the church is built and comprises not only the content of the message that the church proclaims (2 Tim 4:2) but also the methods by which the church operates. Therefore, our premise at MBC is that, because God has spoken to us in the Bible, we aim, at every level, to allow His Word to inform our minds so we can know Him and enflame our hearts so we can worship Him.

The Depravity of Man
We believe that mankind was created in the image of God (Gen 1:27) on the sixth day of creation (Gen 2:7) and that in his original state he was innocent, without sin, and holy (Gen 1:27, 31; 2:25). Despite this design, however, man rationally and volitionally chose to rebel against his Creator (Gen 3:6-7) by disobeying God’s specific instructions (Gen 2:16-17). This act of rebellion plunged the human race into sin and death (Rom 5:12) resulting in mankind’s separation from God (Is 59:2). Because of Adam’s sin, he passed down a sin nature to his progeny (Rom 5:17-19) that renders all men fallen sinners who naturally rebel against God’s loving rule and authority in their life (Ps 14:1-3; Rom 3:10-12). All men (Rom 3:23) are born in sin (Ps 51:5) which causes them to be enslaved to their sin (Rom 6:17; Titus 3:3), spiritually blind (2 Cor 4:4), darkened in their understanding (Eph 4:18), alienated and hostile in mind (Col 1:21), and spiritually dead (Eph 2:1-3). The natural man is totally incapable of producing works to commend himself to God (Is 64:6). As a result, mankind is worthy of the wrath of God (Rom 1:18; 5:6; Col 3:6) and eternal death (Rom 6:23) and, therefore, hopelessly lost (Eph 2:12). Therefore, our premise at MBC is that each person needs to understand their desperate condition so that they can also participate in God’s wonderful plan to save sinners from condemnation.

The Majesty of Salvation
We believe that, despite man’s sinful condition, God demonstrated his great grace and love by sending His Son to be our substitute (Rom 5:8). Christ’s death satisfied God’s wrath against sin (1 Thess 1:10), made it possible for that sin to be removed (Col 1:21-22), and serves as the basis for Christ’s righteousness being granted to believers (2 Cor 5:21). God lovingly offers salvation as a free gift (Rom 3:24) not on the basis of works (Rom 3:28; Eph 2:9; 2 Tim 1:9; Titus 3:5) to all (Matt 11:28-29). Before the foundation of the world, God chose those whom He would save from sin (Rom 8:28-30; Eph 1:4-11; 2 Thess 2:13; 2 Tim 2:10). This choice was entirely unconditional (Rom 9:11; Eph 2:8-9) and designed to bring Him glory (Eph 1:5-6) as the One who graciously bestows mercy on whom He desires (Rom 9:14-24). Yet, the truth of election does not nullify man’s responsibility to believe in Christ as Savior (John 3:16-18; 5:40) and to repent of their sins (Acts 2:38; 20:21; 26:20, 1 Thess 1:9). All those who submit themselves to the lordship of Christ and come to Him for salvation will be saved (Luke 6:46; John 3:36; Rom 10:9; Phil 2:9-11). In doing so, they become new creatures in Christ (2 Cor 5:17) who walk in newness of life (Rom 6:4) and are kept secure in Christ forever (John 6:37-44; 10:27-30; Rom 8:30-39). Therefore, our premise at MBC is that it is the kindness of God that leads to salvation (Rom 2:4) and we want all peoples to know the wonderful news about how to have their sins forgiven and possess eternal life.

The Primacy of the Church
We believe that the church is a living organism, distinct from Israel, and made up of true believers who offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (1 Pet 2:5). Christ so loved the church that He died for her (Eph 5:25) in order that He might sanctify her and present her to Himself in all her glory, blameless and without spot or blemish (Eph 5:26-27). Because of this, Christ nourishes and cherishes the church (Eph 5:29) and is, therefore, head of it (Eph 1:22; 5:23, Col 1:18). The church is the pillar and support of the truth (1 Tim 3:15) and God’s household, which has been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone (Eph 2:20). It is through the church that believers are equipped to live a God-honoring life (Eph 4:11-13) and unbelievers are presented with the Good News of the Gospel (Matt 28:19-20). As such, the church is a place where fellow believers practice the one-anothers in loving relationships, exercise their spiritual gifts to build up the church (Rom 12:6-8; 1 Cor 12:7-10; 1 Pet 4:10), and stimulate one another to love and good deeds (Heb 10:24). Therefore, our premise at MBC is that the church constitutes God’s primary vehicle for working in this age and that believers are to engage fully in the life of a local church.