Statement of Faith
Our Core Values
What we believe determines what we value, and what we value defines how we live. Scripture-based core values are the key to successful Kingdom living.
As per Acts 2: 42 – 46 following are our primary values and disciplines:
Worship
Study of God’s Word
Prayer & Fasting
Daily repentance & growing in holiness
Fellowship
Giving
Witnessing
Works
What are our fundamental beliefs / statement of truths?
Statement of Fundamental Truths
This "Statement of Fundamental Truths" contains the 16 fundamental doctrines of Utsav Church. These are non-negotiable tenets of faith that we as a church adhere to. Four of these, Salvation, the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, Divine Healing, and the Second Coming of Christ are considered Cardinal Doctrines which are essential to the church's core mission of reaching the world for Christ.
Statement of Fundamental Truths:
The Bible is our all-sufficient rule for faith and practice. This Statement of Fundamental Truths is intended to be the basis of fellowship among us (i.e., that we all speak the same thing, 1 Corinthians 1:10; Acts 2:42). The phraseology employed in this Statement is not inspired nor contended for, but the truth set forth is held to be essential to a full-gospel ministry. No claim is made that it covers all Biblical truth, only that it covers our need as to these fundamental doctrines.
1. The Scriptures Inspired
The Scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments, are verbally inspired of God and are the revelation of God to man, the infallible, authoritative rule of faith and conduct. We believe that the Bible is God’s word to us. It was written by human authors, under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme source of truth for Christian beliefs and living. Because it is inspired by God, it is the truth without any mixture or error.
2 Timothy 3:15-17
1 Thessalonians 2:13
2 Peter 1:21
2. The One True God
The one true God has revealed Himself as the eternally self-existent "I AM," the Creator of heaven and earth and the Redeemer of mankind. He has further revealed Himself as embodying the principles of relationship and association as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He has revealed Himself as one God existing in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These three are coequal and are one God.
Deuteronomy 6:4
Isaiah 43:10,11
Matthew 28:19
Luke 3:22
3. The Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ
The Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. We believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of men, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born by the Virgin Mary. He is totally God, coequal with the Father and totally man. We believe Christ died for our sins, was buried and rose again the third day. He bodily ascended into heaven and will return again someday for His Church.
The Scriptures declare:
His virgin birth,
Matthew 1:23
Luke 1:31
Luke 1:35
His sinless life,
Hebrews 7:26
1 Peter 2:22
His divinity
Matt 28: 18
John 5: 23
John 5: 24
John 8:58
John 10: 30
John 11:25
John 17:5
His miracles,
Acts 2:22
Acts 10:38
His substitutionary work on the cross,
1 Corinthians 15:3
2 Corinthians 5:21
His bodily resurrection from the dead,
Matthew 28:6
Luke 24:39
1 Corinthians 15:4
His exaltation to the right hand of God
Acts 1:9
Acts 1:11
Acts 2:33
Philippians 2:9-11
Hebrews 1:3
4. The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is coequal with the Father and the Son of God. He is present in the world to make men aware of their need for Jesus Christ. He longs to fill every Christian with His power and presence. He provides the believer with the power for victorious living, understanding of spiritual truths, guidance in doing what is right, and for the supernatural work of the ministry.
· 2 Corinthians 3:17
· John 14:16-17
· John 16:7-13
· Acts 1:8
5. The Fall of Man
Man was created good and upright; for God said, "Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness." However, man by voluntary transgression fell and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death, which is separation from God. We believe that people are made in the spiritual image of God, to be like Him in character. People are the supreme objects of God’s creation. Although every person has tremendous potential for good, all of us are marred by this attitude of disobedience toward God called “sin.” This sin separates people from God.
Genesis 1:26,27
Genesis 2:17
Genesis 3:6
Romans 5:12-19
6. The Salvation of Man
Man's only hope of redemption is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ the Son of God. Salvation is God’s free gift to us but we must accept it by faith. We can never make up for our sin by self-improvement or good works. Only by trusting in Jesus Christ as God’s offer of forgiveness can anyone be saved from sin’s penalty. When we confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead, we will be saved. Though, eternal life begins at the moment of our conversion, salvation as a whole, is a life-long process.
Conditions to Salvation
Salvation is received through repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ. By the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, being justified by grace through faith, man becomes an heir of God, according to the hope of eternal life.
Luke 24:47
John 3:3
Romans 10: 9, 10
Romans 10:13-15
Ephesians 2:8
Titus 2:11
Titus 3:5-7
The Evidence of Salvation
The inward evidence of salvation is the direct witness of the Spirit.
Romans 8:16
The outward evidence to all men is a life of righteousness and true holiness.
Ephesians 4:24
Titus 2:12
7. The Ordinances of the Church
Baptism in Water
The ordinance of baptism by immersion is commanded by the Scriptures in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in order to fulfil the command of the Lord Jesus Christ. All who repent and believe on Christ as Saviour and Lord are to be baptized. Thus they declare to the world that they have died with Christ and that they also have been raised with Him to walk in newness of life.
Matthew 28:19
Mark 16:16
Acts 10:47,48
Romans 6:4
Holy Communion
The Lord's Supper, consisting of the elements --bread and the fruit of the vine-- is the symbol expressing our sharing the divine nature of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:4) a memorial of his suffering and death (1 Corinthians 11:26), and a prophecy of His second coming (1 Corinthians 11:26), and is enjoined on all believers "till He comes!"
8. The Baptism in the Holy Spirit
All believers are entitled to and should ardently expect and earnestly seek the promise of the Father, the baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire, according to the command of our Lord Jesus Christ. This was the normal experience of all in the early Christian Church. With it comes the endowment of power for life and service, the bestowment of the gifts and their uses in the work of the ministry. We believe that the baptism in the Holy Spirit is a real experience at, or subsequent, to salvation with the Bible evidence of speaking in other tongues as the Holy Spirit gives utterance. This Spirit baptism opens the door for us to enter God’s supernatural realm of signs, wonders and mighty miracles.
Luke 24:49
Acts 1:4
Acts 1:8
1 Corinthians 12:1-31
This experience is distinct from and subsequent to the experience of the new birth.
Acts 8:12-17
Acts 10:44-46
Acts 11:14-16
Acts 15:7-9
With the baptism in the Holy Spirit come such experiences as:
an overflowing fullness of the Spirit, John 7:37-39, Acts 4:8
a deepened reverence for God, Acts 2:43, Hebrews 12:28
an intensified consecration to God and dedication to His work, Acts 2:42
and a more active love for Christ, for His Word and for the lost, Mark 16:20
The speaking in tongues in this instance is the same in essence as the gift of tongues, but we do believe also that there are different kinds of tongues that would differ in purpose and use.
1 Corinthians 12:4-10
1 Corinthians 12:28
9. Sanctification
Sanctification is an act of separation from that which is evil, and of dedication unto God. Eternal life begins at the moment of our conversion but after that comes “sanctification”- the continuing work of grace to make us holy and perfect as God is holy and perfect. We believe that the true Christian faith is expressed through a sanctified life, the life of separation from sin and perfecting of holiness in the fear of God. The agent to bring about sanctification is the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. Every Christian should be filled with the presence and power of the Spirit. The presence of God becomes tangible in an atmosphere of worship, while the power of God is manifested through an atmosphere of faith.
Romans 12:1,2
1 Thessalonians 5:23
Hebrews 13:12
The Scriptures teach a life of "holiness without which no man shall see the Lord."
Hebrews 12:14
By the power of the Holy Spirit we are able to obey the command: "Be ye holy, for I am holy."
1 Peter 1:15,16
Sanctification is realized in the believer by recognizing his identification with Christ in His death and resurrection, and by the faith reckoning daily upon the fact of that union, and by offering every faculty continually to the dominion of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 6:1-11
Romans 6:13
Romans 8:1,2
Romans 8:13
Galatians 2:20
Philippians 2:12,13
1 Peter 1:5
10. The Church and its Mission
The Church is the Body of Christ, the habitation of God through the Spirit, with divine appointments for the fulfilment of her great commission. Each believer, born of the Spirit, is an integral part of the General Assembly and Church of the Firstborn, which are written in heaven.
Ephesians 1:22,23
Ephesians 2:22
Hebrews 12:23
Since God’s purpose concerning man is to seek and to save that which is lost, to be worshipped by man, to build a body of believers in the image of His Son, and to demonstrate His love and compassion for all the world, the priority reason for being of us being a part of the Church is:
To be an agency of God for evangelizing the world.
Acts 1:8
Matthew 28:19,20
Mark 16:15,16
To be a corporate body in which man would worship God.
1 Corinthians 12:13
To be a channel of God’s purpose to build a body of saints being perfected in the image of His Son.
Ephesians 4:11-16
1 Corinthians 12:28
1 Corinthians 14:12
To be a people who demonstrate God’s love and compassion for all the world.
Psalms 112:9
Galatians 2:10; 6:10
James 1:27
Utsav Church exists expressly to give continuing emphasis to this reason for being in the New Testament apostolic pattern by teaching and encouraging believers to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. This experience:
Enables them to evangelize in the power of the Spirit with accompanying supernatural signs.
Mark 16:15-20
Acts 4:29-31
Hebrews 2:3,4
Adds a necessary dimension to worshipful relationship with God.
1 Corinthians 2:10-16
1 Corinthians 12
1 Corinthians 13
1 Corinthians 14
Enables them to respond to the full working of the Holy Spirit in expression of fruit and gifts and ministries as in New Testament times for the edifying of the body of Christ and care for the poor and needy of the world.
Galatians 5:22-26
Matthew 25:37-40
Galatians 6:10
1 Corinthians 14:12
Ephesians 4:11,12
1 Corinthians 12:28
Colossians 1:29
We believe that the nine supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit, as listed in 1Corinthians 12-14, is still valid and operational in the Church today.
11. The Ministry
A divinely called and scripturally ordained ministry has been provided by our Lord for the fourfold purpose of leading the Church in:
Evangelization of the world
Mark 16:15-20
Worship of God
John 4:23,24
Building a body of saints being perfected in the image of His Son
Ephesians 4:11-16
Meeting human need with ministries of love and compassion
Psalms 112:9
Galatians 2:10; 6:10
James 1:27
12. Divine Healing
Divine healing is an integral part of the gospel. Deliverance from sickness is provided for in the atonement, and is the privilege of all believers. We believe that when Jesus died on the cross, He also bore our sicknesses and diseases. As such, the healing of the physical body by God’s power is as valid today as it was in the Early Church.
Isaiah 53:4,5
Matthew 8:16,17
James 5:14-16
13. The Blessed Hope
The resurrection of those who have fallen asleep in Christ and their translation together with those who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord is the imminent and blessed hope of the church (rapture). If you are genuinely saved, you can have the security of knowing that God will keep you by His grace and power.
1 Thessalonians 4:16,17
Romans 8:23 [
Titus 2:13
1 Corinthians 15:51,52
14. The Millennial Reign of Christ
The second coming of Christ includes the rapture of the saints, which is our blessed hope, followed by the visible return of Christ with His saints to reign on earth for one thousand years.
Zechariah 14:5
Matthew 24:27
Matthew 24:30
Revelation 1:7
Revelation 19:11-14
Revelation 20:1-6
This millennial reign will bring the salvation of national Israel,
Ezekiel 37:21,22
Zephaniah 3:19,20
Romans 11:26,27
and the establishment of universal peace.
Isaiah 11:6-9
Psalms 72:3-8
Micah 4:3,4
15. The Final Judgment
There will be a final judgment in which the wicked dead will be raised and judged according to their works. Whosoever is not found written in the Book of Life, together with the devil and his angels, the beast and the false prophet, will be consigned to the everlasting punishment in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.
Matthew 25:46
Mark 9:43-48
Revelation 19:20
Revelation 20:11-15
Revelation 21:8
16. The New Heavens and the New Earth
"We, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness."
2 Peter 3:13
Revelation 21
Revelation 22