Leo and Cathy Paine
Standing in the Gap Ministries
Statement of Faith
I believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be the verbally and plenary inspired Word of God. The Scriptures are inerrant, infallible and God-breathed, and therefore are the final authority for faith and life. The King James Version of the Bible is the Bible I use. (II Tim. 3:16-17; II Pet. 1:20-21)
I believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each are eternal beings. (Deut. 6:4; Matt 28:19; II Cor.13:14; John 14:10-26)
I believe in the deity of Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in the miracles of His earthly ministry, in His vicarious and sin atoning death by His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His intercessory ministry there. (John 1:1-2; Luke 1:35; Matt. 1:21; Romans 3:24-25; I Pet. 1:3-5; Heb. 9:24)
I believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins. I believe that all sins are forgivable. (John 1:12; Eph. 1:7; Eph. 2:8-10; I Pet. 1:18-19; Matt 12:21-32; I John 1:9)
I believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God's power and are thus secure in Christ forever. I believe that it is the privilege and the responsibility of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God's Word, which however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh. (Rom 12:13-14; Gal. 5:13; Titus 2:11-15; Rom. 8:1; I Cor.1:4-8; I Pet. 1:4-5)
I believe that the local church, which is the body of Christ, is solely made up of born again, baptized believers. And that the established and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament. I further believe in the autonomy of the local church that it is free from any external authority or control. (Act 13:1-4; Act 15:19-31; Act 14:21; Act 20:17; I Cor.12:12-14; II Cor.11:2)
I believe the Bible teaches two Church Ordinance and they are: Baptism & The Lord’s Supper. (Matt 28:19; Acts 2:41; I Cor.11:23-24)
I believe in the Blessed Hope, the personal, imminent return of Christ who will rapture His church prior to the seven-year tribulation period. (Rev.19:11-16; Rev.20:1-6; Ps. 89:3-4; Dan. 2:31-45)
