The name of this church shall be Berachah Church, a Texas corporation, having its principal place of worship at 2815 Sage Road, City of Houston, County of Harris, State of Texas, hereinafter referred to as this church.
The purpose of this church is to present isagogical, categorical, and exegetical Bible teaching, standing unequivocally for the fundamentals of the faith as contained in the Holy Scriptures; and through the teaching of the Word in this church, the sending out of missionaries, and the ordaining of pastor-teachers, present the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ both at home and abroad.
The thrust of this church is to communicate Bible doctrine to believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, for the purpose of attainment of spiritual maturity.
This purpose and thrust is accomplished through the daily teaching of the Word of God.
Statement of Doctrine
The following basic doctrines contained in the Holy Scripture are adopted:
1. The Holy Scriptures
We believe the Holy Scriptures to be the inspired Word of God, authoritative, inerrant, and God breathed (II Timothy 3:16, 17; II Peter 1:20, 21; Matthew 5:18; John 16:12, 13).
2. The Godhead
We believe in one triune God existing in three Persons—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—eternal in being, identical in nature, equal in power and glory and having the same attributes and perfections (Deuteronomy 6:4; II Corinthians 13:14).
3. The Total Depravity of Man
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God but that in Adam’s sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, became alienated from God, and is totally unable to retrieve his lost condition (Genesis 1:26, 27; Romans 3:22, 23; 5:12; Ephesians 2:12).
4. The Person and Work of Christ
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God, having been conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man; that He accomplished our redemption through His spiritual death on the Cross as a substitutionary sacrifice; that our redemption is made sure to us by His literal physical resurrection from the dead (John 1:1, 2, 14; Luke 1:35; Romans 3:24, 25; 4:25; I Peter 1:3-5); that the Lord Jesus Christ is now in heaven, exalted at the right hand of God, where, as the High Priest for His people, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate (Hebrews 9:24; 7:25; Romans 8:34; I John 2:1, 2).
5. The Personality and Work of the Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a Person who convicts the world of sin, indwells all believers in the present age, baptizes them into the Body of Christ, seals them unto the day of redemption, and that it is the duty of every believer to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9; I Corinthians 12:12-14; Ephesians 1:13, 14; 5:18).
6. Salvation
We believe that salvation in every dispensation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose efficacious death on the Cross provided man’s reconciliation to God (Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-10; John 1:12).
7. The Eternal Security of Believers
We believe that all believers are kept secure forever (Romans 8:1, 38, 39; John 10:27-30; I Corinthians 1:4-8).
8. The Church
We believe that the Church, which is now the Body and shall be the Bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons of this age irrespective of their affiliation with Christian organizations (Ephesians 1:22, 23; 5:25-27; I Corinthians 12:12-14).
9. The Personality of Satan
We believe in the personality of Satan who is the open and declared enemy of God and man (Job 1:6, 7; Matthew 4:2-11; Isaiah 14:12-17).
10. The Blessed Hope
We believe that the next great event in the fulfillment of prophecy will be the coming of the Lord Jesus in the air to receive to Himself the dead in Christ and believers who are alive at His coming, otherwise known as the Rapture and Translation of the Church (I Corinthians 15:51-57; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Titus 2:11-14).
11. The Tribulation
We believe that the Rapture of the Church will be followed by the fulfillment of Israel’s seventieth week, the latter half of which is the time of Jacob’s trouble, the great Tribulation (Daniel 9:27; Jeremiah 30:7; Matthew 24:15-21; Revelation 6-19).
12. The Second Coming of Christ
We believe that the great Tribulation will be climaxed by the (premillennial) return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth to set up His kingdom (Zechariah 14:4-11; Matthew 24:15-25; II Thessalonians 1:7-10; Revelation 20:6).
13. The Eternal State
We believe that the soul and human spirit of those who have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation do at death immediately pass into His presence, and there remain in the conscious bliss until the resurrection of the body at His coming, when soul, human spirit, and body reunited shall be associated with Him forever in the glory; but the souls of unbelievers remain after death in conscious misery until the final judgment of the Great White Throne at the close of the Millennium, when soul and body reunited shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power (Luke 16:19-26; 23:43; II Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; II Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 6, 7; Revelation 20:11-15)
14. The Responsibility of Believers
To “grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ,” to the end that his life is consistent with the Lord’s plan, thus bringing both blessing to the believer and honor to the Lord (II Peter 3:18).
15. Church Ordinances
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ instituted the Lord’s Supper to be observed until His return (Matthew 28:19, 20: I Corinthians 11:23-26).
16. Sovereignty
We believe that God, existing as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is sovereign and exercises supreme and absolute rule over all creation as a part of and consistent with the essence and attributes of Deity (I Chronicles 29:11,12; Daniel 4:35; Psalms 24:1; Ephesians 1:11; I Timothy 6:15).
17. Spirituality
We believe that spirituality is an absolute condition in the life of a believer in this dispensation wherein he is filled or controlled by the Holy Spirit, walking in love and fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
We believe that spirituality is distinct from maturity, that a believer becomes carnal through any act of mental, verbal, or overt sin, and that spirituality (fellowship with Christ) is restored solely by personal confession of that sin to God the Father (John 15:7,8; II Corinthians 5:6; Galatians 5:16; Ephesians 5:18; Romans 6:11-13; I John 1:5, 9; 2:2; I Corinthians 11:30, 31).
18. Spiritual Gifts
We believe that God The Holy Spirit in grace and apart from human merit sovereignly bestows spiritual gifts to believers in this dispensation. Some of the permanent spiritual gifts which exist today are pastor-teacher, evangelist, missionary and administrator. We further believe that the temporary spiritual gifts ceased with the completion of the canon of Scripture, and these were apostleship, prophecy, speaking in tongues, interpreting tongues, healing, and working of miracles (I Corinthians 12, 13; Ephesians 4:7-12; Romans 12:4-8). Any member practicing these temporary gifts shall be subject to immediate dismissal.