Statement of Faith

Petra Ministries
May 11, 2024
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The Scriptures

  We believe that the Holy Bible was written by men under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit without any error, and therefore is, and shall remain unto the end of the age, the only complete and final Revelation of the will of God to man, the supreme authority by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions should be tried (II Tim. 3:16-17; II Peter 1:19- 21; Psalm 119:105, 160; Romans 15:4; Psalm 19:7-11).

  • By “The Holy Bible,” we mean the collection of 66 books, from Genesis to Revelation, which does not only contain or convey the Word of God, but in fact is the very Word of God (I Thes. 2:13).

  • By “Inspiration” we mean that the books of the Bible were written by holy men of old as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, in such a definite way that their writings were supernaturally inspired and free from error. We also mean that God inspired His Word verbally and plenarily, so that not only the thoughts of the Bible are inspired, but each and every word itself is “God-breathed” (Acts1:6; 28:25; Prov. 30:5-6; John 10:35).

We believe that God, in faithfulness to His Word, has Providentially preserved the Scriptures in their original languages. This preservation extends not only to the ideas and doctrines of the Bible, but to the very words themselves. (Psalm 119:89; I Peter 1:23; Matt. 5:18).

We believe that God desires for people of all language groups to be able to hear and understand His preserved Word. (Rev. 22:19; John 12:48).

The True God

We believe in the one true God who is personal, spirit, and sovereign; perfect, infinite and eternal in His being, holiness, love, wisdom, and power; self-existent and self-revealing in three distinct Persons — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; equal in every divine perfection, and executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption (Mark 12:29; John 4:24; 5:26; 14:9; Psalm 135:6; 18:30; 147:5; Deut. 33:27; Matt. 28:19; I John 5:7; Phil. 2:5-6).

Jesus Christ

We believe in the Lord Jesus Christ who is the second Person of the triune God, the eternal Word and Only Begotten Son, our great God and Savior; that He never ceased to be God for one instant and that His humiliation did not consist in laying aside His deity; that as man He was miraculously begotten of the Holy Ghost and born of the Virgin Mary; that as Man was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin; that as the perfect Lamb of God He gave Himself in death upon the Cross, bearing there the sin of the world, and suffering its full penalty of divine wrath in our stead; that He rose again from the dead and was glorified in the same body in which He suffered and died; that as our great High Priest He ascended into heaven, there to appear before the face of God as our advocate and intercessor (John 1:1; 1:29; 3:16; 8:46; 20:25-28; Titus 2:13; I John 2:1; 5:20; Matt.1:20; 20:28; Luke 1:26-38; 24:36-43; Col. 2:9; Rev. 22:16; Heb.4:14-15; 9:24; Isa. 53:5- 6; Gal. 3:13).

The Holy Spirit

We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine Person, co-equal with the Father and Son and of the same substance and nature; that He convicts of sin, righteousness and judgment, bears witness to the truth, is the agent of the new birth and that He seals, endues, guides, teaches, witnesses to, sanctifies, and helps the believer, indwelling every true child of God (II Cor. 13:14; John 14:16,17; Rom. 8:14-27; Eph. 1:13,14; I Cor. 12:13).

 The Devil or Satan

We believe that Satan is a personal being, a fallen angel, prince of demons, the god of this age, the great enticer and deceiver, the adversary of Christ and His people, accuser of the brethren, whose end is the Lake of Fire (Isa. 14:12-15; Ezek. 28:12- 19; II Cor. 4:3,4; I Peter 5:8; Rev. 12:9,10; Matt. 25:41; Rev. 20:10).

Creation

We believe the Genesis account of creation as being a literal, historical account of the direct, immediate creative acts of God in six solar days without any (organic or theistic) evolutionary process: that man (spirit, soul and body) was created the sixth day by a direct work of God and not from previously existing forms of life; and that all men are descended from the historical Adam and Eve, first parents of the entire human race (Gen. 1-2; Col. 1:16,17; John 1:3).

The Fall of Man

We believe that man, in the person of the first Adam, was created in innocence, but by personal disobedience to the revealed will of God man became a sinful creature, thus plunging the whole race into condemnation and death, so that now all mankind is born in sin and become willful sinners with the expression of personal choice, and so are without excuse before God, and have within themselves no possible means of recovery or salvation (Gen. 3:1-6; 3:24; Rom. 5:10-19; 7:18; Mark 7:21-23; Matt. 19:26).

The New Birth

We believe that in order to be saved, sinners must be born again; that the new birth is a new creation in Christ Jesus; that it is instantaneous and not a process; that in the new birth the one dead in trespasses and in sins is made a partaker of the divine nature and receives eternal life, the free gift of God; that the new creation is brought about in a manner above our comprehension, solely by the power of the Holy Spirit in connection with the Word of God, so as to secure our voluntary obedience to the Gospel; that its proper evidence appears in the holy fruits of repentance and faith and newness of life (John 3:3,6-8; II Cor. 5:17,19; I John 5:1; Acts 16:30-33; II Peter 1:4; Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:1; Col. 2:13; James 1:18).

Salvation By Grace

We believe that faith in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ is the only condition of salvation from sin and this salvation is wholly by grace; that no works, however good, make that salvation more secure. We believe in the eternal security of the believer (Acts 16:31; Eph. 1:3, 2:8,9; Titus 3:5-7; Rom. 10:9-13; John 1:12, 10:27-30; I John 5:13; I Peter 1:15).

The Church

We believe that the church is a congregation of believers, associated by covenant of faith and fellowship of the Gospel; observing the ordinances of Christ; governed by His Word; and exercising the gifts, rights and privileges invested in them by His Word; that its officers are pastors and deacons whose qualifications, claims, and duties are clearly defined in the Scriptures. We believe the true mission of the church, the Body of Christ, is the faithful witnessing of Christ to all men as we have opportunity, the subsequent baptism into the church of those who receive Christ, and the continuous training of believers in the teaching of Jesus Christ. We hold that church has the absolute right of self-government free from any hierarchy of individuals or organizations; and that the one and only head is Christ through the Holy Spirit; that it is Scriptural for true churches to cooperate with each other in contending for the faith and for the furtherance of the Gospel; that each church is the sole judge of the measure and method of its cooperation on all matters of membership, of polity, of government, of discipline, and of benevolence. (Acts 2:14; 15:13-18; 20:17-28; I Cor. 11:2; Eph. 1:12, 22; 4:11; 5:23,24; II Tim. 3:17; Col.1:18).