Tenets of Faith
This local church accepts the Old and New Testaments as the infallible Word and will of God, and recognizes the Holy Spirit’s responsibility of revealing the meaning of God’s Word to mankind. We adopt the following general statement of fundamental truths. The programs and activities of New Covenant Fellowship of Knoxville, Inc. shall be based upon and at all times shall be consistent with the following:
1. We believe the Old and New Testaments to be the inspired and only infallible and authoritative Word of God. (II Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 4:12)
2. We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. (Deuteronomy 33:27; Mark 12:29; I Corinthians 8:6; Acts 2:33)
3. We believe in the existence of Satan and his present control over unregenerate man which he obtained by deceiving Eve and the willful surrender by Adam in the Garden of Eden. (Luke 4:6; John 12:31; I Timothy 2:14)
4. We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ; in His virgin birth; in His sinless life; in the miracles in His ministry; in His vicarious and atoning death; in His bodily resurrection; in His ascension to the right hand of the Father; in His present ministry as Mediator and Surety of the New Testament, High Priest, Advocate and Intercessor; and in His personal future return to this earth in power and glory. (Luke 1:31-35; Acts 2:22; Hebrews 1:8-12; I Timothy 2:5; John 1:1; Acts 1:11)
5. We believe that personal salvation is received by a repentant acknowledgment of the failure of one’s own way and a commitment to and confession of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord with the consequential regeneration of our spirits by the indwelling Holy Spirit. We become and are called the children of God, His heirs and joint-heirs with Christ. (Romans 10:8-10; Acts 2:36-39; Titus 3:5; Romans 8:16-17)
6. We believe that, as a result of receiving salvation through Jesus Christ, we have been made free from the bondage of sin and are to yield ourselves as servants of righteousness unto holiness. (Romans 6)
7. We believe that the evidence of one believing in and being a disciple of Jesus Christ is agape love for one another as Jesus gave us commandment. (John 13:35)
8. We believe baptism by immersion in water is a response of obedience and a declaration of discipleship by all those who have repented of their sins, believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, and confessed their faith in Him.
9. We believe that the baptism in the Holy Spirit, according to Acts 2:4, with the ability to speak in unlearned tongues, is the anointing with power for the New Testament believer. It is given to every believer who responds in faith to this promise. (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 2:38 & 41)
10. We believe that all of the gifts of the Spirit found in the New Testament are available to all believers and essential for accomplishing the work of God today. (Acts 1:8; Acts 2:38-39; I Corinthians 12-14)
11. We believe that our observance of communion is a response of obedience, a participation in the new covenant fellowship meal, and a proclamation of the Lord’s death on our behalf. (I Corinthians 11:18-34)
12. We believe in the sanctity and institution of marriage as revealed in the Bible. Marriage is the spiritual, legal and physical union of one man and one woman. We believe that scriptural marriage is the only legitimate and accepted sexual relationship intended by God who created the universe, our world and life as we know it.
13. We hold to the Scriptural view of sexual perversion. The Scriptures describe sexual interactions of men with men or women with women or sexual experience with animals as immoral and deviant behavior. These behaviors are perverting God’s intentions and design of human sexuality. We believe that while the love of God in Christ Jesus is fully available to the homosexual, He regards their immoral behavior as sinful abominations. (Leviticus 18:22-24; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Romans 1:24-32)
14. We believe that the work of Christ on the cross and His resurrection from the dead out of hell has provided, through faith in that work, redemption from the curse of the law, forgiveness of sins, a new creation in whom the fruit of the Spirit develops (Galatians 5). In addition His work provides physical healing, authority over our adversary the devil and his fallen host, well-being, deliverance and freedom from all areas of occult involvement/curses and eternal life with the Lord. (I Corinthians 2; II Corinthians 5:14-21; Luke 10:19; 3 John 2)
15. We believe in a Biblical standard of conduct. The foundation for all conduct is found in Mark 12 where Jesus explained that loving God with all of our being and loving our neighbor as our self are the two greatest commandments given to men. The ten commandments, as recorded in scripture, summarize how we are to relate to God and mankind. The New Testament contains numerous declarations of how people are to practically live in association with others.
16. We believe the commission Jesus gave, as recorded in Matthew 28:19-20; Luke 24:45-49; Acts1:8 is our great commission.