STATEMENT OF FAITH AND BELIEFS
Compassion for Orphans shall uphold the truths of the historic Christian faith, including the following items of belief:
1. We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
‘In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth’ Genesis 1:1 NKJV*
‘For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.’ Colossians 1:16 NKJV*
2. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, begotten, not made, being one with the Father. Through Him all things were made.
‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life’ John 3:16 NKJV*
‘In the beginning was the Word*, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made’ John 1:1-3 NKJV*
* [Christ]
3. We believe in one Holy Spirit, he being one with the Father and the Son.
‘For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one’ 1 John 5:7 NKJV*
4. Man was created in the image of God.
‘Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth” Genesis 1:26 NKJV*
5. Through Adam’s disobedience to God, sin and death entered the world, and spread to all mankind.
‘For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord’ Romans 6:23 NKJV*
‘Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned’ Romans 5:12 NKJV*
‘All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.’ Isaiah 53:6 NKJV*
‘for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’ Romans 3:23 NKJV*
6. For us and for our salvation He came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit He became incarnate from the virgin Mary, and was made Man (fulfilling the prophesy of Isaiah around 700 years before the birth of Jesus).
‘“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us”’ Matthew 1:23 NKJV*
‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.’ Isaiah 7:14 NKJV*
‘For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end ’ Isaiah 9:6-7 NKJV*
7. For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate; He suffered death and was buried.
‘For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.’ Romans 5:6-8 NKJV*
‘Therefore, as through one man’s offence judgement came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous’ Romans 5:18-19 NKJV*
8. On the third day He rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
‘For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once…’ 1 Corinthians 15:3-6 NKJV*
‘So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.’ Mark 16:19 NKJV*
9. We believe that salvation is the gift of God’s grace that is only available, through the atoning death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, to all who repent of their sins and by faith receive Him as Saviour and Lord. They are born again by the Holy Spirit, thereby becoming children of God.
‘For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV*
‘For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.’ Romans 5:10-11 NKJV*
‘Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying “The time is fulfilled , and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel”’ Mark 1:14-15 NKJV*
‘If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
1 John 1:8-9 NKJV*
‘that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.’ Romans 10:9 NKJV*
‘Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me”’ John 14:6 NKJV*
‘But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name’ John 1:12 NKJV*
10. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
‘I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom’ 2 Timothy 4:1 NKJV*
‘Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Your dominion endures throughout all generations’ Psalm 145:13 NKJV*
11. We believe that the Church is the community of believers, who have been formed by the Holy Spirit into one body of which the Lord Jesus Christ is the Head.
‘Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work’ Ephesians 4:15-16 NIV
12. The Church is commissioned by Christ to bear witness to the gospel and make disciples of all peoples.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20 NKJV*
13. We look forward to the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.
‘For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.’ 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 NKJV*
‘Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God himself will be with them and be their God’ Revelation 21:1-3 NKJV*
‘But as it is written “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him”’. 1 Corinthians 2:9 NKJV*
*New King James Version
This connects with NKJV* shown above
