Our Belief

This statement of belief provides a doctrinal framework which gives stability and identity to Dimapur Christian Fellowship. We believe each part of the doctrinal statement is necessary to provide that stability and identity.

We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God.

We believe that there is one God. We believe in the Trinity of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, who governs all things according to the purpose of his will.

We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory.

We believe that for the salvation of lost and sinful people, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential. We confess with shame that we have often denied our calling and failed in our mission, by becoming conformed to the world or by withdrawing from it.

We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life. We rejoice that, even when borne by earthen vessels, the gospel is still a precious treasure.

We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; those that are saved shall be resurrected into life, and enjoy the new Heaven and new Earth, while the lost will receive the resurrection of damnation.

We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.

THE AUTHORITY AND POWER OF THE BIBLE

We believe the Bible to be the verbally inspired word of God, without error in the original writings, and the supreme and final authority in doctrine and practice, for the church and every individual Christian We believe in the power of God’s word to accomplish his purpose of salvation. For God’s revelation in Christ and in Scripture is unchangeable. Through it the Holy Spirit still speaks today. He illuminates the minds of God’s people in every culture to perceive its truth.
(II Timothy 3:16; II Peter 1:21)

THE GODHEAD

We believe in one God who eternally exists in three persons: The Father, the Son and The Holy Spirit. Each person of the Godhead possesses the same nature and attributes, but each is distinct in office and activity.
(Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; II Corinthians 13:14)

JESUS CHRIST

We believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, that He became man without ceasing to be God having been conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, that He lived a sinless life, that He died as a sacrifice for every human being, that He was physically raised from the dead by divine power, that He presently serves in heaven as our Intercessor and Advocate and that He will return to earth. To proclaim Jesus as ‘the Saviour of the world’ is not to affirm that all people are either automatically or ultimately saved, still less to affirm that all religions offer salvation in Christ. Rather it is to proclaim God’s love for a world of sinners and to invite everyone to respond to him as Saviour and Lord in the wholehearted personal commitment of repentance and faith. Jesus Christ has been exalted above every other name; we long for the day when every knee shall bow to him and every tongue shall confess him as Lord.
(John 1:1and 14, 5:18; II Corinthians 5:21; Acts 2:31-33; I John 2:1-2; John 14:1-2)

THE HOLY SPIRIT

We believe in the power of the Holy Spirit. We believe that God the Holy Spirit is a person who restrains evil in the world, convicts men of sin, regenerates those who trust Christ as Savior, baptizes them into the body of Christ, indwells them permanently, seals them unto the day of redemption, bestows spiritual gifts on each one and fills those yielded to Him. The Father sent his Spirit to bear witness to his Son; without his witness ours is futile. Conviction of sin, faith in Christ, new birth and Christian growth are all his work. Further, the Holy Spirit is a missionary spirit; thus evangelism should arise spontaneously from a Spirit-filled church. A church that is not a missionary church is contradicting itself and quenching the Spirit.
(John 16:7-11; 3:8; I Corinthians 12:4-11; 13:8; John 14:16-17; Ephesians 4:30; 5:18; I Corinthians 14:22-24; Hebrews 2:4; I John 5:14-15; James 5:15-16)

THE ANGELS

We believe that angels are Spiritual beings which were created sinless. Presently angels exist in both fallen and unfallen states, the former state including Satan and his demons. We believe that Satan is a created being who is the enemy of God and all Christians.
(Hebrews 1:13-14; II Peter 2:4; Isaiah 14:12-14; Genesis 3:1-19; Hebrews 2:14; Revelation 20:10)

MAN

We believe that man was created by God as a human being and that he did not evolve from a lower form of life. We believe that he was created in the image of God. Through their own choice Adam and Eve, the parents of the human race, fell and their sin has resulted in physical and spiritual death to themselves and their descendants. We believe that man is totally depraved, that is, in no way is he able to commend himself to God. He has inherited a sinful nature, is alienated from God and in need of salvation.
(Genesis 1:1; 27; Colossians 1:16-17; Genesis 2:17; 3:19; Ephesians 2:1-2)

SALVATION

We believe that salvation is the gift of God’s grace. It cannot be gained by meritorious work, but is freely bestowed upon all who put their faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ at Calvary. All who so trust the Savior are forgiven of their sins and born into the family of God by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. We also believe that the message of salvation implies also a message of judgment. When people receive Christ they are born again into his kingdom and must seek not only to exhibit but also to spread its righteousness in the midst of an unrighteous world. The salvation claimed should be transformational and visible in the totality of a believer’s personal and social responsibilities. Faith without works is dead.
(Ephesians 2:8- 9; 1:17-20; John 1:12; Romans 10:9-10)

SECURITY, ASSURANCE AND RESPONSIBILITY

We believe that all the saved — those in whom God has accomplished His transforming work of grace — are kept by His power and are thus secure in Christ forever. It is their privilege to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation. However, this assurance is not the occasion for sin, for God in holiness cannot tolerate persistent sin in His children, and in infinite love He corrects them. True faith in Christ is expressed by a fruitful, God-pleasing life. We affirm that God is both the Creator and the Judge of all men. We therefore should share his concern for justice and reconciliation throughout human society and for the liberation of men and women from every kind of oppression. Because men and women are made in the image of God, every person, regardless of race, religion, colour, culture, class, sex or age, has an intrinsic dignity because of which he or she should be respected and served, not exploited.
(John 10:27-29; Romans 8:29-39; I John 5:13; Hebrews 12:6; Matthew 7:20; James 2:20)

SPIRITUAL CONFLICT

We believe that we are engaged in constant spiritual warfare with the principalities and powers of evil, who are seeking to overthrow the Church and frustrate its task of world evangelization. We know our need to equip ourselves with God’s armour and to fight this battle with the spiritual weapons of truth and prayer. For we detect the activity of our enemy, not only in false ideologies outside the Church, but also inside it in false gospels which twist Scripture and put people in the place of God. We need both watchfulness and discernment to safeguard the biblical gospel.
(Ephesians 6:12; 2 Corinthians 4:3,4; Ephesians 6:11,13-18; 2 Corinthians 10:3-5)

THE CHURCH

We believe that the universal church, the body of Christ, is a spiritual entity composed of all genuine Christians. A believer becomes a member of the body of Christ by the work of the Holy Spirit the moment he accepts Christ as his personal Savior.
(I Corinthians 12:13; Romans 8:9, 16; Colossians 1:18).

We believe that the church is an assembly of professing Christians who voluntarily join together in one accord to worship God, study the Bible, observe the ordinances, practice Christian fellowship, pray, evangelize the lost and be equipped for Christian service.
(Acts 2:42-47; I Corinthians 1:1-2; Ephesians 4:11-13)

The Church’s mission of sacrificial service, evangelism is central. World evangelization requires the whole Church to take the whole gospel to the whole world. The Church is at the very centre of God’s cosmic purpose and is his appointed means of spreading the gospel. But a church which preaches the cross must itself be marked by the cross.

ORDINANCES

We believe that Christ instituted the ordinances of water baptism and the Lord’s Supper which are to be observed until He returns and that these are the only ordinances He so appointed. By water baptism a believer identifies himself publicly with Christ and His people. Water baptism is intended to be for believers only.

THE LORD’S SUPPER

The Lord’s Supper is a sacred ordinance instituted by Christ as a memorial of His sacrificial death. The bread and the cup are symbolic of His body, which was broken for us, and His blood, which was shed for the remission of sins. This observance serves as a solemn reminder of Christ’s atonement, and a proclamation of His death until He comes again. Participation in the Lord’s Supper is both a privilege and a responsibility. Every believer is encouraged to partake in this ordinance regularly as an act of worship and obedience. However, Scripture warns that one should only approach the table in a manner that honors Christ, examining his heart before partaking (1 Corinthians 11:27-29). The Lord’s Supper is to be observed until He returns, at which time we will partake with Him in His kingdom (Matthew 26:29, Matthew 28:19-20; Romans 6:1-14; I Corinthians 11:23-26).

BAPTISM

Our belief and practice on baptism are based according to the scripture, as follows:

a) Baptism is a command of Christ.
In His Great Commission, Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20). Following this instruction of Christ is at the heart of developing as one of His followers.

b) Baptism is for Believers.
Baptism is an act of obedience following a person’s profession of faith in Jesus Christ. It is an outward demonstration of saving faith. In Christ’s Great Commission and in the history book of the early church, baptism follows a profession of faith (e.g., Acts 2:41, 8:12-13, and 18:8). A person must first trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and then be baptized. For this reason, we do not baptize infants. We do encourage parents to publicly dedicate their children to the Lord.

c) Baptism is a public identification with Christ and the church.
After a person has trusted in Christ, the physical act of baptism serves as a public symbol of identification with his or her crucified, buried, and risen Savior. The Apostle Paul explains that going into the water enables us to identify with the burial of Christ, and coming out of the water enables us to identify with the resurrection of Christ (Romans 6:1-11, Colossians 2:12). Baptism is also a public sign of fellowship and identification with the Church—the visible Body of Christ (Acts 2:41-42).

d) Baptism is by immersion in water.
While some believers practice sprinkling or pouring, we hold to baptism by immersion for several reasons: ●

• The word “baptize” (Greek: baptizo) is to dip or immerse.
• The New Testament, immersion is implied. “Jesus was baptized “in the Jordan” and that he came “up out of the water” (Mark 1:9-10).
• In the book of Acts, both Philip and the Ethiopian went “down into the water and Philip baptized him”; then they “came up out of the water…” (8:38-39).
• John the Baptist baptized “At Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were constantly coming and being baptized (John 3:23).
• The believer’s identification with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ implies immersion (Romans 6:1-11, Colossians 2:12)

e) Baptism is not necessary for salvation.
The Bible is clear that the act of baptism does not make a person a believer. Neither is it a “second step” that completes our position in Christ. Scripture states that a person is saved by grace alone through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). The moment a person trusts in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, he or she is and will forever be a child of God (Romans 10:9, John 10:28-30, Romans 8:28-39). The thief on the cross was not baptized, and yet Jesus promised him, “…today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:39-43).

f) Baptism is an act of obedience.
In short, baptism is an act of obedience. Based on our understanding of Scripture, we believe that the New Testament practice of baptism is for believers by immersion in water upon their profession of faith in Jesus Christ. Although it is not necessary for salvation, it is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in the crucified, buried and risen Savior. It symbolizes the believer’s union with Christ in death to sin and resurrection to new life. It is a public sign of fellowship and identification with the church.

THE FUTURE

We believe that Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly, in power and glory, to consummate his salvation and his judgment. This promise of his coming is a further spur to our evangelism, for we remember his words that the gospel must first be preached to all nations.
We believe that the souls of believers in Jesus Christ pass immediately into His presence at death and remain there in conscious bliss until the resurrection of the body at His coming for His Church, when soul and body will be reunited and joined with Him forever. We believe that after death the souls of unbelievers remain in conscious misery in Hades until the final judgment of the Great White Throne when soul and body reunited shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to be punished with everlasting separation from the presence of the Lord. We believe in a literal heaven and a literal hell (Luke 16:19-26; 23:43; II Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; II Thessalonians 1:7-9; Revelation 20:11-15).

CONCLUSION

In the light of our faith, we resolve, to pray, to plan and to work together for the growth of Dimapur Christian Fellowship, the wider Church in Nagaland, and the evangelization of the whole world. May God help us by his grace, and for his glory, to be faithful to our goals! Amen, Alleluia!