What does Bethel Apostolic Church believe?
The Bible
The Bible is the inspired Word Of God. It gives a true history of the creation of the heavens, the earth, and of mankind. Furthermore, there is no salvation outside of that which is contained within its pages.
God
There is only ONE GOD: the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and of all mankind. This One God, the I AM.
- God is a Spirit (John 4:24)
- The Eternal One, the Creator of all things, and of all men. Thus making Him our Father (through creation) (Malachi 2:10).
- The LORD is the FIRST and the LAST, and beside Him there is no God (Isa. 44:6)
- There was no GOD FORMED before him, neither shall there be after Him (Isa. 43:10).
- Jesus is the SON of God according to the flesh (Rom 1:3).
- Jesus is the very God Himself according to the Spirit (Matt. 1:18-23).
- Jesus is the Christ (Matt. 16:16).
- Jesus is the Creator of all things (Col. 1:16, 17; Jn.1:10; Isa.40:28).
- Jesus is God with us (Matt. 1:23).
- Jesus is God made flesh (John 1:1-14).
- Jesus is God manifested in the flesh (1 Tim. 3:16). Jesus is He which was, which is, and which is to come, THE ALMIGHTY (Rev. 1:8; Isa. 9:6). To this, Jesus Himself testified when He said: "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father" (John 14:7-11).
Since it took shedding of blood for the remission (forgiveness) of the sins of the world (Heb. 9:22), God as the Father, being a Spirit, had no blood to shed; so He prepared a body of flesh and blood (Heb. 10:5), that He might fulfill the prophecy of Isa.43:11, "Beside ME there is no SAVIOUR". Thus, when Jesus was born into the world, he was Jehovah our Saviour (that is the meaning of the name Jesus), the one God of the universe, the Lord God Almighty, born as a man. This caused the angels to sing, "For there is born this day in the city of David, a SAVIOUR, which is CHRIST THE LORD" (Luke 2:11).
The Holy Ghost is not the third person in the Godhead! The Holy Ghost is the Spirit, Jesus Christ coming to dwell in the hearts and lives of those who receive him. That is why, when speaking of the Spirit, Jesus said "I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you" (John 14:16-26; Rom 8:9; 2 Cor.13:5). So, THERE ARE NOT THREE PERSONS IN GOD, but multiple manifestations of the ONE GOD. God is the Saviour, and his saving name is now revealed to men as JESUS. Therefore JESUS is the name of God. SALVATION consists of deliverance from sin through the blood of Christ. This is accomplished by REPENTANCE from sin, WATER BAPTISM IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST for the remission (forgiveness) of sins, and receiving the BAPTISM OF THE HOLY GHOST with the evidence of speaking in other tongues, and the continuance of a godly life (Acts 2:26-41).
Salvation
The Bible tells us that sin is a result of yielding to the weakness of the flesh. James 1:13-15 says, "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death."
GOOD NEWS! Sin is a fatal disease that is 100% curable! Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
On the Day of Pentecost the Apostle Peter, having been given the "Keys to the Kingdom," (Matthew 16: 16-19), and having been promised the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost (Luke 24:46-49, Acts 1:1-8), and having received the promised Holy Ghost (Acts 2:1-4), was empowered to preach the first message of the New Covenant Dispensation (Acts 2:14-40). Peter concluded this first message of salvation by exposing the weakness (sin) of the people. In verse 36 of Acts 2 Peter said, "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ."
These people responded as we must respond. They took responsibility for the weakness (sin) of their flesh: "Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? (Acts 2:37)
The Apostle Peter responded by letting them know how to deal with their sin. "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. (Acts 2:38-39)
What must we do when the weakness of the flesh, sin, is revealed? The ever changing opinions of morality generated by the heart of society will not be the standard we will be judged against. The standard we must study to learn and apply to our lives is the Word of God, the Holy Bible. Apply the standard of the Word of God to your life. Accept the Plan of Salvation that the Apostle Peter preached to the Jews first in Jerusalem, and also to the Gentiles beginning with the household of Cornelius as recorded in the 10th chapter of The Acts of the Apostles.
Repent of your sins. That is, acknowledge your weakness (sin) and confess to it to God, asking for forgiveness; purpose in your heart by the grace and help of Jesus Christ, the LORD and Savior, to change your lifestyle.
Having repented, in obedience to God's holy Word, acknowledge the death of the old nature by burying it by faith with Christ. Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. Romans 6:4 "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." Is being baptized in the name of Jesus Christ a necessity? Acts 4:12 says, "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." By taking on the name of Jesus Christ in baptism, you will be fulfilling and not just repeating the Great Commission that the LORD Jesus Christ gave to His disciples as recorded in Matthew 28:18-20.
As a result of your repentance and baptism in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, the Word of God declares that God will fill you with the Holy Ghost. The evidence of this in-filling will be confirmed by the sign of each believer speaking in tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance. (Acts 1:5,8; Acts 2:4; Acts 10:44-48; Acts 11:15-18; Acts 19:1-6)
Healing
We believe that healing is available today. As the prophet Isaiah prophesied, Jesus, our Savior, received the stripes on His back for our healing. We believe that divine healing is available to every believer by the laying on of hands, anointing with oil, and the prayer of faith by the Elders of the church. The Scripture declares: “And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.” (James 5:15) In every service, there is an opportunity for those who are ill to call for the elders of the church and be anointed with oil and receive prayer. (Psalm 103:2-3; Isaiah 53:5; Matthew 8:16-17; Mark 16:17-18; Acts 8:6-7; James 5:14-16; Acts 19: 11–12; 1 Corinthians 12:9, 28)
Heaven
We believe that a person’s eternal destination is determined by their response to the Lord Jesus Christ. Heaven is a literal place reserved for those who have obeyed the Gospel message and are living a holy life. (Matt. 5:3, 12, 20; 6:20, 19:21, 25:34; John 14:1–3, 17:24; 2 Cor. 5:1; Heb. 11:16; 1 Peter 1:4; Heb. 9:27; Rev. 19:20)
Hell
Scripture describes Hell as “everlasting fire,” “torment,” “wrath,” and “lake of fire.” We believe Hell is a literal place of eternal separation from God. (Mat. 25:41; Mark 9:43-48; Heb. 9:27; Rev. 14:9-11, 20:12-15, 21:8)
