As you attend Joy Church, you will discover our love for the integrity of the Word of God. In order to unlock everything your future holds, you must allow God’s Word to be your daily compass. The Bible says that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.
Below you will discover statements of faith concerning what we believe. These statements are important. They are fundamental to sound biblical teaching. You can feel comfortable at Joy Church because our teaching is grounded in the Word of God. We will teach these truths in practical, easy to understand and applicable ways.
Although our methods of communicating these truths may vary from time to time, you can be assured that our message will never change. I hope by reading these statements you will be strengthened while here at Joy Church.
– Pastor Jim Frease
What We Believe:
The church accepts the Scriptures as the revealed Will of God, the all sufficient rule of faith and practice, and for the purpose of maintaining general unity, adopts these Statements of Fundamental Truths and Doctrine.
The Scriptures Inspired:
The Bible is the inspired Word of God, a revelation from God to man, the infallible rule of faith and conduct, and is superior to conscience and reason, but not contrary to reason (2 Timothy 3:15-17; 1 Peter 1:23-25; Hebrews 4:12).
The One True Godhead:
The triune Godhead is comprised of 3 separate and distinct personalities, The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit, who are eternally self-existent, self-revealed and function as one entity. Jesus Christ, who is God manifested in the flesh, is the second member of the Godhead, co-equal and co-eternal with The Father and The Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:13-17).
Man, His Fall and Redemption:
Man was created good and upright, for God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our Likeness.” But man, by voluntary transgression, fell and his only hope of redemption is in Jesus Christ the Son of God (Genesis 1:26-31, 3:1-7; Romans 5:12-21).
The Salvation of Man:
(a) Man’s only hope of redemption is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:7). In His substitutionary atoning work for us, Jesus Christ lived the life that we could not live and he died the death that we deserved. He did this as our substitute (2 Corinthians 5:21).
We believe that those who have made Jesus their Lord have been justified freely by His Grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:24). We believe that we are saved by grace through faith and that is a gift of God and not of works lest any man should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). The Bible tells us “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart – that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation” (Romans 10:8-10).
(b) The Evidences of Salvation. The inward evidence, to the believer of his salvation, is the direct witness of the Spirit (Romans 8:16). The outward evidence to all men is a life of righteousness and true holiness. “And this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us” (1 John 3:23).
(c) Faith and Works. Salvation is by Faith in Jesus Christ and not by human works; however, our works will determine the rewards in eternity (Romans 10:9-10; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5-7; Romans 14:10-12; 1 Corinthians 3:10-15; and 2 Corinthians 5:10).
Baptism in Water:
The ordinance of Baptism by a burial with Christ should be observed as commanded in the Scriptures by all who have really repented and in their hearts have truly believed on Christ as Savior and Lord. In so doing, they declare to the world that they have died with Jesus and that they have also been raised with Him to walk in newness of life (Matt.28:19; Acts 10:47,48; Romans 6:4).
The Lord’s Supper:
“And when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, `This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. ‘In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ ” Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup (I Cor.11:24, 25, 28).
The Holy Spirit:
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, co-equal with Jesus and the Father in the Godhead. We believe the Holy Spirit, who came forth from the Father and Son, convicts the world of sin and promotes righteousness and judgement. The Holy Spirit is our omnipresent, omnipotent helper, comforter, and guide to all who believe in Jesus. (John 14:16-17, 26; 15:26-27; John 16:9-14; Romans 8:9; I Corinthians 3:16, 6:19; Galatians 5:22-26).
Baptism in the Holy Spirit:
The baptism in the Holy Spirit, as promised by Jesus to all believers, is a gift received subsequent to new birth (salvation). The baptism in the Holy Spirit empowers the Christian to be His witness (Acts 1:8). We believe the evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues. (Acts 1:5-8; 2:1-4; 10:44-47; 19:1-6).
The Church:
The Church is the body of Christ, the habitation of God through the Spirit, with divine appointments for the fulfillment of her great commission. Each believer, born of the Spirit, is an integral part of the general assembly and church of the first born, which are written in Heaven (Eph. 1:22; 2:19-22; Hebrews 12:23).
Divine Healing:
We believe that divine healing is provided for in the atonement, and it is the privilege of every believer (Isaiah 53:4-5, Matthew 8:17, 1 Peter 2:24).
Blessed Hope:
Jesus is coming again to gather all His Saints to Heaven (I Cor. 15:51-52; I Thess.4:16-17 and II Thess. 2:1).
Heaven and Hell are Real Places
Heaven is literal. We believe that those who have repented of their sins and have made Jesus the Lord of their lives will gain eternal access into Heaven (John 14:1-3; Revelation 21:1-4; Matthew 25:21).
We believe that Hell is a real place and those who physically die in their sins without Christ are hopelessly and eternally lost in Hell (Matthew 25:41-46; Luke 12:4-5; Matthew 10:28), and eventually the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:11-15), with no further opportunity of hearing the Gospel or repenting.
Hell is literal. The terms “eternal” and “everlasting” used in describing the duration of the punishment of the damned in Hell carry the same thought and meaning of endless existence as used in denoting the duration of joy of the saints in the presence of God (Hebrews 9:27; Revelation 19:20; Matthew 25:46).
The question is not “Why would a loving God send someone to Hell?” We believe the right question is “Why would you not receive what a loving God has done in the person and work of Jesus Christ so that you don’t have to go there?” God is love (1 John 4:8). He is also a holy and righteous judge (Psalm 89:14).
The Millennial Reign of Jesus:
The return of our Lord Jesus Christ with His Saints from Heaven to rule and reign for one thousand years on the earth as the Scriptures promised (Romans 11:25-27; II Thess. 1:7; Rev. 19:11-16; 20:1-7). After this, there shall be a new heaven and a new earth (Rev.21).