LBC’s statement of faith

Statement of faith (official version)

Bible
We believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, inerrant in its original texts, and the highest authority for the life and faith of every Christian.

God the Father
We believe in one God in three Persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – the Creator of all the universe.

God the Son
We believe that Jesus Christ is the true God and true man, who (as Man) was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He offered himself as a substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of the people and died on the cross according to Scripture. He physically rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and is seated on the right hand of the Father as our High Priest and Intercessor.

God the Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is true God, whose ministry is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ and, in this age, to convict people, regenerate the sinner who believed and indwell, guide, instruct and strengthen the believer in his life and service for God.

Man
We believe that man was created in the image of God, but fell into sin and was separated from God. Only by personal faith in Jesus Christ and spiritual regeneration through the Holy Spirit can he receive salvation and spiritual life.

Christ’s substitutionary death
We believe that only Christ’s substitutionary death and His resurrection make justification and salvation possible for everyone who receives Jesus Christ by faith, and is thus born of the Holy Spirit, becoming a child of God.

Church and its rituals
We believe that the true church is constituted of all people who have believed in Jesus Christ and have been spiritually regenerated by the Holy Spirit. They are united into the Body of Christ, the head over which is Christ Himself.

We believe that water baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and the laying on of hands by the ministers are the rituals that the church should observe today. However, no ritual of any kind can in any way save a person. We believe that Jesus Christ is the Lord and the Head of the Church and that every local church, under Christ’s leadership, has the right to decide and govern its own affairs.

Eschatology (prophecies regarding the future)
We believe that Jesus Christ will come before the onset of the Millennial Kingdom, and that this blessed hope is vitally important to the life and ministry of every believer, who, at the Judgment Seat of Christ, will be judged according to his works and may receive rewards.

We believe in the bodily resurrection of the dead; believers–unto eternal blessing and joy with the Lord, and unbelievers–unto judgment and eternal punishment.

May, 13, 2009
L’viv bible church “Word of God”

The Apostles Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day He rose again. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic [universal] Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

January, 6, 2011
L’viv Bible Church “Word of God”

Other doctrinal positions

The “Word of God” Church is an independent evangelical, fundamentally dispensational, premillennial, pretribulational community of believing Christians. The foundation of the church’s statement of faith is the infallibility of the original texts of the Bible and the existence of God in Three Persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The church believes and teaches that God, by extraordinary means, preserved His Word in the copies of the original manuscripts.

We understand the Gospel to be the good news that Jesus Christ, the true and eternal Son of God, Lord and Savior, became flesh, that is, came down to this earth in the body of a common man, lived a completely righteous life, but of his own free will died on a Roman cross on Golgotha for the sins of all the people of the world, and rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures. In order to receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life, it is both needful and sufficient for a person to believe the Gospel, that is, in the case of his own personal salvation to put his hope only in the work of Jesus Christ, and not in his own works, merits, prayers, religious traditions, offerings, or affiliation to a certain religious group or denomination. God calls every believer to receive water baptism, to do good works, to testify of his faith, to attend the services of a local church, to serve God and others with his gifts and talents, and to shun sin. However, none of these works are in any way a condition of his eternal salvation.

We believe that God sometimes uses the word “salvation” in the sense of progressive practical sanctification. In that sense our salvation from the effects of sin (sanctification) truly depends upon our thoughts, words and actions. We believe that the Holy Spirit motivates a person to live uprightly, growing in the knowledge of God, but that this kind of holy life is only possible when the individual lives in cooperation with God.

The church performs water baptism after conversion by full immersion in water. Water baptism is not a prerequisite to salvation, but an instruction of Jesus Christ for everyone who has believed. Water baptism is an outward testimony to the church and the world of one’s salvation. The church disagrees with the practice of infant baptism.

Each month the church “Word of God” receives communion, i.e., the Lord’s Supper, and considers its elements to be symbols of the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ.

The church “Word of God” teaches that the rapture of the Church shall happen before the beginning of the seven-year period of the great tribulation, which shall end with the second coming of Jesus Christ and establishment of the millennial reign of Christ on the earth. The teaching of the church disagrees with supersessionism, highlighting the fact that the Jews remain God’s chosen nation and shall play an important role in the end times. Israel and the Church are two different entities.

At present, the administration of the church “Word of God” is presbyterian, i.e., the authority belongs to one presbyter, who, according to the Bible, performs the functions of the pastor and bishop. In the future, a presbyterial-congregational government is a possibility, in which the authority in the church is distributed between the council of presbyters (elders) and the congregation (church community). The church is an independent community, i.e., no minister of another church has authority over this local church and its ministers.

The church observes the principle of separation of the church from the state.

The preaching in the church “Word of God” is usually expositional (i.e., verse by verse, chapter by chapter) and topical.

Concerning election, the church teaches both the election of the Church as a whole, as well as the individual election of each Christian before the creation of the world on the basis of God’s omniscience. The church disagrees with the teaching of unconditional election. The church teaches that each person, believer or not, has a free will, although the unbeliever is a slave of sin and Satan, and this means that his free will is very limited. The church teaches unlimited atonement, i.e., that Jesus Christ died for the sins of the entire world, for believers and unbelievers. The work of the Holy Spirit can be limited by a person, since such limitations were the design of the Creator when he created man.

The church teaches that the Christian is eternally secure. Each person who has believed in Jesus Christ receives forgiveness from all sin, the second birth, individual reconciliation with God, fulfillment of redemption, adoption, the imputation of righteousness, propitiation, and is united into the universal Body of Christ. The behavior of the Christian can in no way change any aspect of his salvation. The church also believes that salvation in Bible is considered to have four meanings: physical salvation, positional salvation from the moment of belief, progressive sanctification, and eternal presence with the Lord in Heaven. The church also teaches that on the basis of the Bible, a Christian can and ought to have confidence in his salvation.

The church teaches the basics of dispensationalism: progressive revelation, the historical and grammatical interpretation of Scripture, the difference between Israel and the Church, and the existence of not less than 3 dispensations (ages), in each of which God gave certain revelations and requirements to humanity. The glory of God is the highest and the main purpose in the universe in all the ages, and the salvation of humanity is God’s goal within the framework of this main purpose.

The church teaches that the Sabbath is a sign between God and Israel, that the Church not obligated to fulfill this instruction, or any other instruction of the Law of Moses. Each Christian has the liberty to celebrate Sunday or any other day.

The church teaches that baptism of the Holy Spirit is a one-time event that happens instantly at the moment of salvation, however, the filling of the Holy Spirit can occur many times and depends on the life of the Christian. The church disagrees with the teaching that the gift of speaking in tongues is a sign of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The church teaches that an evil spirit cannot dwell in the body of the Christian.

The church holds the position that a woman cannot be a presbyter of the church and cannot teach men.

The church teaches that the practice of covering a woman’s head was a cultural feature of the church in Corinth, however, each modern church can follow its own understanding of this issue, and each Christian, who is a member of this church, should have a respectful and accepting attitude towards the understanding of this issue in his church.

The church believes and teaches that the family is God’s institution. According to the design of God, the wife is to obey her husband, as she obeys the Lord, respect and love him, and the husband is to love his wife, as Christ loved the Church, to take care of her as he takes care of his own body, and not to be harsh with her.

The church does not believe that financial success and physical health are indicators of a devout and godly life. The church believes that God can discipline the Christian through finances, sickness, and other methods; however, poverty and sickness are not always brought on by sinning.

The church teaches that God forbids Christians to marry non-Christians.

The church teaches that euthanasia (assisted suicide), abortion (the artificial termination of pregnancy via the destruction of the fetus) and same-sex marriage are sinful in God’s eyes.

December, 11, 2011,
L’viv Bible Church “Word of God”