Bible

Statement of Faith

Far Reaching Ministries (FRM) believes in all the fundamental doctrines of orthodox evangelical Christianity. FRM is non-denominational and is committed to work with all Christian churches regardless of their denomination.  FRM believes that according to the Bible, the church is a collection of persons professing faith in the person of Jesus Christ, not a building or organization.

Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all…For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are still only one body, so also is Christ…Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. – 1 Corinthians 12:4-6, 12, 27

 

For as we have many members in one body, but all members do not have the same function, so we being many are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them. – Romans 12:4-6

FRM believes in the inerrancy of the Scripture and that the Bible, both the Old Testament and New Testament, are the inspired, infallible Word of God, inerrant in the original writings, and that as a whole it is the sole authority governing human behavior. FRM seeks to utilize the Word of God in such a way that its message can be applied to any individual’s life and that it is profitable for doctrine, reproof, guidance, and decision-making, thus leading that person to greater maturity in Christ.

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. – 2 Timothy 3:15-16

 

For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God who spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. – 2 Peter 1:21

 

For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. – Romans 15:4

FRM believes that God the Father is the Personal, Transcendent, and Sovereign Creator of all things in the universe.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, and every winged bird…God made the beast of the field, cattle, and everything that creeps on the earth…God created man in His own image; male and female He created them. – Genesis 1:1, 21, 25, 27

 

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. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. – Colossians 1:16-17

FRM believes in the doctrine of the Trinity. That God is eternally existent and has manifested Himself in three distinct persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit.

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! – Deuteronomy 6:4

 

Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, and His Redeemer, the Lord of Hosts: “I am the First and I am the Last; besides Me there is no God.” – Isaiah 44:6

 

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…And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. – John 1:1-3, 14

FRM believes in the deity of Jesus Christ and that He is fully God and fully man.

Jesus said, “I and My Father are one.” Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, “Many good works have I shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?” The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make yourself God.” Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, Ye are gods?’ If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? If I do not the works of My Father, do not believe me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe, that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.” – John 10:30-38 (chapter 10, verse 30-38, Gospel of John)

 

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it something to be held onto to be equal with God, but emptied Himself of His privileges, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. – Philippians 2:5-8

FRM believes that Jesus was born of a virgin.

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel. – Isaiah 7:14

 

And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And, behold, you shall conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give Him the throne of His father David. And He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end”. Then said Mary to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born shall be called the Son of God. – Luke 1:30-34

FRM believes that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life.

For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. – Hebrews 4:15

 

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. – 2 Corinthians 5:21

FRM believes that Jesus Christ performed many miracles during His life as recorded in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

FRM believes that Jesus provided vicarious atonement for our sins through His death on the cross.

Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all. – Isaiah 53:4-6

 

But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man. – Hebrews 2:9

 

For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. – Hebrews 10:14

 

FRM believes that Jesus Christ was resurrected bodily by the power of the Holy Spirit. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead enables us to be dead to sin and alive to God.

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 Peter, then by the twelve. After that, he was seen by over five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen by James; then by all the apostles. Then last of all he was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. – 1 Corinthians 15:3-8

 

As many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death. Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of God the Father, even so we should walk in the newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died with Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey its lusts.

 

And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law but under grace. – Romans 6:3-14

FRM believes that Jesus Christ ascended into heaven and is presently seated at the right hand of God the Father.

According to the working of his mighty power which he worked in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. – Ephesians 1:19-20

FRM believes that after Jesus ascended to Heaven, He poured out His Holy Spirit upon the believers in Jerusalem and promised to give the same power to all who believe in Him throughout the ages. The empowering of the Holy Spirit enables us to fulfill His command to preach the gospel to the entire world and obey His Word in our everyday life situations.

But you shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth. – Acts 1:8

 

Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call. – Acts 2:38-39

FRM believes that God’s love (Agape) can be evidenced in our lives as the fruit of the Holy Spirit and that our relationships with others can be enhanced, healed, restored and, edified when we display that love toward them.

The fruit of the Spirit is love. – Galatians 5:22

 

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. – 1 John 4:7-8 (chapter 4, verses 7-8, First Epistle of John)

 

And above all have a fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins. – 1 Peter 4:8

FRM believes that God desires to have a personal, intimate relationship with us through His Son Jesus Christ. Therefore, we do all we can to further that intimacy through worship, prayer, fellowship, obedience to, and the receiving of the Word of God.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believes on him is not condemned: but he that believes not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. – John 3:16-19

 

Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in heaven – Matthew 10:29-31

 

For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. – 1 Timothy 2:5

FRM believes that because God is holy, and because of our sin nature, all people are initially separated from God, yet accountable to Him for their own sin. However, salvation, redemption, and the forgiveness of sin are freely offered to all by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. When a person confesses his/her sin to the Lord Jesus, repents of sin, and accepts Christ’s free gift of salvation, they can be saved. Once a person trusts that Christ’s finished work on the cross is the only way to be saved and go to heaven, that person is immediately “born again.” At salvation he/she is sealed with the Holy Spirit, all his/her sins are forgiven, and that person becomes a child of God, destined to spend eternity in heaven with the Lord.

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. – Romans 3:23

 

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. – Romans 6:23

 

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. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made to salvation… For whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. – Romans 10:9-10, 13

 

In whom you also trusted, after that you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that you believed, you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. – Ephesians 1:13

 

But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. – Galatians 4:4-7

FRM believes that a person is saved (as described above), by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. No amount of good works or moral behavior can gain passage into heaven.

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. – Ephesians 2:8-9

 

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit; which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior; that being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.  – Titus 3:5-7

FRM believes that every person who has not been “born again” will one day stand before the judgment seat of Christ, to give an account to God for all his deeds, both good and bad. All will have fallen short of God’s holy standards and will spend an eternity in hell because they refused to accept Christ’s free gift of salvation.

The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the Day of Judgment to be punished. – 2 Peter 2:9

 

And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. – Revelation 20:12

 

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. – 2 Corinthians 5:10

 

For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ… then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. – Romans 14:10, 12

FRM believes that “born again” believers will one day stand before the Lord Jesus Christ to receive crowns or rewards for their service to the Lord here on earth and that those who have been found faithful will rule and reign with Christ in His everlasting kingdom.

Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. – 1 Corinthians 3:13-15

 

For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. – Matthew 16:27

 

And whatsoever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not to men; knowing that of the Lord you shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for you serve the Lord Christ. – Colossians 3:23-24