FRONTLINES MINISTRIES

Established 10/22/2020

The following statement from Frontlines Ministries is intended to serve as our core doctrinal beliefs. This statement is categorically non-exhaustive but does show a theological framework by which our core affirmations regarding the central doctrines of the Christian faith are shown. 

The Bible

We believe that the only way we know the true and living God is through His Son, as revealed to us in the Bible. We believe the Bible, composed of both the Old and New Testaments, was authored by God and, through divine inspiration, written by men. It is completely sufficient and trustworthy, free from error in the original manuscripts and reveals the way by which we are to relate to God, man, and this world. Due to the sufficiency of scripture, we believe by it, we are given all the principles to live a godly life and endure every form of suffering and affliction in life. Therefore, we also believe that the Bible serves as our primary and final authority on all matters of life and doctrine.

Counseling Philosophy

Biblical counseling is practiced from the understanding that the Bible is authoritative, sufficient and relevant (2 Timothy 3:16). Therefore, God’s word is the source of wisdom to help treat the numerous conditions that plague mankind’s soul as it is the only source that contains spiritual power to transform the human heart (Hebrews 4:12). The goal of biblical counseling is to proclaim Christ by applying the knowledge and work of Christ to specific life struggles and to promote heart transformation to the glory of God and for the good of the counselee (Colossians 1:28, 1 Thessalonians 5:11, Psalm 86:11). Effective biblical counseling can address all matters pertaining to life and godliness (2 Peter 3-4) presenting men and women, by God’s grace and power, mature in Christ (Col. 1:28).

Biblical counselors weigh the observations of science and philosophy yet understand that God’s grace in Christ is the only true cure for the human condition (1 Timothy 4:7-9; 5:23). While other scientific and philosophic inquiries can provide helpful observations about the functioning of man, we believe that these need to be interpreted by the truth of Scripture (Romans 12:2). 

God

We believe in one living and true God as revealed to us in the Bible. He is all mankind's eternal - having no beginning or end - Creator who sovereignly reigns over all things. He is holy, perfect, and righteous in His character and all His ways. He is also merciful, humble, and loving in His character and all of His ways. He is not a passive God but rather one who is intimately involved in life.

We believe that God has revealed Himself to us as three distinct persons who have eternally existed together - God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Each is fully God, equally possessing all of the perfections of deity while executing their distinct and harmonious roles in His great work of redemption. The Triune God is redeeming a people for Himself according to His good and eternal purposes, to the glory of His name.

People

We believe that God created people in His own image, giving all people inherent value. We believe He created Adam and Eve, distinctly male and female, declaring them “very good.” God created them, as image bearers, to reflect their Creator and bring glory to His name. Man was created with both physical body and spiritual soul, material and immaterial. These qualities are united in the person as well as interdependent from each other. Man and woman were created with a conscience, being able to discern good and evil, and having the capacity to think, feel, act and relate to God and to His creation. They were created to enjoy perfect fellowship with God and commissioned by God to care and keep His creation as God’s servants.

Marriage, Gender, Sexuality

We believe that God created all people in His image, both male and female, with inherent dignity and value and that gender is a gift and unchangeable part of His creation and consistent with the God-appointed biological sex (Genesis 1:27). We also believe that God designed and established marriage as a gift to display the sacrificial love between Christ and His church (Ephesians 5:22-33). We believe that marriage is the only place for sexual expression and procreation between one man and one woman (Genesis 2:24). As a result, we believe that any departure from God’s design of gender and/or marriage is wrong and sinful (Romans 1:22-32). We believe that God has communicated His will about marriage, gender and sexuality, and we trust that His will is also for our good.

Sin

We believe that our first parents, Adam and Eve, were created with innocence, but voluntarily rebelled against God and brought sin into the world. As a result, all people since are born as sinners, inheriting the condemnation of their first parents, Adam and Eve. We believe that although all people retain the image of God, possess a conscience, and are capable of doing relative moral good, they are sinners, not possessing the needed holiness for salvation in their being or their works. By nature, they are sinners, with hearts inclined toward evil rather than good, replacing true worship of their creator for worship of idols and created things. Their hearts’ thoughts, feelings and actions are distorted and perverse from their original design. All people are, apart from God’s grace, unable to turn to God and are under condemnation to eternal punishment. Therefore, people’s supreme need is to be reconciled to God through the grace of God.

Salvation

We believe that salvation for sinners is possible, but only by the grace of God through the work of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the meditator of a New Covenant between God and humanity. He is both God and fully man. At His incarnation, He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, and lived a sinless life in obedience to the Father. He suffered, died on the cross, rose from the dead, and is now enthroned in heaven as High Priest for those who come to God through Him. In His death, He made full atonement for our sins and became the perfect sacrificial substitute, absorbing the full wrath of God, forgiving our sins, and adopting into the family of God any who repent of their sin and believe in Him. This message of salvation is known as the Gospel. 

We believe this salvation is a gift of God by grace and received through faith alone in the person and work of Christ in atoning for sin. We believe that salvation refers to redeeming God’s people from sin and its penalty, power, and finally its presence upon Christ’s return, while imputing to His people the righteousness of Jesus Christ, with all of the glorious benefits of adoption in His family.

Sanctification

We believe that sanctification refers to God’s work of setting apart a believer for His use. This begins in the past when believers are chosen, referred to as “definite sanctification.” “Progressive sanctification” is a process of being conformed, from one degree of glory to another, into the image of Jesus Christ. It begins at regeneration and continues in the hearts and lives of believers by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, through the Word of God, in the communion of the saints, until they see Christ. The continuum of sanctification ends at glorification when the believer is made like Christ and the presence of sin is fully and finally removed for eternity. Believers find hope for all the pains of progressive sanctification in a fallen, sin-stained world, by being reminded of God’s work in the past (definite sanctification) and future (glorification) sanctifying events.

Church

We believe that the Church is the communion of God’s people drawn from every tribe, language, people, and nation throughout all the ages, united to one another by the power of the Holy Spirit. We believe that the local church is the primary means of God’s rule and reign on earth as the church is marked by gathering under the preaching of God’s word and the faithful administration of the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We believe that every true believer should be an active member in a local assembly where believers are mutually encouraged, equipped for the work of the ministry, and empowered to grow into Christ’s image through corporate worship, fellowship, discipleship, and stewardship. We believe that the local church is the primary method that God uses to evangelize the lost as church members scatter to their homes, neighborhoods, workplaces, and to the nations sowing seeds of the Gospel. The church is where individual’s progressive sanctification occurs as believers relationally minister God’s word to one another, speaking truth in love, encouraging, exhorting and comforting one another for the purpose of conformity to Christ.

Eternal State

We believe that Jesus Christ will return bodily to consummate His kingdom. He will descend from heaven, raise the dead from the grave, and bring all people to judgment. At that point, there will be a separation where the unjust will be sentenced to endless conscious punishment in hell, while the just will be rewarded with endless conscious joy in the new heavens and new earth. The just will have received that reward by standing faultless before God through the obedience, suffering, and triumph of Christ. God’s people will have eternal life in the new heavens and new earth and live in everlasting joy to the glory of God.