STATEMENT OF FAITH

The Bible is the inspired Word of God. It is the product of holy men of old who spoke and wrote as they were moved by The Holy Spirit. We accept the New Covenant as recorded in the New Testament as our infallible guide in matters pertaining to conduct and doctrine (2 Tim. 3:16, 1 Thess. 2:13, 2 Peter 1:21).

Our God is one, but manifested in three persons; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, being co-equal (Phil 2:6). God, The Father, is greater than all: the sender of the Word (LOGOS) and the Begetter (John 14:28, John 16:28, John 1:14). The Son is the Word flesh-covered, the One Begotten, and has existed with the Father from the beginning (John 1:1, John 1:18, John 1:14). The Holy Spirit proceeds forth from both the Father and the Son and is eternal. (John 15:26).

Man is a created being made in the likeness and image of God, but through Adam’s transgression and fall, sin came into the world. “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” As it is written, “There is none righteous, no not one.” Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was manifested to undo the work of the devil and gave his life and shed His blood to redeem and restore man back to God (Rom. 5:14, Rom 3:10, Rom. 3:23, 1 John 3:8). Salvation is the gift of God to man, separate from works and the Law, and is made operative by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, producing works acceptable to God (Eph. 2:8).

The New Birth is man's first step toward salvation is godly sorrow that worketh repentance. The New Birth is necessary to all men, and when experienced, produces eternal life (2 Cor. 7:10, 1 John 5:12, John 3:3-5).  

Baptism in water by immersion is a direct commandment of our Lord and is for believers only. The ordinance is a symbol of the Christian’s identification with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection (Matt. 28:19, Rom. 6:4, Col. 2:12, Acts 8:36-39). The following recommendations regarding the water baptismal formula are adopted; to wit. “On the confession of your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and by the authority, I baptize you in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.”

The Baptism in The Holy Ghost and fire is a gift from God as promised by the Lord Jesus Christ to all believers in this dispensation and is received subsequent to the New Birth. This experience is accompanied by the initial evidence of speaking in other tongues as the Holy Spirit Himself gives utterance. (Matt. 3:11, John 14:16-17, Acts 1:9, Acts 2:38-39, Acts 19:1-7, Acts 2:4).

The Bible teaches that without holiness no man can see the Lord. We believe in the Doctrine of Sanctification as a definite, yet progressive work of grace, commencing at the time of regeneration and continuing until the consummation of salvation at Christ’s return (Heb. 12:14, 1 Thess. 5:23, 2 Peter 3:18, Phil. 3:12-14, 1 Cor. 1:30).

Healing is for the physical ills of the human body and is wrought by the power of God through the prayer of faith, and by the laying on of hands. It is provided for in the atonement of Christ, and is the privilege of every member of the Church today. (Mark 16:18, James 5:14-15, 1 Peter 2:24, Matt: 8:17, Isa. 53:4-5).

The angels said to Jesus’ disciples. “This same Jesus shall so come, in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.” His coming is imminent. When He comes, “…The dead in Christ shall rise first, then we which are alive and remain shall be caught together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air…” (Acts 1:11, 1 Thess. 4:16-17). Following the Tribulation, and His one thousand year reign (Rev. 20:6), He shall return to earth as King of kings and Lord of lords together with his saints, who shall be kings and priests.

The one who physically dies in his sins without accepting Christ is hopelessly and eternally lost in the Lake of Fire and therefore has no further opportunity of hearing the Gospel or repenting. The Lake of Fire is literal. The term “eternal” used in describing the duration of the punishment of the damned in the Lake of Fire carry the same thought and meaning of endless existence as used in denoting the duration of joy and ecstasy of the saints in the presence of God. (Heb. 9:27, Rev. 19:20).

The statement of faith does not exhaust the extent of our beliefs. The Bible itself, as the inspired and infallible Word of God, speaks with final authority concerning truth, morality, and the proper conduct of mankind. The Bible is the sole and final source of all that we believe. RMI’s senior pastor and the board of directors is the River University’s final interpretive authority on the Bible’s meaning and application for the purposes of faith, doctrine, practice, policy, and discipline.

We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. (Genesis 1:26-27) Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person.

We believe that the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture. (Genesis 2:18-25)

We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman that are married to each other. (1 Corinthians 6:18;7:2-5; Hebrews 13:4)

We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, and use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God. (Matthew 15:18-20; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10)

We believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of River University, and to provide a biblical role model to all RU students and the community, it is imperative that all persons in service with or in attendance at River University, in any capacity whether paid or as a volunteer, agree to and abide by this Statement on Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality. (Matthew 5:16; Philippians 2:14-16; 1Thessalonians 5:22)

We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. (Acts 3:19-21; Romans 10:9-10; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. (Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31). Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with scripture nor the doctrines of RMI, The River Church, River University or RMIMA.