In stating the following beliefs it is to be noted that we find our unity not primarily on the basis of doctrinal agreement, but in an eagerness to maintain the unity of the spirit.  We do proclaim orthodoxy as defined in the following paragraph.  In this, we must have unity. In those issues not defined by this creed, we have liberty and recognition that in all things we must always have love. We hold that we must present a united perspective of Christianity to the culture which stands against the claims of our Lord Jesus the Christ and rest in the continuing intercession of our Lord Jesus that they “all may be one.” 

The fundamental beliefs we find essential in order to maintain cohesion in our ranks define the primary biblical and theological parameters of FNUSA as: we position ourselves in the evangelical theological stream of Protestant Christianity.  We adhere to the Apostles’ Creed and to the core doctrines of the Protestant Reformation, namely the ultimate and essential authority of the Scriptures for Christian faith and practice, justification by faith, and the priesthood of all believers.  We believe that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that Jesus was born of a virgin, that He was physically raised from the dead, and that an individual’s personal relationship to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior determines that individual’s eternal destiny in heaven or hell.  The fulfillment of Jesus’ great commission to make disciples of all nations is central to the focus of FNUSA.

Note: in structure, FNUSA has three levels of commitment and subsequent relationship.  It is understood that the more deeply committed one is, the more necessary it is that they be agreed so as to walk together (Amos 3:3).  Thus, we present our beliefs, not as a litmus test to be passed in order to be in relationship, but for a basis of understanding the views underlying the founding of FNUSA. The unity we have must be in the Spirit and in our common commitment to share the gospel in its fullness in order to see people saved and incorporated into a local church and triumphant living.

WE BELIEVE that God is the Eternal King.  He is an infinite, unchangeable Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, goodness, justice, power, and love.  From all eternity He exists as the One Living and True God in three persons of one substance, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, equal in power and glory.

Deuteronomy 33:27; Romans 1:20; Psalm 95:3; Isaiah 43:15; Psalm 147:5; Job 11: 7-9; James 1:17; John 4:24; Matthew 5:48; Isaiah 6:3; 1 Peter 1:15-16; Psalm 104:24; Proverbs 2:6; Isaiah 28:29; Exodus 33:19; Psalm 63:2; Psalm 31:19; Psalm 33:5; Psalm 89:14; Isaiah 30:18; Exodus 15:6; 1 John 4:8; Isaiah 43:13; Isaiah 45:5; 1 Corinthians 8:4; Psalm 42:2; Psalm 84:2; Jeremiah 10:10; John 1:18; John 10:30; 1 John 14:9; John 14:16-17; John 14:26; John 15:26; 11 Corinthians 3:17-18; John 1:1; John 1:14; 11 Corinthians 3:17; Matthew 28:19-20; 11 Corinthians 13:14; Revelation 1:4; Revelation 5:13; Ephesians 3:14-21

WE BELIEVE that God's kingdom is everlasting.  From His throne, through His Son, His eternal Word, God created, upholds and governs all that exists:  the heavenly places, the angelic hosts, the universe, the earth, every living thing and mankind.  God created all things very good.

Psalm 45:6; Psalm 145:13; Daniel 4:3; Psalm 93:1-2; John 1:1-3; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Colossians 1:15-16; Hebrews 1:1-2; Genesis 1:1; Psalm 95:3-5; Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3; Psalm 103:19; Psalm 104:24-29; Psalm 96:4-6; Psalm 89:11; Psalm 103:20-21; Colossians 1:16-17; Psalm 104:5; Psalm 103:22, Psalm 22:28; Psalm 47:8; Genesis 1:31

WE BELIEVE that Satan, originally a great, good angel, rebelled against God, taking a host of angels with him.  He was cast out of God's presence and, as a usurper of God's rule established a counter‑kingdom of darkness and evil on earth.
Revelation 12:7-9; 11 Corinthians 11:14; Colossians 1:13-14; Ephesians 6:12; Mark 3:22-26; Ephesians 2:1-2; I John 5:19

WE BELIEVE that God created mankind in His image, male and female, for relationship with Himself and to govern the earth.  Under the temptation of Satan, our original parents fell from grace, bringing sin, sickness, and God's judgment of death to the earth.  Through the fall, Satan and his demonic hosts gained access to God's good creation. Creation now experiences the consequences and effects of Adam's original sin.  Human beings are born in sin, subject to God's judgment of death, and captive to Satan's kingdom of darkness.

Genesis 1:26-27; Genesis 3:1; Revelation 12:9; Genesis 3:8; Romans 1:21; Romans 5:12, 16; John 5:14; 1 Corinthians 15:22; John 8:44; I John 5:19; Romans 8: 20-23; Psalm 51:5; Ezekiel 18:4; Romans 2:5, 12; Hebrews 9:27; Galatians 1:3-5; Galatians 4:8-9; Colossians 1:13

WE BELIEVE that God did not abandon His rule over the earth which He continues to uphold by His providence.  In order to bring redemption, God established covenants which revealed His grace to sinful people.  In the covenant with Abraham, God bound himself to His people Israel, promising to deliver them from bondage to sin and Satan and to bless all the nations through them.

Psalm 24:1; Psalm 96:10; Isaiah 40:22; Hebrews 1:3; Romans 9:4; Ephesians 2:12; Genesis 17:3-8; Genesis 12:2-3; Genesis 15:4-6; Romans 4:3-5,16, 20-25; Galatians 3:6-9, 13-14

WE BELIEVE that as King, God later redeemed His people by His mighty acts from bondage in Egypt and established His covenant through Moses, revealing His perfect will and our obligation to fulfill it.  The law's purpose is to order our fallen race and to make us conscious of our moral responsibility.  By the work of God's Spirit, it convicts us of our sin and God's righteous judgment against us and brings us to Christ alone for salvation.

Exodus 15:3-18; Exodus 19:3-6; Exodus 24:3-4, 7; Romans 8:3-4, 12-14; Deuteronomy 5:1-3; Deuteronomy 30:15-18; Galatians 3:23-25; Psalm 25:8-10; Romans 7:7; John 15:26; John 16:8-11; 11 Corinthians 3:14-17; Romans 7:13; Galatians 3:19, 21-22, 24; Romans 2:1-11; Philippians 3:8-9

WE BELIEVE that when Israel rejected God's rule over her as King, God established the monarchy in Israel and made an unconditional covenant with David, promising that his heir would restore God's kingdom reign over His people as Messiah forever.

1 Samuel 8:6-8, 21-22; 1 Samuel 9:15-16; 1 Samuel 10:1, 24; 11 Samuel 7:11b-16; Psalm 89:34-37; Isaiah 9:6-7; Isaiah 11:1-5; Jeremiah 23:5-6; Ezekiel 34:23

WE BELIEVE that in the fullness of time, God honored His covenants with Israel and His prophetic promises of salvation by sending His only Son, Jesus, into the world.  Conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, as fully God and fully man in one person, He is humanity as God intended us to be.  Jesus was anointed as God's Messiah and empowered by the Holy Spirit, inaugurating God's Kingdom reign on earth, overpowering the reign of Satan by resisting temptation, preaching the good news of salvation, healing the sick, casting out demons, and raising the dead.  Gathering His disciples, He reconstituted God's people as His dying for the sins of the world; Jesus was raised from the dead on the third day, fulfilling the covenant of blessing given to Abraham.

In His sinless, perfect life, Jesus met the demands of the law and in His atoning death on the cross He took God's judgment for sin which we deserve as lawbreakers.  By His death on the cross, He also disarmed the demonic powers.  His death on the cross also opened up healing as part of the gospel to be preached.

The covenant with David was fulfilled in Jesus' birth from David's house, His Messianic ministry, His glorious resurrection from the dead, His ascent into heaven, and His present rule at the right hand of the Father.  As God's Son and David's heir, He is the eternal Messiah‑King, advancing God's reign throughout every generation and throughout the whole earth today.

Mark 1:15; Galatians 4:4; Romans 1:2-4; John 1:14, 17-18; Luke 1:30-35; Philippians 2: 5-7; Romans 5:19; 1 Corinthians 15:22; 1 Peter 2:22; 11 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 8:29; Luke 3:21-22; Luke 4:16-21; Mark 1:14-17; Luke 11:20; Luke 17: 20-21; Luke 4: 1-13, 40-41, 43; Luke 7:14-17; Mark 3:13-15; Matthew 16:18; Luke 9:1-2; Luke 10:1-17; John 1:29; John 6:51; John 4:9-10; Mark 8:31; 1Corinthians 15:3-5; Galatians 3:13-14; Acts 3:14-15; Hebrews 4:15; Romans 5:18-19; 1 Peter 2:24; Galatians 3:13; 11 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 1:18, 32; Romans 2:12; 11 Thessalonians 1:6-10; Colossians 2:13-15; Matthew 1:1; Luke 1:68-72; Luke 2:10-11; Matthew 9:27; Acts 2:24-36; Romans 1:1-4; Hebrews 1:1-3; 1 Corinthians 15:24-26; Ephesians 1:19-23; Revelation 5:5

WE BELIEVE that the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Church at Pentecost in power, baptizing believers into the Body of Christ and releasing the gifts of the Spirit to them.  The Spirit brings the permanent indwelling presence of God to us for spiritual worship, personal sanctification, building up the Church, gifting us for ministry, and driving back the kingdom of Satan by the evangelization of the world through proclaiming the word of Jesus and doing the works of Jesus.

Acts 1:8; Acts 2:1-4; 1 Corinthians 12:4-7, 13; John 14:12-13, 16-17; Romans 12:1, 4-6; Ephesians 5:18-20; Romans 8:3-4; 1 Corinthians 14:12, 26; Luke 11:20; 1 John 3:8b; Ephesians 6:10-20; Romans 15:18-19; 1 Corinthians 4:20

WE BELIEVE that the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Jesus Christ and that He is our abiding Helper, Teacher, and Guide.  We believe in the filling or empowering of the Holy Spirit, often a conscious experience, for the ministry today.  We believe in the present ministry of the Spirit and in the exercise of all of the biblical gifts of the Spirit.  We practice the laying on of hands for the empowering of the Spirit, for healing, and for recognition and empowering of those whom God has ordained to lead and serve the church, as He leads His people through the ascension ministries of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, for the unity, maturity and growth of the Church.

Romans 8:9-10; John 16:7, 13-15; John 14:26; Romans 8:14; Luke 24:49; Acts 4:31; Acts 8:18-19; Acts 19:1-2; 1 Corinthians 2:4-5; 11 Corinthians 4:7; 11 Corinthians 6:4-7; Joel 2:28-29; Acts 2:15-17; 1 Corinthians 12:7-11; 1 Corinthians 14:1, 5; 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21; Acts 8:14-17; Acts 19:6; Mark 1:41; Luke 6:18b-19; Mark 16:18; Acts 13:1-3; I Timothy 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:6; Eph 4:11-16

WE BELIEVE that the Holy Spirit inspired the human authors of the Holy Scripture so that the Bible is “God-breathed.”  We receive the sixty‑six books of the Old and New Testaments as our final, absolute authority, the only infallible rule of faith and practice.

2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; 1 Corinthians 2:12-13; John 14:26; Psalm 19: 7-9; Psalm 119:11, 30, 43, 89; Matthew 5:17-19; John 3:34; John 10:35; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; Revelation 22:6, 18-19; Luke 24:44; 2 Peter 3:15-16; Isaiah 40:8; Matthew 24:35; Matthew 7:21, 24; Luke 1:38; James 1:22-25

WE BELIEVE that the whole world is under the domination of Satan and that all people are sinners by nature and choice.  All people therefore are under God's just judgment.  Through the preaching of the Good News of Jesus and the Kingdom of God and the work of the Holy Spirit, God regenerates, justifies, adopts and sanctifies through Jesus by the Spirit all who repent of their sins and trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior.  By this they are released from Satan's domain and enter into God's kingdom reign.

Luke 4:5-7; 1 John 5:19; 1 Corinthians 15:22; Ephesians 2:1-3; Romans 1:21-23, 32; Romans 1:18; Romans 2:5; 11 Corinthians 5:10; Ephesians 5:6; Mark 1:14-15; Acts 8:12; Acts 28:31; Ephesians 5:5; John 16:7-11; John 3:5-8; I Peter 1:23; Romans 5:1-2, 9; Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 5:25; Hebrews 13:12; 1 Peter 1:1-2; Acts 2:38; Romans 10:9; 1 John 4:13-15; Colossians 1:13-14; Philippians 3:20

WE BELIEVE in the one, holy, universal Church.  All who repent of their sins and confess Jesus as Lord and Savior are regenerated by the Holy Spirit and form the living Body of Christ, of which He is the head and of which we are all members.

John 17:20-21; Ephesians 4:3-6; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; Matthew 16:17-18; 1 Corinthians 1:2; Ephesians 2:18-19; 1 Peter 2:9-10; Titus 3:4-7; Romans 12:4-5; Ephesians 1:22; Ephesians 5:23; 1 Corinthians 12:27

WE BELIEVE that Jesus Christ committed two ordinances to the Church:  water baptism and the Lord's Supper.  Both are available to all believers. 

Matthew 28:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

WE BELIEVE that God's kingdom has come in the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, that it continues to come in the ministry of the Spirit through the Church, and that it will be consummated in the glorious, visible, and triumphant appearing of Christ ‑ His return to the earth as King.  After Christ returns to reign, He will bring about the final defeat of Satan and all of his minions and works, the resurrection of the dead, the final judgment, and the eternal blessing of the righteous and eternal conscious punishment of the wicked.  Finally, God will be all in all in His new heavens and the new earth, recreated by His mighty power, in which righteousness dwells and in which He will forever be worshiped. We see the mission and strategy of the new wineskin to include the raising up of Kingdom strongholds within the enemy’s territory with the purpose of reconciling man to God and man to man in Jesus Christ.

Daniel 7:13-14; Matthew 4:23; Matthew 12:28; Matthew 6:10; Matthew 10:7-8; Matthew 24:14; Mark 13:11; John 15:26-27; Romans 14:17-18; Mark 13:26; Acts 1:9-11; 2 Thessalonians 2:8; Revelation 19:11-16; Matthew 25:31-32; 1 Corinthians 15:23-25; Revelation 20:10; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52; John 5:28-30; Revelation 20:11-15; Matthew 25:31-46; 1 Corinthians 15:24-28; 1 Timothy 6:13-16; 2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:5, 27; I Timothy 1:17; Revelation 7:9-12.

See also: Thoughts Molding Our Beliefs and Values