DeclarinG Truth Ministries
Statement of Faith
To join our local outreach team in Southeast Louisiana or to register for any DTM-hosted mission, like Declaring Truth @ Mardi Gras, you must first affirm the tremendously helpful "Five Solas" of the Protestant Reformation, and our statement of faith.
The Five Solas of the Protestant Reformation:
Sola Scriptura (“Scripture Alone”)
The Bible is the sole written divine revelation and alone can bind the conscience of believers absolutely.
Sola Fide (“Faith Alone”)
Justification is by faith alone. The merit of Christ, imputed to us by faith, is the sole ground of our acceptance by God, by which our sins are remitted and imputed to Christ.
Solus Christus (“Christ Alone”)
Jesus Christ is the only mediator through Whose work we are redeemed.
Sola Gratia (“Grace Alone”)
Our salvation rests solely on the work of God’s grace for us.
Soli Deo Gloria (“Glory To God Alone”)
To God alone belongs the glory.*
*Taken from St. Andrew's Chapel
Statement of Faith
Scripture
We believe the Bible to be the written revelation of God, complete and sufficient in all respects. We believe the Scriptures to be “God-breathed” and therefore fully authoritative in and of themselves; they rely for their authority upon no church, council, or creed, but are authoritative simply because they are the Word of God. The Scriptures, as they embody the very speaking of God, partake of His authority, His power.
God’s Sovereignty
We believe in one true and eternal God, unchanging, unchangeable. We believe God is the Creator of all that exists in heaven and on earth. The God who is described in the Bible is unique; He is unlike anyone or anything else in all the universe. God has all power, all knowledge, all wisdom, and is due all glory, honor and praise. All that comes to pass does so at the decree of God. All things will, in the end, result in the glory of God.
God’s Deity
We believe the Bible teaches that there is but one being of God, yet there are three Persons who share this one being of God: the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Each Person is fully and completely God, each is described in Scripture as possessing the attributes of God. The Father, Son, and Spirit have eternally existed in the relationship described by the term “Trinity.”
God’s Plan of Redemption
We believe that man was created in the image of God. Man rebelled against His Creator, and fell into sin. As a result, man became spiritually dead, totally unwilling and indeed incapable of seeking after God. God, from eternity past, having foreordained all things, joined a certain people to Christ Jesus, so that He might redeem them from their sin and in so doing bring glory to Himself. God’s plan of redemption is all of mere free and absolute grace towards God's elect, and without any condition foreseen in them to procure it, that the purpose of God according to election might stand. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died in the place of this elect people, providing full and complete forgiveness of sins by His death upon the cross at Golgotha, the place of a skull. No other work can provide for forgiveness of sins, and no addition can be made to the completed and finished work of Christ.
Salvation
We believe that God, in His sovereign grace and mercy, regenerates sinful men by the power of the Holy Spirit, not by any action of their own, bringing them to new life. God grants to them the gifts of faith and repentance, which they then exercise by believing in Christ and turning from their sins in love for God. As a result of this faith, based upon the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, God justifies or makes righteous the one who believes. God’s gift of faith, and the continuing work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the elect, results in good works. These good works flow from true, saving faith; they are a necessary result of faith, but are not to be considered necessary to the gaining of justification, which is by God’s grace through faith alone, so that no man can boast.
The Church
We believe Jesus Christ established His Church, which is made up of all the elect of God. His Church, as an obedient bride, listens to His Word as found in the Bible. All who believe in Christ are placed in His body, the Church. The local expressions of the Church are very important, and each believer should be actively involved in such a fellowship.
The Return of Christ
We believe that Christ is coming again to judge the living and the dead. This promise is found throughout the inspired Scriptures. Till His return, believers are to live lives that bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. The Church is to be busy doing the work of evangelism and discipleship, proclaiming the pure, uncompromised Gospel of Christ by teaching the Word of God.*
*Adapted From Apologia Church Doctrinal Statement