Faith Statement

Makala Doulos, editor of Ps 16:11, holds unequivocally to the following statement of faith: 

• I believe there is one God, eternally existing in three persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. (Deut. 6:4; Matthew 28:19; Mark 12:29; John 5:17-30)

• I believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal future return to the earth in power and glory to rule over the nations. (Isaiah 7:14; Hebrews 7:26; Acts 2:22; I Corinthians 15:3; Acts 1:9-11)

• I believe man was created good and upright, but fell from that place of perfection into a condition of spiritual depravity. (Genesis 1:26-27; 2:17; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 5:12-19)

• I believe the only means of our being cleansed from sin is through repentance and through faith in the precious blood of Christ. Regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential for personal salvation. (Luke 24:47; Romans 8:16; 10:13-15; Titus 2:11; 3:5-7)

• I believe the Scriptures teach a life of holiness. Sanctification is a separation from that which is evil and a dedication unto God. I believe all believers should earnestly pursue sanctification by walking in obedience to God’s Word. I further believe that the Christian is able to live a godly life by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. (Hebrews 12:14; I Peter 1:15-16; Philippians 2:12-13)

• While I do believe that the gifts of the Spirit are in operation today, I believe that the main evidence of a fuller in-filling of the Holy Spirit is the manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit in a believer’s life (Galatians 5:22-23)

• I believe that Christ’s death on the cross provides healing for the human body, in answer to believing prayer, if and when it is in the sovereign will of God for that person. (Isaiah 53:4,5; Matthew 8:16,17; James 5:14-16)

• I believe in the second coming of Christ with His saints to rule and reign on the earth for a thousand years. (Zechariah 14:5; Matthew 24:27, 30; Revelation 19:20; 20:11-15; 21:8)

• A Fuller Statement of Faith and Seven Principles (Adapted from materials from The Ellerslie Institute, Windsor, CO. www.ellerslie.com.  Neither Makala Doulos, nor The Ps. 16:11 blog are directly associated with Ellerslie.  We simply share similar convictions of truth.

• I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father by whom all things were made; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man, and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried, and the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father. And he shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead, whose kingdom shall have no end.

• I assert the Deity of Jesus Christ and do not take lightly the diminishment of any of the above revealed elements of His Person. I believe that JesusChrist is the quintessential player in Universal history, both at the level of nations and at the level of the individual human soul.  I believe that the Person of Jesus Christ is preeminent in all matters of life, whether they be theological, philosophical, psychological, historical, political, economical, or societal in purport. I believe that faith in Jesus Christ, with exclusive allowance of Lordship over the human soul, represents the door through which the fullness and essence of True Life can be found. I wholly reject the notion that belief in Jesus Christ can fit into a system of faith that does not give Him sole position of control and command over the human life. I believe that the act of yielding to Christ as Lord necessitates a removal of all other systems of religious thought that contradict and undermine the revealed purposes of the rightful King over all. I stand against the modern post-modern ideology of the Emergent Church that suggests Jesus is peaceable with other gods remaining in the human soul while He is doing His transforming of the individual and corporate life.

• I believe that the Cross is the pivot point in history, representing a correction of the great problem of humanity. It’s more than two pieces of wood and an innocent man hanging needlessly upon them – it is Majesty on High delivering a death blow to the entire army of Hell, the greatest act of heroic love this universe has ever witnessed, the Champion of Heaven absorbing the full punishment of sin and fulfilling perfect justice, and a seemingly helpless Lamb conquering the powers of sin and death and paving the way for a Kingdom take-over of human lives. The Cross represents a brilliance born in the heart and mind of the Almighty, being the perfect enunciation of His nature of Love, Holiness, Justice, Wrath, and Grace, perfectly fulfilling every demand of Messianic authenticity, while at the same time shaming and humiliating the confounded demonic and earthly rebels that unwittingly helped to carry it out. The Cross is both the greatest tragedy and yet the most dramatic victory. It was triumph wrenched from the jaws of apparent defeat, the Son forsaken by the Holy Father allowed to drink to the dregs the wine of God’s wrath and yet simultaneously it’s His affectionate proposal of life and love to His beloved Bride – the ultimate gift of love and redemption. It is Life purchased, Salvation gained, the Host of Hell defeated, and access opened to the long shrouded mystery of godliness. The Cross represents the inauguration of a new covenant, the establishing of a new order – a heavenly invitation to every man, woman, and child to partake of the Body and Blood of God, to receive the very Living Reality of God’s Life within – to exchange their life for God’s Life – to no longer live to themselves but for Christ to live in them.

• The Cross is the centerpiece of the Gospel. It’s not for the covering of sin, it’s the heavenly solution for the removal of sin’s presence. It’s more than the forgiveness of transgressions, it’s the channel through which men and women can access the very Life of Jesus Christ, living, moving, and having His being within them, in order to represent God’s very nature, character, purity, and holiness to this world about. The Cross is the device that God has used to take the filthy rebels of humanity and make them pure and holy vessels of His presence.

1. The Sentence of Death Removed
   Man is imprisoned in his sin – unable to escape the control of sin, the earthly effects of sin, and the eternal penalty of sin. However, the Good News of God is that the triumvirate of sin’s effect has been canceled through the work of the Messiah, Jesus Christ – the wrath of God has been absorbed by the stricken Son of God – divine justice has been served, sin has been condemned in the flesh. Thusly, the guilty rebels of earth (you and me), if we would only accept this act of divine intervention with faith, have the privilege of legal justification before the bar of Heaven. we can be forgiven of our rebellion, self-will, and lifelong resistance to His rule and reign. Such justification and forgiveness, when accepted through faith, creates a way into the very Presence and Eternal Life of God. The guilty conscience of man can be swept clean and filled with unspeakable joy, and the condemnation of Hell that hangs justly over the souls of every human can be wholly removed and replaced with hope of life ever after with God.
2. The Prison Door to Sin is Unlocked
   Man is controlled by sin. And as a result, the pure and holy things he may esteem with his mind and wish to emulate with his life, he is unable to perform and act out. He finds within his being, a barrier to purity, holiness, and righteousness. However, the work of the Cross, the triumph of our Messiah, has done more than merely remove the sentence of Death from the children of God – in fact, for those who believe, it has removed the barrier to purity, holiness, and righteousness IN a believer. That which has always hindered men from living out the commands of God has been removed. The prison door has been unlocked, and now, the people of faith, have the privilege of walking in the light as our God is in the light, and bearing fruit that evidences a regeneration of the human soul.
3. The invitation to live in His Presence
   Though man was a rebel prior to coming to the Cross, and though man was saturated with the dark stain of sin when first approaching the throne of Grace, amazingly, Jesus Christ’s work has created the one and only avenue through which sinful man can enter into the presence of the Divine. Not just be forgiven, and not just be freed from the dark oppression of the soul, but actually permitted the privilege of living where the King lives, sharing in the rights and allowances of His Kingdom, the privileges and protections of His Spirit Law, being counted among His people, named amongst His company.
4. The adoption as sons and daughters
   Amazingly, the blood of Christ goes even further than even these three astounding realities. It doesn’t leave us mere citizens of a Kingdom, washed clean and set on our feet with dignity, it also makes a way for us to be adopted into His very family and to be called amongst His sons and daughters. Beyond mere forgiveness of sins, freedom from sin, and allowance into His Presence, this is the monumental privilege of sharing in the authority of His Name, the pleasures of His person, and the riches of His personal wealth. we are offered a place not just in His salvation plan, but on His very lap, invited to know Him and become a heart-friend of the Most High God – actually free to call Him Abba, Papa, Father. And thusly, we are privileged to actually share in His inheritance – all of it!
5. The commission to represent the King’s nature and herald the King’s Word to this lost world
   We are also chosen to now represent Him to this lost world, to carry His burdens, to stand for His Truth, to preach His message, and to live as He Himself lived. As the One who has called us is holy, so we are to be holy in everything we do, in order to demonstrate to this world the stunning virtue and excellence of our Champion, Jesus Christ. we are called to be His Body – His very hands and feet to valiantly undergird the weak, His mouthpiece to shout His Gospel, His ears to hear the cries of the needy, and His feet to go into all the world, seeking and saving that which is lost. we are called to follow Him, to do as He did, and to die in similitude to His dying. We are called to absolute purity of heart, mind, and life. we are called to model God’s perfection. And whereas, such a calling is wholly impossible for us to fulfill and carry out, God doesn’t back down in Scripture in clarifying this amazing intent. And this is why the sixth piece to the Gospel of Jesus Christ (see below) is so important – because without it, none of the above features can even be realized beyond a miniscule level.
6. The privilege of becoming the dwelling place of God
   The Cross was about far more than forgiveness. It was about more than men being set free, invited into the Kingdom of their King, being adopted as His very children, and being commissioned to represent His Truth to this world. Shockingly, the Cross also purchased the way for us to find the fullness of Life. The Cross created an avenue through which the awesome, all-powerful, consuming fiery Life of God can actually enter into the bodies of believing men and women and make the entirety of this Gospel (as mentioned above) a living, breathing reality. God desires to live inside us, to speak through us, love through us, feel through us, hear through us – live, move, and have His being in and through us. Just as Jesus did nothing but what His Father in Heaven was doing (He only spoke that which His Father spoke and only did that which His Father did), so we are to be baptized with the very living presence of God within, enabling us to do precisely the same thing (speaking only that which Jesus is speaking and do only that which Jesus is doing). Our life is not our own, it’s been bought with a price. And when we yield to this indwelling Life of God, suddenly it is no longer just a human attempt at imitating the magnificence and perfection of God, but it is the magnificence and perfection of God at work within us demonstrating His Life to this onlooking world.

Further, Makala holds to the following seven  principles:

1. GOSPEL
   God is after a people. And I believe that the Lamb that was slain is worthy of the reward of His suffering. He is worthy of all the glory and all the honor, and therefore, we desire to bring the pure, unadulterated Gospel of Jesus Christ to this world as our means of giving Him His due, expressing our sincere love and devotion, and in hopes of seeing the purchase of the Cross fully realized.
2. SCRIPTURE
   We believe that the eternal Word of Truth is sacred and should be treated with the utmost reverence. However, it is under attack in our day on a number of fronts. we believe that Scripture is the primary directive for the church of Jesus Christ and, therefore, must be defended and preserved. Under the unction of the Holy Spirit, we believe it has the efficacy to transform the heart and enable the believer to fully live its precepts. As a result, we don’t just teach the Scriptures, but how others might rightly divide them, live out their grand themes, and fight to protect their integrity.
3. DISCIPLESHIP
   We believe that God’s model for passing the baton of Truth is through the means of discipleship. While the Bible school classroom is a wonderful vehicle for teaching Truth, we believe that the Word of God is also meant to be conveyed through the process of intensive, personal discipleship: reproving sin, correcting error and training how to live a life which glorifies and pleases God.
4. PRAYER
   We believe that all soul-transforming work happens as a result of prayer. Indeed, the greatest need in the world today is praying saints! People who know how to lay hold of heaven; who refuse to let go until their heart-wrenching cry for souls is answered; who understand what it means to devote large portions of time to the energizing work of wrestling prayer.
5. COMMUNITY
   We believe that the First Century Church was a vibrant community which operated under an authority structure handcrafted by God, led by on-fire saints of God, where believers were held to a high standard of life, where believers humbled themselves to God and to each other, where Jesus Christ alone was exalted, where people truly loved and honored each other. we are committed to create such a community at Ellerslie.
6. PROCLAMATION
   We hold to the fact that unless those that know the Truth actually live the Truth, expound the Truth, preach the Truth, publish the Truth, and teach the Truth, that according to God’s economy, there will be a famine of Truth in our generation. Therefore, we labor to not only preach the Truth to those that are in our midst, but those that we cannot reach physically as well. Through whatever form of media God may design, we will make the Truth of Christ’s Kingdom felt, heard, and known, by the Grace of our God.
7. RESCUE
   Jesus Christ was Love incarnate, moving through wretched humanity, sacrificially giving of Himself to meet the enormous need around Him. As emissaries of Christ, it is our privilege to carry on His ministry to the orphaned, widowed, poor, imprisoned, oppressed, enslaved, and outcast. it is our job and privilege, as we labor in the Father’s business, to be Christ’s hands and feet to such as these.