Articles of Faith 

We, the members of New Hope Oʻahu, in order to win men, women and children to Christ, and to spread the Gospel of the grace of God to the ends of the earth, and to build up believers in the faith and knowledge of Christ, do ordain and establish this Doctrinal Statement to which we, as members thereof, agree and voluntarily submit ourselves. 

The scriptural doctrines to which we ask the assent of all applicants for membership are briefly contained in the following Articles of Faith. In subscribing to these Articles of Faith, we affirm that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are God’s own written Word, given to us through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The knowledge of a belief of the truth as stated in our Articles of Faith we deem necessary to sound doctrine and therefore requisite for Christian fellowship.

God

We believe in the only true God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Who created all things, and upholds all things by the word of His power, in Whom we live, and move and have our being, a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He, and He shall judge the world. We believe that the Godhead eternally exists in three Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; and that these three are one God, having precisely the same nature, attributes, and perfections, and worthy of precisely the same homage, confidence and obedience

Deuteronomy 32:4; Psalm 9:8; Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 12:29; John 1:1-4; John 17:3; Acts 5:3-4; Acts 17:28; Hebrews 1:3; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Hebrews 1:1-3; Revelation 1:4-6; Revelation 4:11

Holy Spirit

We believe that the Holy Spirit was given on the day of Pentecost to unify all believers into one body, the Church, in fulfillment of the promise Jesus gave to the apostles. His presence in the lives of believers is obtained by justification by grace through faith and testified to by His fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.  

We believe that the Holy Spirit, not as an influence, but as a Divine Person, the source and power of all acceptable worship and service, is our abiding Comforter and Helper, that He comes into a life at the moment of justification, and that He never takes His departure from the Church nor from the feeblest of the saints save those who apostatize; He is therefore ever present to testify of Christ, seeking to occupy us with Him, and not with ourselves nor with our experiences. We believe in spiritual gifts, including the five-fold equipping gifts of the Spirit, and we believe in Jesus’ ongoing ministry by His Spirit which evidences in the manifestations.

John 7:38-39; John 14:16-17; John 15:26; John 16:13-14; Acts 1:8;  Acts 1:5; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:13; 1 Corinthians 12-14; Galatians 5:22-23; Ephesians 4:11-12; Philippians 3:3

Scripture

We believe all Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work . We believe that the sixty-six books of the Protestant Bible are all given by the inspiration of God in the sense that the Holy Spirit guided holy men of old in their choice of the very words of the sacred writings; and that His divine inspiration is not in different degrees, but extends equally and fully to all parts of these writings, historical, poetical, doctrinal, and prophetical, and to the smallest word, provided such word was present in the original manuscripts

Mark 12:26; Mark 12:36; Mark 13:11; Acts 1:16; Acts 2:4; 1 Corinthians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:21

Humankind

We believe that through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned, and there resulted condemnation to all men. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord. We believe that humankind, originally created in the image and after the likeness of God, fell from their high and holy estate by Adam eating the forbidden fruit, and as the consequence of his disobedience the threatened penalty of death was then and there inflicted, so that their moral nature was not only grievously injured by the fall, but they totally lost all spiritual life, becoming dead in trespasses and sins, and subject to the power of the devil and the flesh

Genesis 1:26; Genesis 2:17; John 5:40; John 6:53; Romans 5:12; Romans 5:18; Romans 6:23; Galatians 5:16-21, Ephesians 2:1-3; 1 Timothy 5:6; 1 John 3:8

Salvation

We believe “there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved” . For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. We also believe that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, now to appear in the presence of God for us . We believe that God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life, and the one who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the witness that God has borne concerning His Son ; and “he who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” , and these shall pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power. We believe that Christ, in the fullness of the blessings He has secured by His obedience unto death, is received by faith alone, and that the moment we trust in Him as our Savior we pass out of death into everlasting life, being justified from all things, accepted before the Father according to the measure of His acceptance, loved as He is loved, and having His place and portion, as linked to Him, and one with Him forever, thus entering the kingdom of God.

Acts 4:12; Acts 13:39; Romans 5:1; 1 Corinthians 3:11; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Ephesians 2:4-6; Ephesians 2:13;  1 Thessalonians 1:9; Hebrews 9:24; John 3:5; John 3:16; John 3:36; John 5:24; John 17:23; 1 John 4:17; 1 John 5:10-12

Second Coming

We believe in the imminent personal return of Christ for His Church and His premillennial coming to establish His kingdom on earth. “Be ye therefore ready also; for the Son of Man cometh at an hour when ye think not”. We believe that though we are to actively evangelize, the world will not be converted during the present dispensation, but is fast ripening for judgment, and hence the Lord Jesus Christ will come in person to introduce the millennial age, followed by judgment and the consummation of the kingdom of God.

Jeremiah 33; Zechariah 14; Luke 12:40;  2 Thessalonians 2:3-8; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; Titus 1:11-15; Titus 2:13; Revelation 19-22

Christian Living and Morality

We believe that we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance that we should do, remembering our responsibility to pray for all those who are of the household of faith. We believe that we are called with a holy calling to walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit, and to so live in the Spirit that we do not fulfill the lusts of the flesh; but the flesh being still in us to the end of our earthly pilgrimage needs to be kept constantly in subjection to Christ, or it will surely manifest its presence to the dishonor of His name  

We believe God created humanity, male and female, reflecting the image and likeness of God. Each person’s biological sex has been sovereignly appointed by God and is an irreversible aspect of his or her nature. The first human, Adam, sinned and thereby incurred the judgment of both physical death and spiritual death which is eternal separation from God. Therefore, all human beings, with the exception of Christ Jesus, are born with a fallen nature, are accountable for their sin, and need to be born again. Rejection of one’s God-ordained biological sexuality reflects a rejection of God’s plans and purposes. God has established and revealed in the Scripture a divine order to regulate humanity. Human institutions reflecting that order are marriage of a man and a woman, family and human government.

Romans 6:1-14; Romans 8:12-13; Romans 13:14; Galatians 5:16-25; Galatians 6:10; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:1-10; 1 Timothy 2:1-2; 1 Peter 1:14-16; 1 John 3:5-9

The Church

We believe that the Church is composed of all who are united by the Holy Spirit to the risen and ascended Son of God, that by the same Spirit we are all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, and thus being members one of another, we are responsible in good conscience to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, loving one another with a pure heart fervently. Jesus commanded us to “make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit”. The Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way He took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. In accordance with His commands, we observe the ordinances of Believer’s Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

Matthew 16:16-18; Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:32-47; Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27; Ephesians 1:20-23; Ephesians 4:3-10; Colossians 3:14-15

Marriage and Sexuality

We believe that God created humanity, both male and female, reflecting the image and likeness of God. Each person’s biological gender has been sovereignly appointed by God and is an irreversible aspect of his or her nature. The first Adam sinned and thereby incurred the judgment of both physical death and spiritual death. This death is eminent without repentance and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. Rejection of one’s biological sexuality reflects a rejection of God’s ordained purposes and plan for that individual. God has established and revealed in Scripture His divine order to fulfill humanity’s deepest longings for meaning and purpose which includes the order of marriage between a man and a woman. This is clearly reflected in. 

We believe the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture. We believe that marriage between one man and one woman uniquely reflects Christ’s relationship with His Church. We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other

We believe that any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, or use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God.

Genesis 2:18-25; Matthew 15:18-20; Romans 1:18-32; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 1 Corinthians 6:18; 1 Corinthians 7:2-5; Ephesians 5:21-33; Hebrews 13:4

Compassion

We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. 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 the Corporation.

Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31