We base our beliefs and teachings from what we see the Bible says. This list is a work in progress and will be added to and edited over time but I wanted most of it available for the New Leaders’ Conference in Kenya 2024. This – and its individual explanations -- should not be considered to be our “last word” on our beliefs or doctrines or its final form from Light on the Rock Church of God.
GOD
*“GOD” is comprised of God the Father and the Word (John 1:1-3). GOD decides right from wrong and commands us how to live. Satan will question God and his Word and what God has said – as Satan did to Eve.
God Most High (the Father) created all things through Jesus Christ (Eph. 3:9; Heb 1:1-2). Therefore they are both “Creator”. We do not accept evolution at all. Both God Most High and God the Word (Jesus) have eternally existed and both are uncreated God. GOD Most High (“God the Father”) has eternally existed and is Supreme over the Word Jesus Christ and everyone else (1 Cor. 11:3; 1 Cor. 15:21-28 read). God the Father is also the God of Jesus (Eph. 1:3, 17; John 20:17; Matthew 27:46; 2 Cor. 1:3; Rev. 3:12; Rom. 15:6).
Jesus (“Yeshua” in Hebrew, NOT “Yahshua”) is God our Savior who was begotten by the spirit of God the Father, making him the Son of God (Matthew 1:18-21; John 10:34-35). Jesus came in the flesh as a man (John 1:14), who died for us on the cross as the Lamb of God (John 1:29), was resurrected after three days and three nights (Matthew 12:39-40; Matt. 27:62-64) at the end of the third day, by the power of God the Father, and is returning to rule the earth, on the earth, soon. His one perfect life, being the life of God himself, was worth enough to pay the sins of all mankind who will accept him. Both the Father and Son Jesus Christ are God (John 1:1-3), and Jesus is under God the Father who is over all. God communicates, leads and teaches us through the Holy Spirit, which is the divine nature, power and presence of the Godhead in us (2 Peter 1:2-4) but is not a separate “God” being itself. The Lord is the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17).
YHVH is the “tetragrammaton” special holy name of God. This name clearly applies to both God Most High (Ps 110:1-2) and the Word, depending on context. No human has ever seen God Most High (John 1:18), and yet many have seen, talked to and been with YHVH through the Word, as in Genesis 18. SO God the Father and God the Christ are both YHWH or YHVH. “Christ” and “Messiah” mean “the Anointed One”.
Jesus The Christ, Yeshua the Messiah
Jesus is the Word of God who was with God and was God in the beginning (John 1:1-3; Hebrews 1:1-3). Jesus the Son of God is the exact image of God the Father (Hebrews 1:1-3; Col. 1:15-16). Everything that was ever created was created through Him (John 1:1-3; Eph 3:9). The Word volunteered, as His choice, to become fleshly man and to die for us, to be sacrificed for sin. So the Word became flesh (John 1:14), and dwelt among us as Yeshua, meaning Savior or Salvation. God the Father resurrected Jesus from the dead (Rom 1:1-4). Jesus now sits in glory beside the Father. The head of Christ is God the Father (1 Cor 11:3) and in fact God the Father is “the GOD OF Jesus Christ” (Eph. 1:3, 17; John 20:17; Rev 3:12; Matt.27:46). Yeshua will be our Husband (Eph 5:23-32). HE is now OUR life (Col. 3:3-4). HE is now also our perfect righteousness, imputing or crediting his perfect righteousness to us (Rom 4:20-25; 5:16-19; Rom 8:1-4; 1 Cor. 1:30-31; Phil 3:8-11; 2 Cor. 5:21). He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, though under God the Father, God Most High (1 Cor. 15:21-28).
Jesus is also known by many titles such as the Messiah, the Christ (Anointed One), the Lord, The Lamb of God, the Rock of our Salvation, Rock of our Refuge, Our Redeemer, Savior, The Word of God (Rev. 19:13); King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Rev. 19:14-16), the Son of Man, the Son of God, and he said he is the Door of the Sheep, the Vine, the Bread from heaven, The Resurrection, the Good Shepherd, the Way-the Truth- and the Life, and also the great I AM. He is the Rock whom the builders rejected who has become the chief cornerstone.
God the Father is God Most High and promoted Jesus the Word to be over the church and over the whole universe and angels – except God the Father Himself (1 Cor 15:21-28; Phil 2:5-11). Jesus was fully man, and was also GOD while on earth, because we can worship only God without it being a sin (Matthew 4:8-10) but Jesus clearly allowed himself to be worshiped many times – even from his birth by the angels and the magi (Matthew 2:11). Other instances of Jesus allowing himself to be worshipped as God is worshipped (John 9:37-38; Matthew 8:2; 9:18; 14:33; 28:9). As a man Jesus also forgave sins, could know people’s thoughts and heart, and command winds and storms. We pray primarily to God the Father, but we can also pray to Jesus, who is also God, as Stephen did (Acts 7:57-60), and John did (Rev. 22:20). As the Bride of Jesus, of course we can talk to our fiancé, and not just His Father. But our primary prayer time is with God the Father.
The Bible, WORD OF GOD
*The Bible are the words of God in print. Yeshua/Jesus is the living Word of God. The original words of God in the Bible are “God breathed” – 2 Tim. 3:16-17, where KJV says “by inspiration”. Being God’s word in print, the Bible must therefore be the ultimate source of ALL our doctrines and beliefs and is always our final authority on all matters. “Thy WORD is truth” – not anyone’s opinions. Satan constantly tries to question God’s word (“Did God say…?” – Gen 3). The Bible is above and supersedes any oral law or teachings. Every original word is inspired and written down for our correct doctrine, admonition, learning, correction and our feeding in God’s Word. 2 Timothy 3:16-17.
We do not consider or accept the apocryphal writings as any part of the inspired word of God or the “canon”. So we do not preach from books like Tobith, Maccabees, Judith, or even books like the Jubilees, book of Enoch, Jasher, etc., though Jude did quote briefly from the book of Enoch.
We prefer the word-for-word type of translations of the Bible like NKJV, KJV and perhaps the Legacy Bible and NASB, though most other translations use other Greek sources and leave out a lot of words that are included in NKJV/KJV. Most modern translations are not word-for-word but are paraphrases (a “re-wording, thought-by-thought) of the exact sentences. Some translations seem nice, but we consider them to be too far afield in their variance from word for word translations. I’m referring to The Passion Translation, New Living Bible and The Message.
* When studying the Bible, check the original Hebrew/Aramaic in the Old Testament when you can, and the original Greek in the New Testament. Also compare various translations for a more complete review.
*SATAN and demons
Satan, meaning “Adversary”, is also the “Devil” – meaning “Slanderer.” He was a created being, an arch-angel named Heylel in Hebrew (not the Latin name Lucifer), meaning “Morning star” or “day star”. He continues to portray himself as an angel of light, and so do his ministers (2 Cor. 11:14-15). Scripture calls him also the Dragon, the Serpent, the Enemy, god of this world, the evil one, prince of the power of the air, Beelzebub, Belial and more. Is he also the Apollyon /Abaddon (“Destroyer”) of Rev 9, or is that something else?
As an archangel, he rebelled against God and convinced one third of all the angels to follow him in that rebellion. They all became demons – unclean fallen angels, under Satan. He will try one more time to dethrone God (Rev. 12) but will fail. Satan and his demons can only do what God permits them to do, as in the case of Job 1. We should not fear demons for “He who is in us, is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4b). Though they can possess people, they cannot possess anyone who has God’s holy spirit. Submit to God, and resist the Devil and he will flee from you (James 4:7). LOTR cannot accept or condone anything involving Satanic origin or voodoo.
TRINITY
In a sentence, we do not accept the traditional teaching of the Trinity or the Triune God, of three CO-EQUAL persons in one. However, we do believe in God the Father who is also God Most High. Jesus Christ is the Word of God and Son of God who died for us and God the Father is the Head of Christ (hardly co-equal). John 1:1-3 tells us who is God – and Holy Spirit is not included. The Trinity requires that there are three personalities in one, all co-equal. But Jesus is clearly under the father’s authority. “The Head of Christ is God” – 1 Cor. 11:3. Jesus came to obey all of the Father’s commands and will, not his own will. Jesus is not equal to God MOST High, His Father, so the very required definition that the trinity must be three co-EQUAL persons in one, is broken. In fact God the Father is called “the GOD OF Jesus Christ” (Eph 1:3, 17; John 20:17). The trinity doctrine, which didn’t even really come into being until the late 3rd or fourth century, requires three persons in one, all exactly equal. They are not equal.
Holy Spirit is the divine nature and power of God (2 Peter 1:2-4), as revealed through Jesus, “for the Lord IS the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:17). Holy Spirit is the presence of God in us and in the universe but Holy Spirit is not a person.
So though we believe in and preach the Father, the Son and that there is the Holy Spirit, we do not teach all that as the official triune God or trinity.
The Trinity also presents a closed godhead. We believe God the Father wants a real family and to have children made of the same kind of being as He is – spirit God-kind. He’s working on that now. Now are we children of God (1 John 3:2), and we are being transformed by the same Spirit into the glory of Christ (2 Cor. 3:16-18).
The TRUE, COMPLETE GOSPEL of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God. The gospel (meaning “the good news”) is how and why God sent his Son to die for us, to pay the DEATH penalty of our sin, remove the wrath of God because of our sins, reconcile us back to God in His righteousness -- all of this opening the WAY and DOOR into the Kingdom of God and the new heavens and new earth, “in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13). Romans 1:16 – the gospel is the power of God to salvation to all who believe. The Good News (gospel) is about God’s way to save all of us sinners from the consequences of sin through the death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ.
Jesus came preaching the kingdom of God (Mark 1:14). He certainly also preached extensively about HIMSELF -- who he was and what his mission was – especially in the gospel of John. He taught HE is the bread of life, the Vine, the Good Shepherd, the Way, the Truth and the Life, the Door, and the “I am”. So the gospel Jesus actually preached and brought – was also definitely about his purpose (John 3:14-17) and kingdom of heaven. He is the Door and Way into the Kingdom of God. We have to understand the phrase “the gospel of Christ” to include everything he taught – and he taught a lot about himself and his purpose as Savior, as well as the Kingdom.
The true gospel is defined clearly in many ways; as the good news of the glory of Christ (2 Cor. 4:4), the gospel of God concerning his Son (Rom 1:1-4) and the gospel of the kingdom of God, which will be preached in all the world (Matt.24:14). Paul said he preached the gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:24), while also preaching the kingdom of God (v 25). It’s also called the gospel of peace, and the gospel of salvation. Paul defined the gospel he preached. Study it carefully, as being all about what the life and death of Jesus does for us (1 Cor. 15:1-8). The gospel of the Kingdom of God is made possible only by accepting the gospel of the glory of Christ – who is the way, the truth and the life, the Door and the only name possible by which we may enter into that kingdom (Acts 3:12).
So we believe the emphasis of the complete true Gospel begins and ends with the story and purpose of Jesus the Messiah (Romans 1:16-17) showing us Yeshua/Jesus is our Salvation, Redeemer, Savior, the Way into salvation and the righteousness of God through Him – as He leads us into the Kingdom of God.
7th day SABBATH vs SUNDAY
We believe we are to obey God’s 4th commandment and do no work but to rest from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown. Sabbath (shabbat in Hebrew) was instituted by the Creator Himself by resting from all His Work on Day 7 of Creation week (Genesis 2:2-3), therefore Jesus said he was the “lord of the Sabbath” and that sabbath was made for all mankind, not just the Jews (Mark 2:27-28). There were no Jews alive when God hallowed the 7th day at creation, just Adam and Eve. It’s the day of rest (Exodus 20:8-11).
*Sabbath was a gift God GAVE Israel (Ex. 16:29) and it’s clearly on the seventh day. God did not say rest one day in seven but to rest on the seventh day. God never cancelled the fourth commandment, written with the finger of God on to the stone tablets on Mt Sinai. “There remains a sabbath rest for the people of God” (Hebrews 4:9). The sabbath is on the 7th day of the week, which is the day we rest and worship God. There’s no Bible statement anywhere that Sunday replaced God’s holy sabbath on the 7th day. Though our rest is in *Christ, and Jesus is our rest, all the early believers kept the 7th day sabbath as a literal day of rest – until pagan emperor Constantine enforced Sunday worship (“that all rest on the venerable day of the sun”) on everyone, on pain of death if anyone tried to keep the Jewish sabbath.
*Sabbath should be a delight (Isa. 58:13). If it’s not, we’re doing something wrong. The main focus of shabbat (sabbath) is REST; to STOP our daily focus and rest. (Exodus 20:8-11; 23:12; 34:21). On sabbath we also worship God and attend a holy convocation (Lev. 23:3), but we should NOT spend most of the sabbath day “in church”. Rest. Spend time in God’s word yourself, in prayer by yourself, with your family and children, and so make Sabbath a wonderful family day, a delight.
*GOD’S HOLY DAYS (Lev. 23; 1 Cor. 5:5-7; Acts 2:1-4) vs the world’s holidays like Christmas and Easter and Halloween. We do not believe the new covenant did away with God’s holy days. We do not keep the pagan-based Christmas and Easter. God’s holydays reveal God’s plan for salvation of most of humanity eventually. We keep the seven holydays of God like the Passover season and days of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Feast of Trumpets, Atonement, Feast of Tabernacles and 8th day. Our ministers teach and practice these days and understand how they reveal God’s plan of salvation. The new covenant Church of God actually began as a church on one of God’s holydays -- Pentecost (Acts 2).
*Passover points to Christ, the Passover Lamb whose blood frees us from bondage to Satan, sin and death. The Days of Unleavened Bread depict the perfect life of Jesus, who never sinned and was never “leavened”. HE is the Bread from Heaven and who Unleavened Bread pictures. It’s about HIS life, not ours. Wave sheaf Day in them middle of Days of Unleavened Bread depicts Christ the first of the firstfruits of barley being accepted by God on behalf of the rest of the harvest. Pentecost/Feast of Weeks and also called Feast of Firstfruits was when God gave the Law at Mt Sinai and when God gave His Spirit in Acts 2. WE believe the first resurrection – which is for and about the first fruits of God – will occur on Pentecost and then like the 2 Leavened loaves raised up by the High Priest, we will rise with Christ to heaven to marry the Son of God in heaven.
We will then return with Him on spirit white chargers (Rev.19), probably on the Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah) in the Fall. Christ destroys the armies gathered to fight us there (Zech 14), we land on Mt. of Olives and rule on the earth. Satan is bound and restrained into a bottomless pit (Rev 20:1-2) and Christ begins the process of reconciling the remnants of humanity to God on Atonement. Then the first fruit children of God reign with Christ for 1,000 years on the earth (Rev. 20:4-6) pictured by Feast of Tabernacles followed by the resurrection of all who have ever lived before. 8th Day shows God will then reveal new beginnings, new heavens and new earth and God the Father comes with the heavenly Jerusalem to the earth (Rev. 21-22).
Jesus was NOT born Dec 25 though God’s enemies in several false religions were said to be born on Dec 25. Christmas was an ancient festival worshiping the returning sun and was a feast of Saturnalia and sex orgies. Easter also is pagan, and is a pagan tribute to Ishtar the goddess of sex and fertility (hence the Easter eggs, easter rabbits/bunnies, etc.). The Catholic church took pagan holidays and put a Christian label on them to make them “OK”. But God is clear: do NOT worship Him the way the pagans worship their gods (Deut. 12:29-30; Lev 18:3; 1 Cor. 10:20-22). So we do not participate at all in pagan days like Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s Day, Halloween or even New Year’s day (God’s correct new year is in the spring, Abib 1.)
*BAPTISMS (Hebrews 6:2)/IMMERSION
We believe and practice full body water IMMERSION, not sprinkling.
Before a person is baptized, they must repent of their sins, then are immersed into Christ in his name (Acts 2:38). After that, ordained elders lay hands on the newly baptized for receiving the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 6:2; Acts 8:14-17; 19:6). Those being baptized should be old enough to understand sin and repentance and commitment to Christ and God. So we do not baptize infants or children. Upon repentance, they are then immersed fully into Christ, and into His name, just exactly as happened that we can read about for every baptism in the New Testament (Acts 2:38; 8:16; 10:46; 19:5).
We also believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit, when we are immersed by and into the Holy Spirit, God’s presence, power and his very divine nature and person of Christ himself (Acts 1:4-5). This makes us a part of Christ’s very own body, a child of God who can call God Most High “Abba, Father” just as Jesus did (Gal. 4:5-6). We receive God’s one spirit – called variously as the spirit of God and the “Spirit of Christ”, the one and same spirit (Romans 8:9-11; 2 Cor. 3:17; 2 Peter 1:3-4; Gal. 4:6; Rom. 8:15). 1 Corinthians 12:13 - “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body — whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free — and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.”
The NEW COVENANT: We believe those who are baptized and have received the Holy Spirit are now living under the New Covenant. It’s brand new, not a renewal of the Old covenant. We do not believe in a “renewed” covenant, but a totally BRAND NEW covenant. The Old Covenant was based on human performance, works and rewards. If people obeyed – then God blessed (Deut 28), but the old covenant offered only blessings for obedience but did not offer eternal life and spiritual salvation to the masses. The old covenant could not spiritually perfect anyone (Heb 7:19) and it was not offered to the whole world.
If you sinned in the old covenant, sin cut you off from God – until Atonement. But in the New Covenant, nothing separates us from the love of God (Romans 8:37-39). In fact in the new covenant when we sin, the Son of God defends us (1 John 2:1-2).
So the NEW Covenant is based on what Jesus did, and our faith in Him, not what we do. God’s New covenant is offered to any in the whole world whom God is calling and who respond to His call. Gentiles and Israelites alike -- all become “sons of Abraham” and heirs of the promises (Gal. 3:26-29). It’s based on faith in Jesus completely from start to finish (Romans 1:16-17), for in the true gospel the righteousness of God is revealed, through Christ, the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2). Jesus’ life becomes OUR life (Col 3:3-4; Gal.2:20) and He fulfilled the righteous requirement of the law (Romans 8:1-4; Romans 4:20-25; Phil 3:8-11). He became the righteousness of God for us (2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Cor. 1:29-31; Rom 3:21-22; 5:16-19). So in the New covenant, our faith is not in our own performance, but we have faith in Christ’s perfect life. We must still obey God and walk like Jesus did in the power of HIS might (1 John 2:3-6; Col 3:4-15; 1 Cor. 6:9-11), but salvation is by grace through faith, not by our works. The New Covenant is totally new.
TEN COMMANDMENTS: These show us God’s heart and mind and how He wants us to live. True believers still live by, and obey, these commands because we love God, defined as keeping His commandments (John 14:15). So we love God’s commandments and want to keep them. But keeping the Ten does not and cannot save us spiritually. Only by the grace of God and faith in Jesus Christ are we saved. (Eph 2:8-9). Period. Christ kept these ten commands perfectly. Christ in us still will continue keeping God’s ten commandments as proof of being a new creation in Him, though we still stumble in sin. Keeping the Law of God does NOT save us, but shows we have been saved (Eph 2:8-10) as we no longer live a way of life of disobedience. Those who continue a life of sin as their way of life, will not inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9-11). Many scriptures show the ten commandments are still kept by believers as proof of God’s sovereignty over us (1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 14:15; Rev. 14:12).
We believe we must keep The 10 commandments as proof we have been saved, not FOR salvation. Eph 2:8-10. Bonus: the Fourth Commandment has not been re-written, changed or nullified. It’s the TEN commandments, not the Nine.
We are a NEW CREATION in Christ. When Christ becomes our life (Col 3:3-4; Gal. 2:20) we immediately become new and fully transformed in the spirit, a new creation in Christ, in the spirit. Our body and soul (mind, heart, our will, our thoughts) still have fleshly carnal slips, but will be transformed at the resurrection. But right now we are a new creation in Christ in the spirit (2 Cor. 5:17) and we are therefore no longer under any condemnation because Christ is now our life. Christ committed no sin, so he cannot be condemned, and now neither can we (Rom 8:1) though, like Paul, we still “slip up” in sin from time to time (Romans 7:14-25). As Paul said, that’s no longer us sinning but the sinful nature still in us that sins (v.20). God sees our heart and spirit as new in Christ. Christ Jesus fulfilled all God’s righteous requirements and commands in us and for us (Romans 8:1-4), and so we are no longer “in the flesh but in the spirit” (Rom 8:5-10, especially verse 9). We are now debtors to live by the spirit in obedience (Rom. 8:12-14), putting to death the deeds of the flesh, as one who is owned by God. We are new creations in the spirit, though the flesh is still weak and still sins from time to time.
The KINGDOM OF GOD and the Kingdom of Heaven.
The Kingdom of God has always existed and exists now – in heaven. Matthew often calls it the Kingdom of Heaven. It’s ruled by God the Father who also bequeathed it to Jesus, who in turn bestows it to us to share with him (Luke 22:29-30; Rom 8:16-17). It is the Kingdom of GOD, but is also called “the Kingdom of the Son of His love” (Col 1:13-15; Heb. 1:8-9). Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 15:50). We cannot see the Kingdom of God unless we are born from above of God’s spirit (John 3:3-6).
*We teach that it’s a misconception to call the Millennial reign of Christ “the kingdom of God” in it’s final form. The Millennium is indeed ruled by the Kingdom, but the Kingdom of God is not and cannot be composed of flesh and blood people. In the Kingdom of God, only righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:13). There will be no sinners in the Kingdom of God (Rev. 21:7-8). But in fact after the end of the Millennium, there is still a huge, destructive sinful war inspired by a released Satan again (Rev. 20:7-10) resulting in the death of perhaps millions. That simply can’t be, and is not, a good description of God’s kingdom. So the Millennium, or “world tomorrow” as many came to call it, is but a shadow of the true, full kingdom of God.
We believe the kingdom of God is made up, in its final form, only of perfect spirit beings like God the Father and Jesus Christ and those who receive the righteousness of God by faith in Jesus, and the holy angels of God, who are there as servants to those inheriting this kingdom (Heb. 1:13-14). We will be fully a part of that kingdom when our flesh is changed to immortal spirit at the last trump. However, even now, as we’re begotten by God’s spirit, we are already considered citizens of God’s Kingdom (Phil. 3:20-21). I believe the literal kingdom of heaven is most likely also made up of spirit – where there’s no moth or rust or anything that corrupts. So I believe that the “streets of gold” and the “sea of Glass like crystal” are all made of spirit.
The Kingdom of God is in heaven at present. It will be the Rock that crushes all the earthly kingdoms when Christ returns, pictured by the Stone smashing the feet and the image of the earthly kingdoms of Daniel 2, and then fills the whole earth. Then God our Father returns from heaven to a new heavens and new earth – and brings the kingdom of heaven down to earth, as described in Revelation 21 and 22. And of his kingdom there shall be no end.
SAVED ENTIRELY BY GRACE through faith in Christ, and REWARDED BY WORKS
We are saved by grace alone. Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Verse 10 – for we are HIS WORKMANSHIP, created in God FOR good works. We are saved by his mercy, not because of any works of righteousness that we have done (Titus 3:4-7). It’s “not of yourselves” – Eph 2:8. Salvation is entirely the work of God through Yeshua, which means “Savior”. We’re saved by God’s gracious favor towards us by faith in Jesus. Remember Salvation is a gift, not a reward. A gift CANNOT be earned. Salvation is based on what Jesus did. We don’t earn gifts. However, our salvation is proven by our changed and changing life, obedient to God and his Way.
However, REWARDS are due to one’s works. Salvation is not our reward, but God’s gift. But many verses speak of being rewarded by our works. Rewards are what we will be and what we’re given to do for all eternity, what position over cities or nations God may reward us with. We ARE rewarded based on our righteousness (Psalm 18:20), but not saved by our righteousness. We’ll also be rewarded by how we helped those in need (Matt 25:31-40), who actually picture Jesus himself. Rewards are what we’ve earned by what WE did. Rewards are what we’ll do and be for eternity. Salvation is what our Savior Yeshua- meaning “Savior”-- did for us and who offered us freely the GIFT of eternal life (Rom 6:23).
*God IMPUTES/credits HIS very own Righteousness to His saints
In the end, our righteousness is not, cannot be, our own righteousness. The righteousness that God requires is perfect righteousness, and only His own is perfect (Matthew 5:48). We can never, by our own efforts even with the Holy Spirit, attain perfect righteousness as Paul found out in Romans 7. He still sinned, though his inner man wanted to obey.
Man’s best righteousness is as filthy rags in His sight (Isa.64:6). So by faith in Christ Jesus we are given the GIFT of God’s own righteousness (Romans 5:17) that is imputed to us, just as it was to Abraham when he believed (Gen 15:6; Romans 4:22-25; Phil 3:8-11). The perfect righteousness of God himself is the gift of God to us (2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Cor. 1:30-31; Romans 5:17). So “The LORD our Righteousness” becomes our reality (Jer 23:5-6). And “as Jesus is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17). WE are righteous by receiving God’s righteousness by faith, the same as Noah and others had (Hebrews 11:7).
*SPIRIT, SOUL AND BODY
1 Thessalonians 5:23 “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
So, at LOTR Church of God we believe our lives are made up of spirit, soul and body – making up the composite whole, together (Deut 6:5). I have tended to resist dividing our lives into these three separate parts, but will try to explain. But think of spirit, soul and body as making up the whole living human being.
Think of “the BODY” as our flesh, skin, our organs, everything that makes up our appearance and life as a human. The Bible speaks of the body as “the flesh”. Paul teaches that in his flesh no good thing dwells (Rom 8:17-20) and his flesh kept pulling him in the direction of sin to fulfill the desires of the flesh. The body/flesh reveal what secret pleasures we have. “The flesh” could include over-emphasis about our looks (1 Pet. 3:3-4), pride in, or overly concerned about, our physical body and abundance of our possessions – instead of laying up treasures in heaven (Matt. 6:19-21). Our bodies are temporary, called a “tent” – 2 Cor. 5:1-4; 2 Peter 1:13-14. We should have no confidence in the flesh (Phil 3:3). We do believe and teach that God as Jesus the Christ was manifested in the flesh (1 Tim. 3:16; 1 John 4:2-3; 2 John 7).
The “SOUL” is the part of us that gives life to the body. Soul is MORE than just saying “the life” however. It includes the mind, our very breath of life, thoughts, emotions, desires, and goals. God breathed into Adam and then he became a living soul (Gen 2:7) – a nephesh in Hebrew. NIV: “a living being.” Life, breath. It represents our very self, our life. The Hebrew and Greek word for “soul” is often used also to refer to all life – human and even animal life (Job 41:21; Gen 1:20; Lev 17:11). We do NOT believe anyone has an “immortal soul” and those two words are never found together in the Bible. No, in fact, we’re clearly told that the “soul that sins, shall die” (Ezek. 18:4,20). The soul can die! We are to fear Him who can destroy both the body AND the soul (Matthew 10:28) in hell fire.
When a dead person is resurrected, we read their “soul” – their breath, their nephesh, their life -- returned to their body and that person lived again (1 Kings 17:19-22).
The “Spirit” includes the ‘spirit in man’ that gives humans our minds, intellect to mankind – not something animals have (1 Cor. 2:11) It is when our spirit in man joins with God’s spirit that we can, for the first time, start to see and understand spiritual truth (1 Cor. 2:14). Our spirit can combine with Christ’s spirit, making us one spirit with Him (1 Cor. 6:17), just as a man and wife become one flesh when they come together. When that union of our spirit and the spirit of Christ happens, Christ becomes our life and our righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21; Col. 3:3-4), and that is why we’re now not under condemnation (Rom 8:1-4). No one can condemn perfect Christ. And he is now our life, so therefore neither are we to be condemned. Of course we still must confess and repent when we sin, but when we do, Christ defends us (1 John 2:1-2); Christ does not leave us in the new covenant when we seek Him, even when we sin. Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.
Our Spirit-in man goes back to God who gave it, when we die (Ecc. 12:7; 3:21; Luke 23:46; Acts 7:59). In resurrections, it’s the spirit in the person that returns to the body and it comes back to life, as in the case of Jairus’ daughter etc. (Luke 8:54-55). The word used is from Greek “pneuma” in Jairus’ daughter’s case, her breath, her life. Similar to the Hebrew nephesh both of which can refer either to Spirit or to Soul or Life. See also 1 Kings 17:19-22, when the boy's life – his soul, nephesh, returned and he came back to life.
We have a spirit in man 1 Corinthians 2:11-14; Job 32:8. See also Romans 8:16; 1 Corinthians 5:3-5. That spirit goes to God upon our death. Ecclesiastes 12:7.
For true Christians, our flesh still sins. The Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak (Mark 14:38), Jesus said. But the “new creation” we become in Christ (2 Cor 5:17), is joined to HIS spirit as one spirit (1 Cor. 6:17), and this is the new creation that God the Father sees. It’s not just a refurbished life, but a brand new creation. All of that is in the spirit primarily. Our flesh is still weak. We should not regard each other according to the flesh (2 Cor 5:16), but as a new creation. “Christ became sin for us that we might be the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21). Our life is now Christ’s life (Col 3:3-4), which even when we sin is not condemned in the new covenant (Rom 8:1-4, which follows Paul’s expression of his own weakness and sin in the flesh in Romans 7). Of course we must always confess and repent when we sin, but our real life now is the new creation in the spirit with Christ. Jesus becomes our Advocate, yes even when we have sinned (1 John 2:1-2). And now in Christ we can “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and grace to help in our time of need”. (Heb 4:16).
So now we can have boldness in the judgment. How? Why? “Because as HE is, so are we in this world.” 1 John 4:17b. Believe that, live that.
Notice that once we are in Christ in the spirit, in the new creation, when God tests our work, his testing fire will reveal how solid our spiritual work was. Study 1 Cor. 3:9-15, especially verses 12-15. Even the sexual sinner of 1 Cor. 5, who was handed to Satan “for the destruction of the flesh, that his SPIRIT may be saved in the day of our Lord Jesus.” (Study 1 Cor. 5:4-5). There’s a lot there to digest.
[Much, much more must be said about this topic. This whole section is likely to be edited and re-written]
PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE? Or Post-trib?
We do NOT believe in a Pre-Tribulation rapture. Scripture is clear that Christ returns AFTER the Great Tribulation. When Christ comes, angels will gather the Elect brethren and take them/us to Jesus in the clouds. This happens at the last trump, the 7th trump (1 Thess 4:16-17; Rev. 11:15-17). But all that happens AFTER the Great Tribulation. Many want to believe that God’s saints will be spared the Great Tribulation and taken to heaven. But scripture is also clear that some are protected and some are not. The Beast power makes war against the saints and will kill many of them (Rev. 13:5-8, 15; Daniel 7:21-22, 25; Rev 12:13-17; Rev. 6:9-11; Rev 17:5-6). But notice that Christ returns AFTER the tribulation:
Matthew 24:29-31
"Immediately AFTER the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 THEN the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
We do believe at this point – since there will still be seven final bowl plagues (Rev. 16) after the 7th trumpet, and that will take some time to go through, that Jesus Christ will take his Bride to heaven to be married – in the Presence of God the Father (Matthew 22:1-2; Rev. 19:1-16) and the holy angels. In Bible marriages the groom always went to get the Bride – and then returned with her to his father’s home to consummate the marriage. And then we return to earth with Christ this time, to land on the Mount of Olives (Zech 14:3-5 and Acts 1:9-11). The saints of God then rule with Christ on the earth for 1,000 years (Rev. 20:4-6)
MILLENNIUM will be on EARTH, NOT IN HEAVEN.
We believe in a literal thousand-year reign of Messiah on earth. Revelation 20.
We believe this will be rulership on the earth, not in heaven. Satan will be bound and sealed/jailed in a bottomless pit for 1,o00 years (Rev. 20:1-3). Satan is NOT allowed to just roam the earth during that thousand years as one church teaches. Much of the world’s current population will have died by then, but there will still be millions left alive. After YHVH returns to Mt of Olives with his armies and saints (Zech 14:1-4, 12-14) and destroys those arrayed against him, then he sets up His reign in Jerusalem. Representatives of all nations that are LEFT ALIVE shall come to Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Tabernacles – or they will have no rain (Zech 14:16-18). That’s clearly speaking of being on earth. Yes, there are still quite a number left alive on earth. (We do not agree with SDA teaching that all humans are eliminated by the glory of Christ’s return).
During this time, nations from all over the we earth will come to Jerusalem to worship the king (Isaiah 2:1-4; Micah 4:1-4).
The deserts will blossom like a rose. Read Isaiah 35, which makes it clear that God is ruling at that time on the earth. There are no deserts in heaven. People will each rejoice under their own fig tree as Micah 4:4
HEALING
We believe God still heals. Brethren are commanded to call the elders for anointing with oil and prayer when they’re sick and the prayer of faith will heal the sick (James 5:14-16). We don’t believe the age of dramatic healing miracles is over at all, but there also must be strong faith. Unbelief will prevent healings, as in Mark 6:1-5.
Those who are sick should remember to “pray for one another, that you may be healed” (James 5:16). Being healed and being forgiven of sin often go hand in hand.
When the minister can’t go pray for and lay hands on the sick, he can do what Paul did: let people have cloths that were prayed over and anointed by him, called anointed cloths or “prayer cloths” – those can be given for the sick or mailed to the sick (Acts 19:11-12).
We also believe that evil, unclean “spirits of infirmity” may sometimes be involved in illnesses and suffering more than most people want to think about (Acts 19:12; Luke 13:10-12, 15-16). So we don’t hesitate to rebuke any demons that may be involved as well (NOT saying there is necessarily any demon possession going on; just involvement.)
It is OK to see a doctor and take prescribed medications. That is the person’s individual choice. Doing so is not a lack of faith. Jesus said the sick are the ones who need a physician (Luke 5:31). The problem is when someone seeks only the physicians as King Asa did (2 Chronicles 16:12). So we should call for the elders to pray over us when we’re sick, and then brethren should also be free to see what a doctor might do and say as well. Seeing a doctor is NOT a lack of faith.
I have three recent sermons in 2024 on healing. Part 1 – stories and examples of spectacular healings still going on; Part 2 – How Unbelief and lack of faith destroys a lot of healing; Part 3 – EIGHT Keys to see more healings. Part 3 will have points you may have missed before.
BALANCED CHURCH GOVERNMENT AND AUTHORITY
We believe, practice and teach that though we are created equal as human beings, our FUNCTIONS (Romans 12:4-5) are all very different. Some are called to LEADERSHIP as church pastors (shepherds) under the Chief Shepherd Jesus Christ (1 Pet 5:1-5). Scripture does not say all brethren are “equal” – but are heirs together (1 Peter 3:1-6), but there ARE leaders in the Body of Christ besides Jesus!
We are to avoid lording it over others or focusing on authority over others (Matthew 20:25-28), but should focus instead on serving one another and not trying to be the greatest in the church. We are to avoid titles (Matthew 23:8-11) – but serve instead.
Scripture nonetheless is clear, there are leaders in the body of Christ, and ones we are to submit to and obey. “Obey those who have the rule over you, and submit yourselves to them…” (Heb. 13:17). Parents are over their children, who are to submit and obey their parents (Col 3:20). Husbands are the head of their wives (Eph 5:22-33), and our head is Christ, and HIS Head is God the father (1 Cor. 11:3). Marriage is supposed to PICTURE of the way it is in the church (See Ephesians 5:32) – loving, Servant Leadership is the model Christ laid down for us. But leadership, nonetheless.
Some believe and admit there is chain of command in the kingdom of God, but they say not in the church at all. But remember God changes not (Mal 3:6), the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). How would it make any sense for God to put us in a system (the church) with no hierarchy or chain of command at all, not even in a servant leadership model – but then in the kingdom there clearly is hierarchy, by the same God Most High who says he changes not. David will once again be over Israel and over the 12 apostles who will be over one of the twelve tribes each. Brethren will be rewarded with cities they will “rule over” (Luke 19:16-19). Notice they are given “authority over ten cities (v 17). Those who overcome will rule the nations (Rev. 2:26-27), with a rod of iron no less.
So we are all brothers and sisters of Christ and each other in the church, but yes, there is order and a righteous servant leadership in God’s church.
*ORDAINED MINISTRY
See the required qualifications of those being called to be ordained as overseers or ministers – Titus 1:5-9; 1 Tim 3:2-7.
The ministry is a high calling from God, to be taken very seriously, not usually one we just choose ourselves. Those who teach will go through a stricter judgment (James 3:1) as we are supposed to know better. And those who preach must take that seriously to be really know the scriptures accurately, to be deep, and thorough in the scriptures. Ministers must be people who can teach God’s word.
We believe scripture is clear that pastors are over church congregations (Hebrews 13:7, 17), but always remembering we are under Christ the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:1-5). We must never “lord it over” the brethren or others. Christ condemned that (Matthew 20:25-28; Mark 10:42-45). He wants us to find ways to serve the brethren as a loving pastor/shepherd. He wants Servant Leadership, leading in a humble way. We are to submit to one another and esteem one another higher than ourselves (Phil. 2:3; Eph 5:22). Elders and deacons – since their very title means “servants” – are to constantly look for ways to help out and to serve others. Elders are not seeking to be served.
Elders are to be men, not women, so we do not have any women preachers or pastors. We also have deacons and deaconesses. So women can be ordained as deaconesses and can teach and lead other women.
*ROLE OF WOMEN in the church
Though we don’t ordain women to be pastors and preachers, we do ordain women to be deaconesses. Women should not feel they can never say anything spiritual in church services. Many prominent women of the Bible were prophetesses, which means they spoke -- including Miriam (Ex 15:20), Deborah (Judges 4:4) a prophetess and great leader, as was Huldah (2 Kings 22:14). Even in the New Testament, the four virgin daughters of Philip the evangelist also prophesied (Acts 21:8-9). That means they spoke. And people listened. Anna was an older woman prophetess as well (Luke 2:36-37) who “SPOKE to all” about the Christ child. So we encourage women in the church to be actively involved and to realize they are greatly valued as members of the congregation. Joel prophesied in the last days our sons AND daughters and even female servants shall prophesy (Acts 2:17-18).
SPEAKING IN TONGUES
In Acts 2, it is clear that the tongues are “known” tongues, for the audience HEARD the apostles speaking in their own differing languages from around the middle-east (Acts 2:4-12) at the same time. So in Acts 2, the miracle of speaking in tongues was not just in the speaking, but in the hearing as well, as people from multiple countries all heard the sermon in their own language at the same time. In KJV, it says “unknown tongue” but “unknown” is in italics; it was not in the original Greek. Later on in 1 Corinthians 14, we’re told that those speaking in tongues needed to be interpreted, in order for others to understand what they were saying. So it’s possible that what happened in Acts 2, was not the same thing that happened later when someone spoke in tongues (see also Acts 10:44-48 Cornelius and Acts 19:5-7).
Speaking in tongues should never be the measure or conclusion that a person has finally been “baptized in the spirit”, as some believe. Speaking in tongues is not mentioned every single time someone received God’s spirit, though it is mentioned several times. It’s not mentioned, for example in Acts 8:14-19. It is one of the gifts of the spirit (1 Cor.12:7-11, 29-31), but brethren did not receive every gift of the spirit. And the gift of tongues and interpreting tongues are always listed last in the list of gifts. NOT everyone received every gift. After discussing it briefly in 1 Cor. 12 at the end, Paul uses 1 Cor. 13 to show the three greatest gifts of the spirit are faith, hope and love, especially love. But it’s easy for us to start desiring the gift of tongues, or healing, or prophesying or miracles instead of the greatest three gifts. Do NOT feel bad if you don’t “speak in tongues”. Paul discusses speaking in tongues a lot in 1 Cor. 14 and this should be carefully studied.
IN 1 Cor. 14, Paul makes it very clear early on that he’d rather speak a few understood words than thousands of words in a tongue nobody understands. He lays down three rules (1 Cor. 14:26-40) before speaking in tongues could be allowed to happen in a church setting so that godly order could be maintained. We should follow these rules. #1 – one person only speaking in a tongue, at a time, not a mass of people all speaking in tongues at the same time. #2 – only if there is an interpreter, otherwise the one speaking in tongues should remain silent. #3 – maximum of three persons who speak in tongues in a church service. And a #4 rule might also apply – no women speaking in tongues. Paul emphasizes the church services should be one of godly order, not bedlam and confusion. There is no record of Jesus or John the Baptist or their parents ever speaking in tongues.
TITHING and generous free-will offerings to God’s ministers
Most churches who teach tithing, use the Old Testament scriptures where clearly tithes were on the tenth of their flocks, herds and produce of the land such as every tenth sheep or goat or ox, plus a tenth of wheat, barley, olives, or even mint, anise and cummin – to the priests and the temple in Jerusalem. No scripture says tithing was ever on one’s income. My sermon which goes in depth on the Old Covenant teaching on tithing:
https://lightontherock.org/index.php/sermons/message/tithing-part-1-tithing-in-the-old-covenant-new?highlight=WyJ0aXRoaW5nIl0=
I find it amusing that many preachers teach we are not in the old covenant – but strongly preach old covenant tithing scriptures, but rarely get it right.
In the New Testament, after the resurrection of Christ, what is clear is the those preaching the gospel DO have a right to live off the gospel through the generosity of the saints. Read 1 Cor. 9:3-14. Then in vs 15-18, Paul says he did not use that right from the Corinthians. Gal 6:16 says those who hear the word of God should share “in all good things with him who teaches”. So Paul is clear that brethren should still support teachers of the true gospel.
1 Corinthians 9:13-14 “Do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar? 14 Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel.”
And so, yes, we at Light on the Rock Ministries also gratefully accept your contributions or tithes so we can afford to spread the good news to so many needy and poor brethren, as Matthew 25:31-40 teaches. Thank you. Donations to LOTR (us), is what allows us to keep working in East Africa.
Here’s my sermon about tithing in the New Covenant – different from Old Covenant tithing:
https://lightontherock.org/index.php/sermons/message/tithing-part-2-in-the-new-covenant-new?highlight=WyJ0aXRoaW5nIl0=
We follow the Lev 11 and Deut 14 dietary food laws
The kingdom of God is not in eating and drinking, but in peace and joy in the Holy spirit (Romans 14:17). Noah certainly was aware of the clean and unclean animals and their laws long before Mt Sinai long before there even was a nation of Israel. Genesis 6:19-21; 7:2-3, 8-9.
We believe God had very good health reasons to forbid eating certain meat. So we still will not eat any of the kinds of meat God forbad in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14. So we do not eat pork, shrimp, shell fish, crab or other foods forbidden by God to Israel.
As an aside, we also strongly encourage brethren to practice good health practices like lots of exercise, ample sleep, control of stress, eating healthy foods and no smoking of any tobacco.
ROLE OF The SAINTS OF The CHURCH
(This requires more time.) The brethren are being trained and groomed for work of ministry – of serving each other and the world. The older men and women should teach the younger men and women.
We reject much of Judaism – or some of what the “Messianics” and “Hebrew Roots” groups believe.
- That means no head covering for men (Kippa), or Tallit prayer shawls, or even tzit-zit tassels.
- We certainly do NOT follow the Jewish Talmud or oral law on such things as how they claim to keep the sabbath. Jesus clearly hated their man-made commandments. Yes, we can shower, dress, brush teeth, and keep the sabbath for doing good. The oral laws written in the Talmud have zero precedence over God’s actual written Torah.
- God’s laws are written on our hearts – not in TZIT-ZIT. So we don’t wear tzit-zit.
- Women should show their long hair, not cover it with a scarf or veil (1 Cor. 11:15). God calls women’s hair their “glory”.
- Though it’s OK to use some Hebrew words, we are not required to use the Hebrew words for God, Jesus, Christ, Lord, Father, sabbath. So you do not have to say Abba, shalom, shabbat, Yeshua, Elohim.
- We do NOT recite old Hebrew prayers or use their prayer book, many of which were likely written by rabbis who did not recognize Jesus as Christ or messiah or Savior.
- We do not pray as they do with bobbing of the head. Nor do we require facing Jerusalem during your prayer, though Daniel did, as a Jewish captive (Daniel 6:10).
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE DIE?
When we DIE, we are in a “sleep”. OUR SPIRIT in MAN goes back to God but we await the resurrection.
Much more needed on these topics of lake of fire, death, and eternal judgment.
Does one go to heaven when he/she dies?
The PERSON or the person’s soul does not go to heaven or hell upon death. There is a “spirit in man” that DOES go to heaven to God (Ecc. 12:7; 3:21).
HELL FIRE will BURN UP those put into it, not just torture them forever and ever. The wicked become ASHES under the feet of the righteous (Malachi 4;3). The wages of sin is death – not eternal life being tortured forever by a supposedly loving God.
