Become A Wedding Officiate
THE BIBLE
The sole basis of our belief is the Bible, composed of
the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments. We believe that
Scripture in its entirety originated with God, and that it was given
through the instrumentality of chosen people. Scripture thus at one and
the same time speaks with the authority of God, and reflects the
backgrounds, styles and vocabularies of the human authors. We hold the
Scriptures are infallible and inerrant in the original manuscripts. They
are the unique, full and final authority on all matters of faith and
practice, and there are no other writings similarly inspired by God.
GOD
We believe that there is one true, holy God, eternally
existing in three persons, - Father, Son and Holy Spirit -each of whom
possesses equally all the attributes of deity and the characteristics of
personality. In the beginning God created out of nothing the world and
all the things therein, thus manifesting the glory of His power, wisdom
and goodness. By His sovereign power He continues to sustain His
creation.
GOD THE FATHER
We believe that in reference to the
relationship with each other the members of the Godhead are the same in
substance, equal in power and glory. We believe God the Father gives
oversight to the ministries of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy
Spirit. He has laid down a plan for the ages and is working all things
together to fulfill that plan.
GOD THE SON
We believe the Lord
Jesus Christ is God the Son. We believe in His complete deity and
humanity, His virgin conception, His sinless life, His death on the
cross for the sins of the world, and His bodily resurrection from the
dead. He actively intercedes on behalf of the church and is preparing
for His personal return to earth.
GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT
We
believe that God the Holy Spirit convicts people of sin. He gives
spiritual life, baptizes, indwells seals and sets apart for holy use
everyone at the moment they become a child of God. He bestows spiritual
gifts upon believers, and empowers them for daily living.
SATAN
We believe Satan is a created spirit being, the originator of sin, who
revolted against God and now works in opposition to the people and
purposes of God.
PEOPLE
We believe the first couple, Adam and
Eve, were divinely created in the image of God. Originally innocent,
pure and in fellowship with God they fell from that position through the
sin of disobedience. Their sin has left all people separated from God,
condemned to physical and spiritual death and helpless to restore the
original state.
SALVATION
The central purpose of God’s
revelation in Scripture is to call all people into fellowship with
Himself. Originally created to have fellowship with God, humans defied
God, choosing to go their independent way, and were thus alienated from
God and suffered the corruption of their nature, rendering them unable
to please God. The fall took place at the beginning of human history,
and all individuals since have suffered these consequences and are
therefore in need of the saving grace of God. The salvation of humankind
is, then, wholly a work of God’s free grace, not the result, in whole or
in part of human works or goodness, and must be personally appropriated
by repentance and faith. When God has begun a saving work in the heart
of any person, He gives assurance in His Word that He will continue
performing it until the day of its full consummation.
THE CHURCH
The corollary of union with Jesus Christ is that all believers become
members of His body, the church. There is one true church universal,
comprised of all those who acknowledge Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord.
Therefore, the church is people. Scripture commands believers to gather
together to devote themselves to worship, prayer, teaching of the Word,
observance of baptism and communion , fellowship, service to the body
through the development and use of talents and gifts, and outreach to
the world. Whenever and wherever God’s people meet in order to fulfill
any or all of these practices, there is the local expression of the
church. Under the supervision of supportive leadership, its members are
to work together in love and unity, intent on the one ultimate purpose
of glorifying Christ.
THE FUTURE
We believe in the visible and
bodily return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth. Death seals the eternal
destiny of each person. Those who are children of God will receive a
resurrected body and live in the full enjoyment of God’s presence
forever. Those who are outside the family of God will be resurrected to
spend eternity in everlasting punishment.
MARRIAGE AND FAMILY
We believe marriage is a lifelong covenant between a man and a woman.
Like God’s complimentary creation of man and woman, marriage holds great
significance in revealing aspects of God’s character and His
relationship to humanity. The permanence and monogamy of the marital
bond mirrors God’s faithfulness and singular devotion to his church and
his church’s singular devotion to him.
Marriage symbolizes and
supports the inherently procreative relationship that exists only
between a man and a woman. It is also the relationship that forms the
foundation of family and community life.
The family is to provide
physical, emotional and spiritual care for its members as it enables
them to serve God, other persons and creation. Parents have the
privilege and unique responsibility of leading their children to know
God and his ways as well as the world around them.
As Christians,
our understanding of the structure and nature of marriage is founded on
the biblical account of the creation of man and woman. Genesis 1 and 2
state that God created man and woman to fulfill their need of intimate
partnership and to carry out the mandate given by God in Gen. 1:28; "Be
fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it". Jesus
reiterated this understanding when he said, Have you not read that the
one who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and
said, "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be
joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no
longer two but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one
separate." (Math. 19:4-5, NRSV).
As Christians, we believe
marriage is rooted in the way we are made. Marriage is founded upon the
biological reality that we humans exist in two sexes. It expresses the
complementarity of the sexes, and therefore requires both sexes, male
and female. Marriage was established for the purposes of companionship
and sexual fidelity between husband and wife. Marriage is the social,
cultural and religious context for the conjugal relationship, which is
exclusive to male and female. Properly understood, marriage is
covenantal, not merely contractual. Marriage has the unique power to
promote the exclusive and permanent sexual, psychological and emotional
bonding of a man and a woman. That is why marriage is called a covenant,
not merely a contract that can be formed and broken with the casualness
of a business transaction. Celebrating Life Ministries believes
that marriage is solely and only between one man and one woman and
therefore do not solemnize same sex marriages.