Colossians 2:6-7 (Roots)

 

6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: 

7 rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith,"

8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. 

9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 

10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:

 

 

The importance of roots:

 

The Greek word for Roots is pronounced "hrid-zo-o" spelled "Rhizoo". It means  "to become stable".

 

Any quality builder will tell you and I that before building, it's important for your foundation to become stable, lest what you build upon begins to crumble right under you.

 

We believe it is of up most importance to be spiritually stable in a world that is so unstable. The only way to do this is by being connected to our creator through Jesus Christ.

 

One english definition describes root as this:  "the part of a plant that attaches it to the ground or to a support, typically underground, conveying water and nourishment to the rest of the plant via numerous branches and fibers"

 

Roots are a vital part of the plants life. Roots gather water from the soil to keep the plant alive and keep the plant from blowing away. This is why the apostle Paul admonished the believers to become rooted. Notice, before he said built up, he said rooted. Too many people today are trying to build up without first being rooted down. We believe it is only a matter of time before these people sadly come crumbling down. Here at DOCJ SM we place much emphasis on becoming rooted because as a tree, through our roots we obtain our life, and our security in the Lord. We are lifeless without  Jesus Christ heading our lives.

 

Psalm 1:1-3

 

1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

 

2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord;

and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

 

3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season;
his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

 

 

 

Matthew 7:24-28 (Foundation)

 

24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:  

25 and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 

27 and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: 

 

 

 

Our foundation is built upon the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone.

 

Hebrews 6 provides us with the six foundational principles of the Church. We believe that the prophets, apostles, and Jesus Christ himself taught all of these elements. We believe these are fundamental, essential, and necessary  to the church still today. We also believe that the order in which the writer writes them are chronologically correct.

 

Hebrews 6:1-2

1. Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God  2. Of the doctrine of baptisms and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgement"

 

We believe in all six of these:

 

1. Repentance from dead works

We believe that repentance, meaning (feeling a heaviness in heart for our sins and turning away from and no longer being committed to those sins, but committed to Gods word is necessary for salvation.) To turn away from the evil and corrupt system of this present world and generation. (Luke 13:3/Acts 2:38-40/Acts 17:30)

 

2. Faith toward God

We believe that faith meaning (being completely persuaded of who God is (One Lord). The Almighty Father and creator from the Old Testament so graciously became a man in Christ Jesus the Son of God to save the world from sin. And also knowing that God is Love.) 

(Hebrews 11:6/Deuteronomy 6:4/1st Timothy 3:16/John 3:16/Ephesians 2:8-9/1st John 4:8)

 

3. Doctrine of baptisms

We believe that as repentance is not a work in the sense of earning salvation, but as receiving salvation (Acts 26:20) such as, faith (John 6:27-29), and confession (Romans 10:9). Water baptism is in the same category as the previous mentioned. By our water baptism we receive God's freely given salvation to us along with all else stated above.

 

Furthermore, it is a commandment/instruction/enjoining

(Acts 17:30) (Acts 10:48). We believe it is essential for us to follow the apostles doctrine/instructions/teachings

(Acts 2:42) as they were given these instructions by Jesus Christ himself. Because we believe we are baptized (Mark 16:16) this washes our sins away (Acts 22:16). (We believe this fulfills John 3:3-5 being born again of the water.) We also believe that there is no other name under heaven whereby we are saved except the name of Jesus Christ, as the scripture says, whatsoever we do, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Colossians 3:17). We believe this includes water baptism. (John 17:17-20/Matthew 28:19-20/Acts 2:38/Acts 19:1-5)

 

4. Laying on of hands

We believe that because the Old Testament prophets practiced this (Genesis 48) Jesus Christ himself did this (Matthew 19:13-15) and the apostles practiced this (Acts 6:5-7/Acts 8:17/Acts 19:1-6) and because it is mentioned in the foundation, it is an obvious part of our structure. (Within the laying on of hands; healing, releasing, sending, blessing others into ministry by elders occurs (Acts 28:8/ Acts 6:6). Receiving the baptism of the Holy Ghost speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance occurs (Acts 8:17/Acts 9:17-18) Although This can happen without anyone touching you (Acts 10:44), (we believe this fulfills John 3:3-5 Being born again of the Spirit). Imparting gifts from God by church leadership also occurs (1st Timothy 4:14). 

 

5. Resurrection of the dead

We believe that everyone who has ever died will be resurrected either to life (eternity with Almighty God in heaven) or death (eternity in the lake of fire with all who has died living in sin along with satan and his demons.) The scriptures make clear that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous. We also believe that Jesus Christ will return in the clouds and catch away the believers from this world at any time. At that time we believe that those that have died in the faith will rise first (1st Thessalonians 4:16) and the believers who are alive will meet them and Christ in the air and will be with him forever.

(John 5:29/Acts 24:15/Revelation 20:10-15)

 

 

6. Eternal Judgement 

We believe that a separate judgment will take place for saints, sinners, and the devil.

 

Judgment of saints: This judgement will pronounce all saints to be with the Lord. (Malachi 4:1-3/2nd Corinthians 5:10/Revelation 20:4/Revelation 21:1-7/Revelation 21:18-21.

 

Judgment of sinners: This judgement will pronounce all sinners into the lake of fire for eternity. (Revelation 20:12-15/Revelation 21:8/Malachi 4:1) 

 

Judgment of the devil(s): This Judgement will pronounce satan the false prophet and the other demons in the Lake of fire which burns with fire and brimstone forever (Revelation 20:10/Jude 1:6/2nd Peter 2:4)