6800 Lindbergh Blvd., Philadelphia, PA 19142  |  (215) 365-5966

What We Believe

Learn about our Doctrinal Statement

Christ Haven Pentecostal Church is of the Pentecostal Apostolic (Oneness Pentecostal) faith. We fully believe in the experience of receiving the Holy Ghost (with evidence of speaking in other tongues as the spirit gives utterance) as they did on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:4). We are Apostolic because we live, walk, and abide by the principles of the apostles, whom Jesus granted authority over the church (John 17). As such, our beliefs are modeled after Apostolic doctrine which places emphasis on the oneness of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Deuteronomy 6:4 states, “Hear O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord.” And again, Ephesians 4:5-6 states, “One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”

The Bible

Our Doctrine in the Word of God as taught and revealed by the Holy Ghost. (John 14:26; I Corinthians 2:9-13). “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for Doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works”. (II Timothy 3:16, 17)

The Godhead

We fully believe the mystery of the Godhead. We believe that Jesus was both human and divine, and further, that the Godhead be understood to mean all the fullness of God. (Colossians 1:19; 2:9) We believe that Jesus was Mary’s son and Mary’s God, Creator and creature, God manifest in the flesh; that the flesh of Jesus was the same as ours, with the exception that it had no sin; that Jesus was the Eternal Father made visible, apart from whom there is no God. We believe that at the final consummation of all things there will be only God, and that will be our Lord Jesus Christ.

The New Birth

We believe that everyone must be born again to enter the Kingdom of God. (St. John 3:3, 5) We further believe that the experience of the new birth is that one must be baptized in water in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ by immersion and by baptism of the Holy Ghost, with the initial evidence of speaking in tongues as the Spirit of the Lord giveth utterance (Acts 2:4).

Repentance

The only grounds upon which God will accept a sinner is repentance from the heart for the sins that he has committed. “A broken and a contrite heart, He will not despise.” (Psalms 51:17) Jesus said that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name in all nations, beginning at Jerusalem (Luke 24). At Pentecost, after Peter’s stinging formal accusation, accusing the nation of Israel of the crucifixion of Christ (Acts 2:22-24), he was asked by those who were guilty, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Then Peter said unto them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:8).

Water Baptism

Water baptism was administered “In the name of Jesus Christ; for this was the name given to our savior before His birth for saving his people from their sins” (St. Matthew 1:21); for there is salvation in “none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). The Apostles always administered baptism in His name from the day of Pentecost forward. There is no biblical record of one person ever being baptized, as some believers are today, using the formula “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (St. Matthew 28:19). The reason there were no believers so baptized is because the Apostles knew the NAME of the FATHER, the NAME of the SON and the NAME of the HOLY GHOST. There is a single name for the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. If the name is one, then the person must be one (Zechariah 14:9). As this has been said, He is “Father” in His relationship to His creation; he is “Son” in His redemptive role in saving the human element of His creation; He is “Holy Ghost” in His sanctifying and preserving the in-dwelt believer. But His name is one: JESUS.

The Holy Ghost

We believe that all full believers “receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, as promised by our Lord, as a witness to their scripturally-based faith in Jesus” (St. John 7:37-39); and that the new birth of the Spirit (St. John 3:5) is necessary to place the believer in the Kingdom of God or the body of Christ, “the Church” (I Corinthians 12:12, 13). We further believe that outpouring of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost marked a “new era in the Spirit’s dealing with humankind as prophesied by Joel (2:28, 29) and Isaiah (28:11). The Holy Ghost is the gift to every believer in this age of grace. The Holy Ghost bears witness that “we are the children of God” (Romans 8:16); it is a witness of the faith of our hearts (Acts 15:7-9). As said before, the Holy Spirit is “the seal of the righteousness of the faith” (Ephesians 1:13) which the believer has (Romans 4:11) as circumcision and the seal of the righteousness of the faith of Abraham.

Holiness & Consecration

After we are saved from sin, we are commanded, “Go, and sin no more” (John 8:11). We are commanded to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world (Titus 2:12) and warned that without holiness no one shall see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). All individuals are to cleanse oneself from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God (II Corinthians 7:1). All alcoholic beverages and tobacco in any form, bodily filth, filthy conversation, and conduct are considered unbecoming to a member of the Church. We firmly stand against and denounce homosexuality, adultery, sexual perversion, same-sex marriages, pornography, gambling, drug use and partaking in all intoxicants, physical abuse, Satanism, or divination in any form. We believe in conducting oneself everywhere as become a Christian and maintaining family and personal devotion whenever permissible in the home.

Marriage & Sexuality

God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God (Genesis 1:26-27). Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person. The term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture (Genesis 2:18-25). God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other (I Corinthians 6:18; 7:2-5; Hebrews 13:4). God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. Marriage is honorable in all (Hebrews 13:4; I Corinthians 7:9; Ephesians 5:22-31; II Corinthians 6:14; Matthew 19:5-6; Mark 10:7-9). 10. Divorce is not acceptable except as provided in the Scriptures (I Corinthians 6:15-20; 7:10-11, 39) Any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, and use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God (Matthew 15:18-20; I Corinthians 6:9-10).

Holy Communion, The Lord's Supper

Jesus commanded His disciples to continue to observe the Lord’s Supper, or Communion. The Lord’s Supper is a testimony. By partaking of it, we testify that Jesus’ body was broken for us and that He shed His blood for us. We thereby proclaim the death of Christ. We are to do this in remembrance of Him. Let each one examine himself when he comes to the Lord’s Supper. (Matthew 26:26-30; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:14-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-29).

Tithes, Offering, & Giving

We believe in supporting the work of the Church with one’s prayers and financial aid by tithes and offerings (Malachi 3:8-10; Luke 16:11-12, I Corinthians 16:2).

Diving Healing

God has made Himself known through the ages by miraculous healings and has made special provisions in the age of grace to heal all who will come to Him in faith and obedience. Divine healing was purchased for us by the blood of Jesus Christ, especially by His stripes (Isaiah 53:5; Matthew 8:16-17: I Peter 2:24). Jesus went everywhere healing those who were sick (Matthew 4:23-24), and He commanded His disciples to do the same (Matthew 10:8). He said concerning those who believe the gospel, “They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover” (Mark 16:18). Mighty healings and miracles followed the disciples wherever the gospel was preached. There is no sickness or disease too hard for God. Any of us, our children, or our friends can be healed by the power of God. “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up: and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed” (James 5:14-16).

Second Coming

Jesus Christ is coming back to earth in bodily form, just as He went away (Acts 1:11). He will catch away a holy people (His bride, His church) who have accepted redemption through His blood, by birth of water and of the Spirit, and who are found faithful when He comes. “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord”. (I Thessalonians 4:16-17)

Resurrection

There will be a resurrection of all the dead, both just and unjust. “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life…” (John 5:28-29). “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God… and the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them” (Revelation 20:12-13). (Daniel 12:2; I Corinthians 15:13-23).

Judgement

“It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). For this reason, there will be a resurrection for everyone. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad” (II Corinthians 5:10). The eternal destiny of every soul shall be determined by a just God who knows the secrets of everyone’s heart. “And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world…Then shall he also say unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels….And these shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life eternal:” (Matthew 25:32-34,41,46).