Sanctity of Life

• We believe that all matters of faith and conduct must be evaluated on the basis of the Holy Bible (the “Bible” and the “Scriptures”), which is our infallible guide. Since the Bible speaks directly to creation and human life, it is imperative that we correctly understand and articulate what the Bible teaches on these matters.

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

• We believe that God created humankind in His image, though currently flawed by sin, and designed humanity to be stewards of all creation. God, in His infinite sovereignty, uniquely formed human beings and gave them a special dignity, personal freedom, and individual accountability above all the works of creation.

“God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground’” (Genesis 1:26).

• We believe that human life begins at conception and human beings have been made to be in relationship with God, who created each person’s inmost being, knit together in the mother’s womb. As God’s individual, personal creation, each person is awesomely and wonderfully made. God has planned and ordained all the days of every person’s life—even before a single day began.

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. … Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be” (Psalm 139:13-14, 16).

Based on the truths recorded in the Bible that have been embraced and taught throughout the centuries, we believe in the following core truths:

• Human life begins at conception.

From the moment of conception until natural death, every human life is sacred because every human life has been created by God.
“This is what the Lord says—your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the Lord, the Maker of all things, who stretches out the heavens, who spreads out the earth by myself”
(Isaiah 44:24).

• Human life before conception is designed by God for a specific purpose.

From the moment of conception, every human life must be recognized, respected, and protected as having the rights of a person and the irrevocable right to life.
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5).

• Human life is created in the image of God.
  The right to life of every unborn human being is inherent by virtue of being created in the image of God.

“God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27).

• Human life is precious and deserves to be saved.
  All life is precious. Therefore, deliberately terminating human life after conception is a sin against God for which individuals are held accountable. Extremely rare situations exist where saving the life of the mother can result in losing the life of the baby. However, this is a matter of trying to save one life or two lives, as opposed to causing the death of one or both.

“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and the one who is wise saves lives” (Proverbs 11:30).

• Human life must be protected and defended from conception to natural death.

We are ethically bound to defend all human life from destruction, whether by surgical abortion or use of drugs, devices, or procedures with the intent of terminating human life.
“Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, ‘But we knew nothing about this,’ does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay everyone according to what they have done?’” (Proverbs 24:11-12).

• Human life must be publicly and peacefully proclaimed as sacred.

Those who make up the Christian church, including and led by Christian ministers and ministries, should be public witnesses regarding the intrinsic and irrevocable dignity of all human life, from conception to natural death.
“This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19).

• Human life at conception defies that a fetus is just a “mass of tissue.”

According to the Bible, a fetus is not merely a mass of tissue. God’s Word does not distinguish between a “potential baby” and a “newborn baby.” In the Bible, the same Greek word brephos, which means “babe,” is used to describe both a fetus and a newborn baby.
Fetus: “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb” (Luke 1:41).
Babies: “People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them” (Luke 18:15).

• Human life at conception negates that females have the right to choose abortion by asserting, “It’s her body!”

A woman should have rights over her own body, but in pregnancy there are at least two different bodies, two different heartbeats, two different brain wave patterns, two different genetic codes (DNA), and often two different genders and blood types. Every woman has choices within her own life, but not the freedom to destroy the life of a developing human being within her.
“Is this the way you repay the Lord, you foolish and unwise people? Is he not your Father, your Creator, who made you and formed you?” (Deuteronomy 32:6).

• Human life is unique from all other forms of life.

A human being is defined as a member of the species Homo sapiens. All human beings have their own genetic codes (DNA), singularly unique and established at conception. The DNA of a human fetus is distinct not only from animals, fowls, and fish, but also from the mother’s DNA.
“Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another” (1 Corinthians 15:39).

Barnabas, (AD 74) Letter19
“Thou shalt not slay the child by procuring abortion; nor, again, shalt thou destroy it after it is born.”

Tertullian (ca. AD 155-240), De Anima 26.5
“Thus, you read the word of God, spoken to Jeremiah: ‘Before I formed thee in the womb, I knew thee.’ If God forms us in the womb, He also breathes on us as He did in the beginning: ‘And God formed man and breathed into him the breath of life.’ Nor could God have known man in the womb unless he were a whole man. ‘And before thou camest forth from the womb, I sanctified thee.’ Was it, then, a dead body at that stage? Surely it was not, for ‘God is the God of the living and not the dead.’ [Mark 12:27; Luke 20:38].”

Tertullian (AD 155-240), Apologia, cap 25, line 42
“It is not permissible for us to destroy the seed by means of illicit manslaughter once it has been conceived in the womb, so long as blood remains in the person.”

John Chrysostom (AD 347-407), Homily 24 on Romans
“Why sow where the ground makes it its care to destroy the fruit? Where there are many efforts at abortion? Where there is murder before the birth? … Why then do thou abuse the gift of God, and fight with His laws, and follow after what is a curse as if a blessing, and make the place of procreation a chamber for murder, and arm the woman that was given for childbearing unto slaughter?”

Augustine (AD 354-430), De Nube et Concupiscentia 1.17 (15)
“This lustful cruelty, or; if you please, cruel lust, resorts to such extravagant methods as to use poisonous drugs to secure barrenness; or else, if unsuccessful in this, to destroy the conceived seed by some means previous to birth, preferring that its offspring should rather perish than receive vitality; or if it was advancing to life within the womb, should be slain before it was born.”

Augustine (AD 354-430), Sermon 126, line 12
“Therefore brothers, you see how perverse they are and hastening wickedness, who are immature, they seek abortion of the conception before the birth; they are those who tell us, ‘I do not see that which you say must be believed.’”

The Oxford English Dictionary states that abortion is “the procuring of premature delivery so as to destroy offspring.”

Hippocrates (460 BC-370 BC), as written in The Hippocratic Oath (400 BC)
“The regimen I adopt shall be for the benefit of my patients according to my ability and judgment, and not for their hurt or for any wrong. I will give no deadly drug to any, though it be asked of me, nor will I counsel such, and especially I will not aid a woman to procure abortion.”
“Your hands shaped me and made me. … Remember that you molded me like clay….. You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my spirit” (Job 10:8-9, 12).

Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997), National Prayer Breakfast, Washington, DC (February 3, 1994)
“I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion. … It is really a war against the child, a direct killing of the innocent child, murder by the mother herself. And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another? … By abortion, the mother does not learn to love, but kills even her own child to solve her problems. … Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want. This is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion.”
“This is what the Lord says, ‘Do what is just and right. … Do not shed innocent blood in this place’” (Jeremiah 22:3).

Dr. Jerome Lejeune (1926-1994), M.D., Ph.D., Father of Modern Genetics and Professor at Rene Descartes University of Paris Faculty of Medicine
“If a fertilized egg is not by itself a full human being, it could never become a man, because something would have to be added to it, and we know that does not happen.”

“The enemies of life know that to destroy Christian civilization, they must first destroy the family at its weakest point—the child. And among the weakest, they must choose the least protected of all—the child who has never been seen; the child who is not yet known or loved in the usual meaning of the word; who has not yet seen the light of day, who cannot even cry out in distress.”
“This is what the Lord says—he who made you, who formed you in the womb, and who will help you” (Isaiah 44:2).

• All of our Board members, employees, and volunteers must affirm and adhere to this Statement of Faith on the Sanctity of Life to qualify for active involvement with The Hope Center. This adherence is necessary to accomplish our religious mission, goals, and purpose. Therefore, any contrary behavior or counter-witnessing will hurt our integrity and harm our religious mission. We believe that God’s grace can wipe clean the slate of guilt and sin, even though the consequences may still be incurred.
  “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” (Galatians 6:7 NKJV)

• The Bible is the inspired, infallible Word of God, acting as the source of authority over every area of our lives—including morality, Christian beliefs, conduct, and lifestyle. The Designated Authority—a group of three (3): Board Chair, President, and Governance Committee—is charged with the ministerial responsibility of biblical interpretation and establishing religious policy. The Designated Authority will determine life application of the Bible as well as final matters relating to organizational theology, Christian practice, philosophy, faith, morality, divine truth, and doctrinal resolutions. (See Psalm 19:8-11; 119:89; Isaiah 40:8; James 1:22.)
  “The word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”  (Hebrews 4:12)

Preamble

2 Timothy 3:16-17
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

Genesis 1:26
“God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’”

Psalm 139:13-14, 16
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. … 16Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be”

Religious Beliefs based on Biblical Positions

Isaiah 44:24
“This is what the Lord says—your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the Lord, the Maker of all things, who stretches out the heavens, who spreads out the earth by myself.”

Jeremiah 1:5
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

Genesis 1:27
“God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

Proverbs 11:30
“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and the one who is wise saves lives.”

Proverbs 24:11-12
“Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. 12If you say, ‘But we knew nothing about this,’ does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay everyone according to what they have done?”

Deuteronomy 30:19
“This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.”

Luke 1:41
“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb.”

Luke 18:15
“People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them.”

Deuteronomy 32:6
“Is this the way you repay the Lord, you foolish and unwise people? Is he not your Father, your Creator, who made you and formed you?”

1 Corinthians 15:39
“Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another.”

Early Church Fathers—Statements

Jeremiah 1:5
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

Genesis 2:7
“Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”

Mark 12:27
“He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”

Luke 20:38
“He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”

Multinational proclamationsGlobal impact

Job 10:8-9, 12
“Your hands shaped me and made me. … Remember that you molded me like clay. … You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my spirit.”

Jeremiah 22:3
“This is what the Lord says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place.”

Isaiah 44:2
“This is what the Lord says—he who made you, who formed you in the womb, and who will help you: Do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.”The Bible

Proverbs 30:5
“Every word of God is flawless.”

2 Peter 1:21
“Prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

2 Timothy 3:16-17
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

God

Deuteronomy 4:39
“Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other.”

Psalm 90:2
“Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”

Nehemiah 9:6
“You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.”

Matthew 28:19
“Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

Jeremiah 9:24
“‘I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,’ declares the Lord.”

1 John 4:8
“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

Isaiah 46:9-11
“I am God, and there is no other;I am God, and there is none like me. 10I make known the end from the beginning,from ancient times, what is still to come.I say, ‘My purpose will stand,and I will do all that I please.’… 11What I have said, that I will bring about;what I have planned, that I will do.”

Jesus Christ

Matthew 1:18
“This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.”

Luke 2:11
“There has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (NASB).

John 1:1-3, 14
“In the beginning was the Word [Jesus], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning. 3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. … 14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. ”

John 4:42
“This man really is the Savior of the world.”

John 1:18
“No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God … has made him known.”

1 John 2:2
“He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”

Mark 16:6
“You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.”

Acts 1:9
“He [Jesus] was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.”

Hebrews 4:15
“We do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one [Jesus] who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.”

John 5:22
“The Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son.”

The Holy Spirit

John 16:14
“He [the Holy Spirit] will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.”

Acts 5:3-4
“Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit … 4You have not lied just to human beings but to God.’”

John 16:8
“He [the Holy Spirit] will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment:”

1 Corinthians 12:4, 7-11
“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. … 7Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.”

Titus 3:5
“He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.”

Ephesians 1:13-14
“You also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession.”

Galatians 5:16
“Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”

1 Corinthians 6:19
“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own.”

Creation

Hebrews 11:3
“By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.”

Genesis chapters 1and 2
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. 4God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light ‘day,’ and the darkness he called ‘night.’ And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. 6And God said, ‘Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.’ 7So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8God called the vault ‘sky.’ And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day. 9And God said, ‘Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.’ And it was so. 10God called the dry ground ‘land,’ and the gathered waters he called ‘seas.’ And God saw that it was good. 11Then God said, ‘Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.’ And it was so. 12The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day. 14And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.’ And it was so. 16God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day. 20And God said, ‘Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.’ 21So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22God blessed them and said, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.’ 23And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day. 24And God said, ‘Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.’ And it was so. 25God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 26Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’ 27So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’ 29Then God said, ‘I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.’ And it was so. 31God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. 2:1Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. 2By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. 4This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. 5Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, 6but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. 7Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. 8Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. 11The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12(The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) 13The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. 14The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. 15The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.’ 18The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.’ 19Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22Then the Lord God made a woman from the ribhe had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 23The man said, ‘This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called “woman,” for she was taken out of man.’ 24That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. 25Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.”

Genesis 1:1-2
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”

Revelation 4:11
“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”

Colossians 1:16
“In him [Jesus] all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.”

Humanity

Genesis 1:27
“God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

Psalm 51:5
“Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”

Romans 3:23
“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Romans 5:12
“Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned.”

2 Peter 3:9
“The Lord … is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

Romans 6:23
“The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Salvation

Romans 10:9
“If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Acts 4:12
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

Ephesians 2:8-9
“It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—9not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Ezekiel 36:26-27
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”

Romans 7:21-25
“Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

Philippians 2:12-13
“Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”

John 10:28
“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.”

Hebrews 9:26
“Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.”

1 John 3:2
“What we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”

The Christian Walk

Psalm 32:3-5
3When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. 5Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not coverup my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.’ And you forgave the guilt of my sin.”

1 John 1:8-9
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

Galatians 2:20
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

1 Thessalonians 4:7
“God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.”

Galatians 5:16
“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”

John 13:34-35
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Romans 13:8
“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.”

The Church

Colossians 1:18
“He [Christ] is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.”

1 Corinthians 12:27
“Now you [Christians] are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”

Acts 10:47-48
“‘Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.’ 48So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.”

1 Corinthians 1:17
“Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.”

Romans 6:3-5
“Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 5For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.”

Matthew 18:15-17
“If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.”

1 Corinthians 11:23-24
“The Lord Jesus … took bread, 24and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.’”

Hebrews 10:24-25
“Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another.”

The Future

Revelation 20:6
“Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.”

Matthew 25:31-32, 34, 41, 46
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32All the nations will be gathered before him … 34Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. …’ 41Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. …’ 46Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Revelation 20:12-13, 15
“I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. … 13The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. …. 15Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.”

Revelation 20:12
“And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.”

Isaiah 65:17
“See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.”

Acts 1:11
“‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.’”

1 Thessalonians 4:17
“We who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”

Revelation 21:1-4
“Then I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth,’ for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death” or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’”