We Believe
The Charlenz Faith Statement
This is what charlenz.shop stands on — not the traditions of men, not the doctrines of denominations, not the opinions of popular preachers — but the Word of God alone. These beliefs are presented not in a spirit of superiority but in a spirit of love — for the truth sets people free. ✝️
We believe in one God eternally existing in three co-equal, co-eternal and co-glorious Persons — the Father, the Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Each Person is fully God. There is one God — not three gods. The three are one in essence, distinct in Person.
God alone is Holy. No human being can ever claim the title "Holy Father" — a title Jesus reserved exclusively for God the Father. Calling any human being "Holy Father" directly contradicts the words of Jesus Christ Himself — Matthew 23:9 — "Call no man your father on earth — for You have one Father who is in Heaven." ✝️
"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty — the whole earth is full of His glory." — Isaiah 6:3 ✝️
We believe that the Holy Bible — both Old and New Testaments — is the God-breathed, inspired, inerrant and fully sufficient Word of God. It is the final authority in all matters of faith, doctrine, practice and life. Nothing is to be added to it and nothing removed.
No tradition, no papal declaration, no apostolic decree, no new prophecy and no personal revelation stands above or equal to the written Word of God. Every teaching, every vision, every claimed miracle and every ministry must be tested against Scripture — and Scripture alone. ✝️
"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 Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God — the second Person of the Trinity. He is fully God and fully Man. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, and lived a sinless, perfect human life. He was dedicated to God at eight days as an infant — Luke 2:21-22. He was baptised at thirty years old — not because He needed to repent but to fulfill all righteousness — Matthew 3:15. ✝️
He voluntarily died on the cross as the complete and final atoning sacrifice for the sins of all mankind. He was buried. He descended to the realm of the dead — proclaimed victory, set the captives free and led them in His triumphal procession. He rose again bodily and physically on the third day — the same body that died, glorified but physical and tangible. He ascended bodily and physically into Heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. ✝️
He will return bodily, visibly and physically — not as Saviour but as Judge — to judge the living and the dead. Every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess. Heaven and earth as we know them will pass away. He will make all things new — a new Heaven and a new earth where righteousness dwells and God dwells with His people forever. ✝️
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." — Hebrews 13:8 ✝️
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity — not a force, not an energy, not an influence, not a dove, not oil, not fire and not any other physical element. The dove at Jesus's baptism, the oil of anointing, the fire at Pentecost — these are symbols of His nature and work. He is infinitely greater than any symbol that represents Him. He is a divine Person — co-equal with the Father and the Son. ✝️
The Holy Spirit has real feelings and can be treated personally:
He can be grieved — Ephesians 4:30 ✝️
He can be quenched — 1 Thessalonians 5:19 ✝️
He can be lied to — Acts 5:3 ✝️
He can be resisted — Acts 7:51 ✝️
He can be blasphemed — Matthew 12:31 ✝️
He can be insulted — Hebrews 10:29 ✝️
Only a Person can be grieved, lied to, resisted, quenched and insulted. A force cannot be grieved. A fire cannot be insulted. He is a Person — and He is God. ✝️
He convicts of sin, regenerates the believer, indwells every born-again Christian, leads into all truth, empowers for holy living and service, distributes spiritual gifts as He wills and intercedes for believers. Every believer is called to be continuously filled with the Holy Spirit and led by Him daily. ✝️
"When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on His own — He will speak only what He hears." — John 16:13 ✝️
We believe that every human being is born in sin and is spiritually dead, separated from God and unable to save themselves by any human effort. Salvation — the forgiveness of sin, reconciliation with God and the gift of eternal life — is received exclusively by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone.
It cannot be earned by works, sacraments, church membership, good deeds, suffering, religious practice, baptism, scapulars, novenas, rosaries, indulgences or any human effort whatsoever. There is salvation in no one else — no other name under Heaven. ✝️
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast." — Ephesians 2:8-9 ✝️
We believe that salvation requires a supernatural new birth — being born again from above by the Spirit of God. This is not reformation of character, not religious improvement, not water baptism — but a complete spiritual regeneration. The old has gone — the new has come.
This new birth happens at the moment of genuine repentance and personal faith in Jesus Christ. It is not inherited from Christian parents, not conferred by a priest, not administered through a sacrament — it is a direct, sovereign act of God in response to a repentant, believing heart. ✝️
"Jesus replied: 'Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.'" — John 3:3 ✝️
We believe that water baptism is the full immersion — baptizo — of a repentant adult believer who has personally repented of sin and confessed faith in Jesus Christ. Baptism does not save — it publicly declares and enacts a salvation already received. ✝️
Baptism is a three-fold picture of the gospel itself:
⬇️ Going under the water — death of the old self and burial with Christ. The old man dies. He is laid in the water as in a grave.
⬆️ Coming up from the water — resurrection to new life in Christ. The new creation rises. Just as Christ rose from the dead — the believer rises to walk in newness of life. ✝️
A handful of soil does not bury a corpse. A sprinkling of water does not constitute burial. If baptism represents death and burial with Christ — then sprinkling a few drops of water no more constitutes baptism than scattering a handful of soil constitutes burial. The Greek word baptizo means to immerse completely — to plunge fully under. Full immersion is not a preference — it is the meaning of the word itself and the picture Scripture intends. ✝️
As Jesus was dedicated as an infant at eight days and baptised as an adult at thirty to fulfill all righteousness — so we as His followers present our infants in dedication to God and receive baptism as repentant adult believers in obedience and righteousness. Infant baptism has no biblical foundation — an infant cannot repent, believe or confess. ✝️
"We 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." — Romans 6:4 ✝️
We believe that the Church — the Greek ekklesia, meaning "called out ones" — is not a building, not a denomination and not an institution. It is the entire body of every person in every nation who has been born again by faith in Jesus Christ. Membership of the Church is by new birth — not by registration, sacrament or denominational affiliation. ✝️
Jesus Christ is the Rock on which the Church is built — not Peter. Matthew 16:18 — Jesus called Simon "Petros" (a piece of rock) but declared He would build His Church on "this petra" — the bedrock of Peter's confession: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." The Church is built on Christ Himself — not on any human apostle, bishop or Pope. 1 Corinthians 3:11 — "No one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ." And Peter himself — in his own letter — calls Jesus "the living Stone" and "the chosen and precious Cornerstone." ✝️
Every true believer is a saint — not by canonisation or papal declaration — but because they have been made holy through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Hebrews 10:10 — "We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." ✝️
"And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." — Matthew 16:18 ✝️ · The Rock is Christ. The gate cannot prevail. ✝️
We believe that while salvation is entirely God's gift — it is to be lived out with seriousness, holy reverence and ongoing accountability before God. We do not take grace as a licence for sin. We examine ourselves regularly. We run the race with endurance. We do not presume upon God's patience. ✝️
The person who says "I am saved — therefore it does not matter how I live" has not understood grace. Grace transforms — it does not excuse. The tree that has been truly planted bears fruit — it does not declare itself a tree while producing none. ✝️
"Work out your salvation with fear and trembling — for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil His good purpose." — Philippians 2:12-13 ✝️
We believe that the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable — Romans 11:29. A person may operate in genuine spiritual gifts — prophecy, healing, tongues, miracles — while living in serious unrepentant sin. Gifts are distributed by God's sovereign grace and are not withdrawn simply because the recipient has strayed. ✝️
This means gifts are never proof of holy living. A minister who heals the sick, prophesies accurately and casts out demons may simultaneously be living in secret sin. Matthew 7:22-23 — "Many will say to Me on that day 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name and in Your name drive out demons?' Then I will tell them plainly — 'I never knew you.'" ✝️
Fruit is the proof of true discipleship — not gifts, not miracles, not platform, not the size of the congregation. Galatians 5:22-23 — love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. A tree is known by its fruit. ✝️
"By their fruit you will recognise them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?" — Matthew 7:16 ✝️
We believe that the Lord's Supper — Communion — is a memorial ordinance instituted by Jesus Christ on the night He was betrayed. The bread and the cup represent His broken body and His shed blood. We eat and drink in remembrance of Him, proclaiming His death until He comes.
The elements do not become His body and blood — they represent it. Christ was sacrificed once for all — His sacrifice does not repeat, cannot repeat and needs no supplement. Hebrews 10:10 — "once for all." Hebrews 9:28 — "once to take away the sins of many." The mass as a re-presentation or re-offering of Christ contradicts the finality of Calvary. ✝️
"Do this in remembrance of Me." — Luke 22:19 ✝️
We believe that every believer has direct, immediate and permanent access to God the Father through Jesus Christ — the one Mediator. No human priest, no saint, no Mary and no religious institution stands between the believer and God. The curtain was torn — from top to bottom — at the moment of Christ's death. ✝️
"For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind — the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all people." — 1 Timothy 2:5 ✝️
We believe that every human being lives once and dies once — and after death faces the judgement of God. There is no reincarnation, no second chance after death and no purgatory. ✝️
Purgatory has no biblical foundation. The blood of Jesus Christ alone purifies from all sin — now, in this life, by faith. What the blood of Christ does not cover in this life no amount of post-death suffering can cover. 1 John 1:7 — "The blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin." All. Not most. Not partially. All. ✝️
"Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgement..." — Hebrews 9:27 ✝️
We believe that Heaven and Hell are real, conscious and eternal destinations — not metaphors, not temporary states, not symbols. Believers spend eternity in the presence of God. Unbelievers spend eternity in conscious separation from God. ✝️
This present heaven and earth will be destroyed and replaced by a new Heaven and a new earth where righteousness dwells. God will dwell with His people forever. Every tear will be wiped away. Death will be no more. The old order will have passed away. ✝️
"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away... And 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.'" — Revelation 21:1-4 ✝️
We believe that God calls believers to holiness in every area of life — spirit, soul and body. The following are explicitly and clearly forbidden in Scripture. This is not legalism — it is love responding to grace. ✝️
No image, no statue, no deity, no object and no person may receive the worship that belongs to God alone.
Using God's name carelessly, mockingly, as profanity or as a mere expression — profanes what is holy.
Scripture instructs Israel — and by extension, believers — not to invoke the names of other gods or let them pass their lips.
Participation in pagan ritual meals — sharing the table of demons — is incompatible with sharing the table of the Lord.
The body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Willful destruction of that temple through alcohol, drugs or any addictive substance is a sin against God who indwells it.
The body was made for the Lord and the Lord for the body. Sexual intimacy is reserved exclusively for the covenant of marriage between one man and one woman.
1 Corinthians 6:18-20 Hebrews 13:4 Matthew 5:28 1 Thessalonians 4:3
Believers are called to dress in a way that reflects the holiness and dignity of those who bear God's image and carry His Spirit.
Scripture explicitly forbids the cutting and marking of the body as a religious or cultural practice.
God calls these detestable — not merely inadvisable. Any attempt to access spiritual knowledge or power through any means other than God is forbidden.
God created marriage as a covenant between one man and one woman. Any sexual union outside this covenant — including same-sex relationships — contradicts God's design from creation.
We believe that marriage is a sacred covenant established by God at creation — between one adult man and one adult woman, united for life. This is not a human institution subject to cultural revision. God defined it before governments existed, before cultures formed and before any church was established. It is His design and His alone to define. ✝️
Three boundaries Scripture establishes clearly:
✅ One adult man and one adult woman — both adult, both of distinct biological sex, both entering freely. Child marriage has no biblical basis and contradicts the dignity God gives every person. Genesis 2:24 ✝️
✅ Never same-sex — God created male and female as complementary — not interchangeable. Same-sex sexual relationships contradict the design God wrote into creation, into the human body and into the covenant picture of Christ and His Church. This position is held in love — every person is made in God's image and deeply loved by God. Romans 1:26-27 · 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 ✝️
✅ No live-in relationship — cohabitation outside the marriage covenant is sexual immorality regardless of how committed, loving or long-standing the relationship is. Marriage is the covenant God designed for the union of man and woman — and it must be entered, not assumed. Hebrews 13:4 · 1 Corinthians 7:2 ✝️
God created two distinct genders — male and female — in His image. Genesis 1:27 — "God created mankind in His own image — male and female He created them." Gender is not a spectrum, not a social construct and not a personal choice. It is a gift from God, given at creation, written into the human body. ✝️
Jesus Christ Himself — when asked about marriage — went back to creation: Matthew 19:4-6 — "Haven't you read that at the beginning the Creator made them male and female — and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together let no one separate." ✝️
Sexual intimacy is reserved exclusively for marriage. It is the gift of God within the covenant of marriage between one man and one woman — and it is holy within that boundary. Outside that boundary — whether premarital sex, adultery, pornography or same-sex sexual relationships — it contradicts the design and word of God. This is not hatred toward any person. Every person is made in God's image and loved by God. It is faithfulness to what God has clearly and consistently revealed in Scripture. ✝️
The marriage covenant — one man, one woman, for life — is also a picture of the relationship between Christ and His Church. Ephesians 5:25-32 — the husband loves as Christ loved and gave Himself for the Church. The wife responds as the Church responds to Christ. Marriage is not merely a social arrangement — it is a living parable of the gospel. ✝️
"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate." — Matthew 19:5-6 ✝️
Equally yoked — walking in faith — agreeing to spend their lives together:
We believe that marriage is not merely a legal contract or a social arrangement — it is a covenant entered by two people who are equally yoked in faith, walking together with God as the centre of their union, and who freely and joyfully agree to spend their lives together. 2 Corinthians 6:14 — "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?" ✝️
Amos 3:3 — "Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?" Two people who do not share the same Lord cannot truly walk in the same direction. The direction of marriage is determined by the God both partners serve — and that God must be the same God, the same Jesus, the same Holy Spirit. ✝️
This is not about perfection — it is about direction. Both partners walking in faith, both submitted to the Word of God, both growing in the fear of the Lord together — this is the foundation God designed for the marriage covenant. A house built on Christ together will stand. Matthew 7:24 — "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock." ✝️
We believe that God calls and equips both men and women for ministry — and that the qualification for ministry is the fear of God, the fruit of the Spirit and faithfulness to the Word of God — not gender alone. The Holy Spirit distributes His gifts as He wills — to sons and daughters alike. ✝️
Scripture shows women in significant ministry throughout both Testaments:
🌟 Deborah — Judges 4:4 — Judge and prophetess who led the entire nation of Israel ✝️
🌟 Huldah — 2 Kings 22:14 — Prophetess consulted by the king and priests ✝️
🌟 Anna — Luke 2:36-38 — Prophetess who proclaimed the Christ child in the Temple ✝️
🌟 Mary Magdalene — John 20:17-18 — First witness and proclaimer of the resurrection ✝️
🌟 Priscilla — Acts 18:26 — Taught and corrected the gifted preacher Apollos ✝️
🌟 Phoebe — Romans 16:1 — Described by Paul as a deacon and benefactor of many ✝️
🌟 Philip's daughters — Acts 21:9 — Four daughters who prophesied ✝️
The prophetic promise is for all: Acts 2:17 — "Your sons AND your daughters will prophesy." Galatians 3:28 — "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female — for you are all one in Christ Jesus." The fear of God — not gender — is the beginning of wisdom and the foundation of all true ministry. ✝️
"In the last days, God says, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy." — Acts 2:17-18 ✝️
We believe that human life begins at the moment of conception. The person who will spend eternity with God or without God begins to exist at the moment sperm and egg meet. From that moment a unique, irreplaceable, eternal human being — made in the image of God — exists. ✝️
Every person coming into the world is intentional — not accidental. There are no accidental conceptions in the sight of God. A pregnancy that was unplanned by the parents was not unplanned by God. Jeremiah 1:5 — "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you — before you were born I set you apart." ✝️
John leaped in the womb — Luke 1:41-44 — when Mary, pregnant with Jesus, greeted Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John. A six-month-old foetus responded to a newly conceived embryo. Both were persons. Both were known. Both mattered to God. ✝️
We stand against abortion as the deliberate ending of a human life God has already known, named and purposed. We stand for every mother in a crisis pregnancy — with compassion, practical support and without condemnation. We stand for every person who has had an abortion — the blood of Jesus covers every sin of every person who comes to Him in repentance. ✝️
"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." — Psalm 139:13-14 ✝️
We believe that giving — tithes, offerings and generosity — is an act of worship flowing from a heart of love and gratitude toward God. It is never a payment for blessings, healing, miracles, deliverance or any spiritual benefit. ✝️
God's gifts are not for sale. Anyone who teaches that a financial offering will purchase a miracle, guarantee healing or secure deliverance is practising what Scripture calls simony — the buying and selling of what belongs to God. Acts 8:18-20 — "May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!" ✝️
"Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." — 2 Corinthians 9:7 ✝️
We believe that every believer and every church is commissioned to go — to make disciples of all nations, to preach the gospel, to baptise believers and to teach all that Christ commanded. This is not optional — it is the primary assignment of every follower of Jesus Christ until He returns. ✝️
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." — Matthew 28:19-20 ✝️
We believe that God has not abandoned His covenant people Israel. His gifts and calling to Israel are irrevocable. The regathering of the Jewish people to their ancestral land, the preservation of Israel through centuries of persecution and the fulfillment of biblical prophecy in our generation are evidence of God's faithfulness to His word. ✝️
This belief will be developed in full on a dedicated Israel page — exploring God's covenant with Abraham, the promises to the land and Israel's role in the end times. ✝️
✝️ A Word of Grace — We Do Not Condemn
While everything stated in this Faith Statement is our belief according to the Holy Bible — we do not condemn anyone who has slipped or fallen into any kind of sin. We ourselves are sinners saved by grace alone. We stand on truth not to judge others but because the truth is what sets people free. ✝️
God is able to redeem every sinner through faith in Jesus Christ — no matter how far they have gone from Him. No sin is too great. No fall is too deep. No distance is too far for the Father who runs. Luke 15:20 — "While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion — he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him." ✝️
To the one who has fallen into sexual sin:
1 John 1:9 — "If we confess our sins He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." All. ✝️
To the one who has had an abortion:
Psalm 103:12 — "As far as the east is from the west — so far has He removed our transgressions from us." The blood of Jesus covers this too. ✝️
To the one living in sin:
Romans 5:8 — "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." He did not wait for us to be worthy. He came for us in our worst. ✝️
To the one who has walked far from God:
Isaiah 1:18 — "Though your sins are like scarlet they shall be as white as snow — though they are red as crimson they shall be like wool." ✝️
"Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."
— Matthew 11:28 ✝️
The door is always open. The Father is always watching the road. Come home. ✝️