Living Stones Fellowship Beliefs

We believe the Holy Bible to be “The Holy Scriptures” as set forth in 2 Timothy 3;15, and as such are “given by inspiration of God” (vs. 16), and therefore infallible, perfect, without error and Holy. By Holy Bible we mean that collection of sixty six books “containing the Old and New Testaments translated out of the Original tongues and with the former translations diligently compared and revised by His Majesty’s command and appointed to be read in churches”, commonly called the King James Bible.  We do use other translations for reference to compare and highlight error.  We are not KJV Onlyists, but prefer this faithful translation.

2. The Trinity of God.
We believe that there is only one God and Father (Ephesians 4;6/ 1 Corinthians 8:4-6), and such a Blessed God and Saviour exists eternally in three persons; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost (Matthew 28:19). We believe that these Three are the One and Only True and Wise God (Exodus 20:1, 2/ 1 Corinthians 12:3/ 2 Corinthians 3:17).

3. The Deity & Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ.
We believe that Jesus Christ is God Almighty (John 10:30/ 1 Timothy 3:16/ John 1:1, 14/ Acts 20:28/ 1 Timothy 1:1), and has, does, and shall eternally exist as the Son of God (Proverbs 30:4/ Daniel 3:25/ John 11:27/ 3:16). We believe Jesus Christ, as the Son of God, took upon himself the likeness of sinful flesh (Romans 8:3), being born of a virgin (Matthew 1:18-25/ Luke 1:26, 27), which birth was altogether supernatural and miraculous, not being the result of man’s seed (Luke 1:34), but of the Holy Ghost (see Matthew 1:18-20).

4. Salvation.
We believe that salvation in this age is the free gift of eternal life from God (Romans 6:23), which is only given of God to the sinner who being sorry for his sins after a godly sort (2 Corinthians 7:10, 11) repents, and surrenders to God (Acts 26:20) by believing on Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, through the actual “faith of Christ” (Galatians 3:22-25), which faith is itself “the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8, 9). We believe no one is saved by simply claiming they are, or praying they are, when they have not yet repented of their sin and turned to God, and brought forth fruits meets for repentance (Acts 26:20/ 20:21/ 2 Timothy 2:25) as evidence of the transforming work of God in their lives. As strict Bible believers, we hold that no one can believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31) without “the faith of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 3:22-25), and the proof of such is seen daily in the lives of those who “profess that they know God; but in works they deny him” (Titus 1:16), having not “that faith” (Galatians 3:25) “which was once delivered to the saints” (Jude 3); going to church while “having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin” (2 Peter 2:14) having “believed in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:2) with the fantastical belief of devils (James 2:19) and not of God alone. Faith alone justifies (Romans 3:28/ Galatians 3:11), but not that faith which worketh not and is dead (James 2:17).  The faith once delivered to the saints requires works which will be judged.

Eph_2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Col_1:21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
1Ti_2:10 But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.
1Ti_5:10 Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints’ feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work.
1Ti_5:25 Likewise also the good works of some are manifest beforehand; and they that are otherwise cannot be hid.
1Ti_6:18 That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;
2Ti_1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
2Ti_3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
2Ti_4:14 Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works:
Tit_1:16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.
Tit_2:7 In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,
Tit_2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
Tit_3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Tit_3:8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.
Tit_3:14 And let ours also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful.
Heb_6:1 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,
Heb_9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Heb_10:24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
Jas_2:14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
Jas_2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
Jas_2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
Jas_2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
Jas_2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
Jas_2:22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
Jas_2:24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
Jas_2:25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
Jas_2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
Jas_3:13 Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.
1Pe_2:12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.
2Pe_3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
1Jn_3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
1Jn_3:12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.
Rev_2:2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
Rev_2:5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
Rev_2:9 I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
Rev_2:13 I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.
Rev_2:19 I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.
Rev_2:23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.
Rev_2:26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
Rev_3:1 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.
Rev_3:2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.
Rev_3:8 I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.
Rev_3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
Rev_9:20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
Rev_14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.
Rev_15:3 And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.
Rev_18:6 Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.
Rev_20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev_20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

5. The Necessity, Effect and Meaning of Preaching.
We believe “it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe” (1 Corinthians 1:21), and that God Almighty “hath in due times manifested his word through preaching” (Titus 1:3), the job of which He commits unto men “called” and “sent” (1 Corinthians 1:17-26), and that such calling is a spiritual “vocation wherewith we are called” (Ephesians 4:1) and gifted to minister therein (vs. 8-12). We hold the absolute necessity of the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ as the instrument of salvation in each person’s life (Romans 10:13, 14/ 1 Corinthians 3:5/ 15:1, 2), for it is “power of God” unto salvation (1 Corinthians 1:18). As such, we hold that preaching is a unique, and God inspired form of verbal communication that is distinguished from all other forms of vocal communication. True preaching is the forceful, verbal delivery of a specific Bible truth, wherein the minister of God is commanded to “cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression” (Isaiah 58:1).

6. Obedience to God before Man.
We believe with all our hearts that “we ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29), and that in matters of conflict between God’s command in our lives and the regulatory edicts of man forbidding obedience to God, let others judge “whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto man more than unto God” (Acts 4:19). But “we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” (vs. 20). In balancing these conflicts, it is our conscientious belief, that the Bible commands us to obey God (Acts 5:29), and yet “be subject unto the higher powers” (Romans 13:1) “not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake” (vs. 5). By such, the fellowship and its members shall steadfastly obey God in continuing to preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15), and yet shall not resist the powers that arrest us for doing so (Romans 13:2). However, the preaching of the cross of Christ shall continue even unto “bonds, and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel” (Philippians 1:7), knowing that by such, “many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by our bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear” (vs. 14). Each member therefore, shall “obey magistrates” (Titus 3:1) when called before them to give account of our preaching, and shall with much “honour to whom honour is do” (Romans 13:7) “answer for himself …touching all the things whereof he is accused” (Acts 26:2).

7. Remembering Them That are in Bonds.
We are commanded of God to “remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them” (Hebrews 13:1), and that imprisonments are and should be a common occurrence for the ministers of Christ in such a wicked world we live, if we have proven ourselves as the ministers of God by scripture and the power of God, and not by our pathetic feelings (2 Corinthians 6:4/ 2 Corinthians 11:23-25/ Acts 4:1-3/ 5:17, 18/ 2 Corinthians 11:32/ Acts 12:1-5/ 16:22-24/ 19:23-33/ 21:30-33). Accordingly, we believe it is a sin and a violation of scriptures and our call to preach for a soldier of the cross of Christ to not stand with our fellow soldiers when they “answer” for preaching the gospel against the will of man (2 Timothy 4:16, 17/ Hebrews 13:3). We believe it an act of cowardice against Christ to be “ashamed of the testimony of our Lord” and his “prisoner” in chains (2 Timothy 1:8, 16) under the weak kneed presumption that a preacher in jail must have done something wrong. Being commanded to remember such “as bound with them” it requires more of us than general thoughts at home of what that saint must have done to cause him to be jailed for doing it. As members of the Street Preachers’ Fellowship, we hold that the faithful support of each member of the Guild who for the preaching becomes one of God’s prisoners (2 Timothy 1:8) is more important than our reputation, safety and freedom, and shall endeavor to “seek them out” and minister unto them (vs. 17, 18) as long as God gives us life and health. Accordingly, we believe the preaching of the gospel such a righteous act of God, that it behooves us to conduct our ministration in the same manner, adhering to all the scriptural instructions for our preaching, and as much as the Bible will allow, balancing the same with the laws of the land, so that when we are imprisoned for preaching, it will be “as a Christian” and not “as an evildoer” (1 Peter 4:15, 16), God help us.

8. The Sin and Weakness of Compromising.
We believe it is a sin against the “the profession of our faith” (Hebrews 10:23) in Jesus Christ to compromise in any area of the gospel ministry, and they that do so are “menpleasers” (Ephesians 6:6/ Colossians 3:22), “gainsayers” (Titus 1:9/ Acts 10:29/ Jude 11) and wavering contradictors like “a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed” with the opinions and arguments of men and not God (James 1:6, 7). We believe a compromise is just that, a co-promise made to settle differences without offending the wrong side, and such flies in the face of God as a breach of faith when we are commanded to “hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised)”.

9. Open Rebuke.
We believe that “open rebuke is better than secret love” (Proverbs 27:5), and that the blame for the wicked condition of society is totally on the record of Christian ministers who say they love everyone, but openly rebuke no one. As preachers, we are commanded to “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:2), and in so doing, “endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry” (vs. 5). We believe the obedience to the former (vs.2) always results in the latter (vs. 5), and that such enduring of “afflictions” is part and parcel of the “full proof of thy ministry” (see 2 Corinthians 6:4, 5). The Bible placing such ministerial rebukes and reproofs within the work of an evangelists (2 Timothy 4:2-5), it defines the arena for our rebukes and reproofs to be among the lost and wicked world. Fear of doing that, silences the majority of Christian ministers, and hides them and their preaching within the safety of their church buildings. We believe it is the sin of cowardice and dereliction of duty to God to only correct sin amongst the saints, while allowing wickedness to take over our nation. Accordingly, we believe it paramount to the call to preach, that we openly rebuke sin wherever we find it wrought of men, and that for the preachers to cease from openly rebuking sin, creates a society “that cannot cease from sin” (2 Peter 2:14).

10. The Calling Out and Naming of Sin.
We believe that a preacher cannot preach against sin without naming it and calling it for what it is. In like reason, a preacher’s rebuke of sin is worthless on its face, when he cannot personally address the sinners that committed it. To rebuke sin and not the sinner is the generalized ministration of cowards, who for want of fear, preach against things and not people, against actions and not actors, who preach against the committing of sin, but cannot preach to the person committing it. Accordingly, it is the belief of the fellowship and its members that true Bible preaching cannot be done without naming the sin as well as the sinner, and will stand to the scriptures in support of its members before the saints, and the courts of justice (see Matthew 23:13-17, 23-33/ James 4:4/ Acts 8:20-23/ 13:9, 10/ 14:14, 15/16:18/ 17:22/ 23:3/ 1 Kings 21:17-24/ 2 Chronicles 19:1,2/).

10. The Fellowship of the Saints.
We believe that that the fellowship of the saints has no fellowship with darkness, either sin nor sinners. (2 Cor 6:14)   Yet, sinners could visit and see God among us and actually be used to glorify God. (1 Cor 14:23-25)  That the body of Christ has many members but one working by the Spirit (1 Cor 12:11-27) The fellowship of suffering with Christ Php 3:10

2Co_6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

11.  The Apostolic Doctrines
Act_2:42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
1Co_10:20 But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.
2Co_8:4 Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.
Gal_2:9 And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.
Eph_3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Eph_5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
Php_1:5 For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;
Php_2:1 If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
Php_3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
1Co_1:9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.