1. HOLY SCRIPTURES

The Word of God Tamil Church, Calgary takes the Bible as its all-sufficient source of faith and practice and is inerrant. Word of God gives the required guidance to our day to day Godly living as well as the way to inherit the eternal life.

1.1. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God

2 Timothy 3:16-17

16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

1.2. All prophecy of scripture came from God

2 Peter 1:20-21
20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation.
21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

1.3. Word of God and its principle will be true for present, past & future:

It’s infallible, absolutely supreme and sufficient in authority in all matters of faith and practice.
Mathew 5:17-18
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

2. THE GODHEAD

Godhead exists eternally in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are one God equal in everything except authority, function and role.

2.1. THE FATHER

The Father exists eternally as the Creator of heaven and earth, the Giver of the Law, to whom all things will be subjected, so that He may be all in all. (I Corinthians 15:27-28) The Father is begotten of none (Gen 1:1). He is the eternal (Psalms 90:2), Father of the Lord Jesus Christ (John 13:3), the author of salvation (Ephesians 1:2-3), the Father of all who are begotten into new life through faith in Christ and being faithful till the end.

2.2. THE SON

The Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal and only begotten Son of the Father, is true God and true man. (John 1: 1, 14) He was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, and by His sinless life, miracles and teaching, gave full revelation of the Father (John 12:49).
He died upon the cross, the Just for the unjust, as a substitution sacrifice (Romans 5:6-8). He rose from the dead. He is now at the right hand of the Father as our great High Priest. He will come again to establish His kingdom in righteousness and peace.

2.3. THE HOLY SPIRIT

The Holy Spirit, proceeds from the Father (John 14:26) and is sent by the Son (John 16:7). Holy Spirit is given for disciples to be a witness for Jesus Christ in this world (Acts 1:8). He convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment (John 16:7-14); to renew those who repent of their sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Titus 3:5-6); to guide into all truth and comfort the believer (John 16:13-14).
The Holy Spirit equips the church and believers with gifts and graces for service in accordance to the will of God.

3. SALVATION

3.1. ATONEMENT

Atonement of Christ for us through faith & being faithful till the end. We are all sinners, guilty before God, and dead in our sins. God the Father out of his love for us has given His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to become our Savior and reconcile us with him. We are saved by his grace through faith and that salvation will become complete when we remain faithful till the end.
1 Peter 2: 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.
John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 3:14-18

14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.
16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

Ephesians 2:1-9

1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,
2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved.
6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,
7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-
9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
Mathew 24:12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
Hebrews 3: 14 We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.
2 Peter 2:20 If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.

3.2. REPENTANCE

Genuine repentance and asking for forgiveness is what God requires before he forgives our sins. He has commanded us to repent. Repentance involves
” Godly sorrow for what we had done
” Accepting that need of the sacrifice Jesus Christ made on the cross
” Confessing the sins
” Coming out from the state of sin.
” Carrying the cross & following Christ

2 Corinthians 7:10-11

10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
11 See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done.

Mathew 16:24-27

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.
Acts 17:29-31
29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone-an image made by man’s design and skill.
30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.”

3.3. JUSTIFICATION AND SANCTIFICATION

We are justified by his grace so that the sanctification can begin. God forgives our sins so that he can begin his work of renewing us to be like his son Jesus Christ. This will go on till end of our lives and therefore as child of God we need to preserve our salvation like a treasure i.e. the most important aspect in this world. The responsibility of preserving our salvation though justification and sanctification is with us. God is faithful to do his part & we need to be faithful to do ours.

Titus 3:4-7

4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared,
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,
6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior,
7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

Romans 3:24-24

22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Romans 5:1-3

1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

2 Thessalonians 2:13-14

13 But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you[a] to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.
14 He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 1:2

2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood:
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

John 17:15-19

15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.
16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.
17 Sanctify[b] them by the truth; your word is truth.
18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.
19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

3.4. Resurrection and Glorification

Christ was bodily resurrected and, because He lives, we too shall live. At the return of the Lord, the bodies of the righteous dead will be raised and, together with the living believers, shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. We will all be changed so as to have literal, spiritual and immortal bodies like unto Christ’s own glorious body. Our glorification is God’s final aspect of our salvation and will be realized when we see Him as He is.

I Corinthians 15:16-24

16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.
17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.
18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.
19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.
22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
23 But each in his own turn: Christ, the first fruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.
24 Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.

1 Thessalonians 4:15-18

15 According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.
16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 After that, 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.
18 Therefore encourage each other with these words.

1 John 3:2-3

2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.

4. ORDINANCES

4.1. THE LORD’S SUPPER

The Lord’s Supper is a symbol, memorial and proclamation of the suffering and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. This ordinance of communion is to be participated in by believers until Christ’s return as the Lord instructed us to do it in his remembrance.

4.2. WATER BAPTISM

Water baptism signifies the believer’s identification with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection and is practiced by immersion.

5. MARRIAGE AND THE FAMILY

5.1. MARRIAGE

Marriage is a provision of God wherein one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others enter into a lifelong covenantal relationship. Marriage establishes a “one-flesh” relationship between husband & wife. Sexual relationship before marriage is fornication and is a sin before God. If a member is involved such act, they should repent & come out of that sin.
Marriage provides the biblical context for the procreation of children. Marriage is to be an exclusive relationship that is maintained in purity. It is intended by God to be a permanent relationship. It is a witness to the world of the relationship between Christ and His church.
Marriage requires a commitment of love, perseverance and faith. Because of its sanctity and Permanence, marriage should be treated with seriousness and entered into only after counsel and prayer for God’s guidance. Christian believers should marry only those who are believers. Believers cannot be yoked with unbelievers.
An individual who becomes a believer after marriage should remain with his/her partner in peace, and should be witness for the Gospel in the home even though their partner is still an unbeliever.
Marriage is a covenant that can only be broken by death of the spouse. In the eyes of God they will remain as husband & wife as long as they are alive.
Same sex marriages are sin before God. It’s not a marriage as per the word of God and is called as “burning with lust”. Romans 1:27 And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.

5.2. HUSBAND & WIFE

Word of God gives excellent counsel on how to live a godly family life. Husband should function as the head of the family & he should love his wife with a love like that of Christ. Wife should submit to her husband like Jesus Christ submitted himself to God the Father though he was equal to him. In love & submission the family life will be have its biblical meaning.

Ephesians 5:21-33

21 And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
22 For wives, this means submit to your husband’s as to the Lord.
23 For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church.
24 As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husband’s in everything.
25 For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her
26 to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word.
27 He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.
28 In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself.
29 No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church.

30 And we are members of his body.
31 As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.”
32 This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one.
33 So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

5.3. DIVORCE & REMARRIAGE

God hates divorce and what God hates shouldn’t be followed. New Testament doesn’t called divorce as sin but it does call remarriage as adultery. It is for this very reason, John the Baptist had to pay with his life when he told Herod that it was not lawful to have his brother’s wife.

The exception clause in Mathew chapter 5 & 19 are exclusive to the gospel of Mathew. Exceptions are meant for a very small minority and not to be followed as a norm. We believe it was written for the Jews who had their betrothal before wedding which is a binding contract. Any adultery between betrothal & wedding is a valid reason to cancel the wedding. The classic example will be Joseph & Mary who had been betrothed but not married. Joseph had the right to put her away when he knew about her pregnancy until God intervened and revealed the truth to him.

Remarriage after divorce will be a state of adultery rather than an act of adultery as the covenant can only be broken by the death of a spouse. Therefore people need to repent from their past sin, come out of it to be able to hold on to their salvation which is offered to them by the grace of God. It might be have a lot of implications for many who are caught in such situations. They will have to pray, meditate & make appropriate choices for their life in faith which will not be binding on the church and cannot implicate the church.