CHARLES M. TIFFT
Doctrinal Beliefs:
SCRIPTURE:
I believe the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, to be the only inspired, infallible and authoritative Word of God. Matt. 24:35, Psalm 119:89, 2 Tim. 3:16-17, 2 Tim. 2:15, and 2 Peter 1:19-21
GOD:
I believe in the one God eternally existing is three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I believe He is the maker of Heaven and Earth and all that is in them. 1 Tim. 1:17, Gen. 1:1, and Gen. 1:26
GOD THE FATHER:
The first person of the Godhead who loves all mankind with a perfect fathers heart. Perfect in love and perfect in justice. Isa 43:10, Isa 44:8, John 3:16 and Psalm 89:14
GOD THE SON:
I believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His victorious and atoning sacrifice through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father and in His personal return in power and glory. John 1:1-3, Matt. 1:23, Luke 7:20-23, 1 Tim. 2:5, Eph. 2:18 and Phil. 2:6-11, Romans 3:25-26, Matt. 28:1-10, Acts 1:9-11, Acts 7:55 and 1 Thess. 4:16-18
GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT:
The third person of the Godhead, sent by the Father, through the Son, to convict the world of sin, to instruct us in all truth and to prepare the bride of Christ. I believe that for the salvation of lost and sinful men regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential. I believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a Godly life. - John 14:26, John 15:26, John 16:8, Titus 3:5b, Eph. 2:22, 1 Cor. 6:19 and 1 Peter 2:2
THE TRINITY:
Matt. 3:16-17, John 8:17-18 and 2 Cor. 13:14
MAN AND HIS NEED OF SALVATION:
Man was created holy and perfect for the purpose of fellowship with God. Through the willful disobedience of sin, man fell from that state. As a result, all men, in their natural state, are lost, alienated from God, and spiritually dead. Apart from the saving grace of Christ, all are under sin's curse, and are subject to God's righteous wrath and condemnation. - Gen. 1:27, Gen. 3:6-24, Romans 3:23, Romans 5:12, Eph. 2:1-5 and Revelation 21:8
THE PLAN OF SALVATION:
I believe that Christ was the Lamb of God, foreordained from the foundation of the world, and that by the shedding of his blood on the cross, made provision for the salvation of all men. 1 Peter 1:19-20, Isa. 53:5, Titus 2:14 and Hebrews 7:25
THE NEW BIRTH:
I believe that because of man's total inability to save himself, salvation is by God's grace alone and that it is received through sincere godly repentance, and a wholehearted acceptance and confession of Jesus Christ as savior and Lord; through being born again, he becomes a new creature in Christ. The old has passed away and behold all things have become new. Acts 20:21, John 1:12-13, John 3:3, Titus 3:5-7, Romans 10:9-10, 2 Cor. 5:17, Gal. 2:20, and 1 Peter 1:23
PERSONAL VIEWS
BAPTISM:
I believe that baptism, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is commanded by God; that it is subsequent to conversion, that it is not a saving ordinance, but that it is an outward sign of an inward work. Matt.28:19, Mark 16:16, Acts 2:41, Acts 8:12, Acts 18:8, Romans 6:4, Colossians2:12 and Acts 2:38
COMMUNION:
The Lord's supper was instituted by the Lord on the same night in which he was betrayed. It is to be observed in his churches throughout the world, for an ongoing remembrance of him and the sacrifice made by his death on the cross. It was instituted also to confirm saints in the belief that all the benefits stemming from Christ's sacrifice belong to them. Furthermore, it is meant to promote their spiritual nourishment and growth in Christ. The Lord's supper is also a bond and pledge of the fellowship which believers have with Christ and with one another. - Luke 22:7-20, 1 Cor. 10:16-17 and 1 Cor. 11:23-29
ESCHATOLOGY:
I believe that the second coming of Christ is personal, imminent and premillennial; that the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then the redeemed which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with him in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so they shall forever be with the Lord. I believe that the coming of Jesus Christ will put an end to the great tribulation and establish the millennial kingdom on earth, when Christ shall rule and reign as King of kings and Lord of lords. During this millennial reign, Satan will be locked and sealed away in the Abyss so he will be unable to deceive the nations. At the end of the thousand years he will be released to go out and deceive the nations once more and he will gather a mighty army from the four corners of the earth to go and do battle against the city of God. But fire will come down from heaven and devour them and the devil who deceived them will be thrown into the lake of burning sulfur where the beast and the false prophet are. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
I believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost, they that are saved unto the resurrection of life and they that are lost unto the resurrection of damnation.
I believe in the final judgment of the wicked at the great white throne, when the dead both small and great, shall be resurrected to stand before God to receive the reward of their deeds done in the flesh. I believe that hell is a literal place of outer darkness, bitter sorrow, remorse and woe, prepared by God for the devil and his angels and that there, into a lake that burns with fire and brimstone, shall be cast the unbelieving, the abominable, the murderers, sorcerers, idolaters, liars and those who have rejected the love of Jesus Christ, whose names are not written in the Lamb's book of life.
Then there will be a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth will pass away. The new Jerusalem will come down out of heaven dressed as a beautiful bride prepared for her husband. This massive and beautiful, holy city of God, will be home to only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life. 1 Thess. 4:16-17, Matt. 24:30-44, Acts 1:11, 1 Thess. 4:13-18, 2 Thess. 1:6-10, 2 Thess. 2:8, Rev. 1:7, Matt. 13:41-43, Matt. 25:31-46, Rev. 20 and Rev. 21
CHARISMATIC MOVEMENT:
I believe that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are still at work in the church today and I reject the belief that such gifts ended with the completion of the New Testament Canon. I don't feel the argument which is based on 1 Cor. 13:8-10 holds up when the scripture is examined in it's full context. To me, it seems clear that this scripture is speaking about the return of Christ.
That being said, I also reject the belief that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a second blessing separate from conversion. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is an EVENT that took place on the day of Pentecost, baptizing the church with the Holy Spirit, so it might have power to reach the whole world with the gospel. So there is and was only one BAPTISM of the Holy Spirit.
Beyond that people did RECEIVE the Holy Spirit after pentecost, but only those who had some degree of Jewish blood received the Holy Spirit subsequent to their salvation. This was mainly an issue because there were still those in that time who had been baptized into Christ, but had never heard about the Holy Spirit. These people were not present for Pentecost and so the apostles knew that these people needed to know about the power of the Spirit. I can not yet say why this was only the case for people with Jewish blood, (that being either full blooded Jews or Samaritans who were half Jewish) but it does seem to be the fact of the matter. Perhapes it has something to do with God's covenant with that people, but I admit, at this point, it's only speculation.
The only certain recorded example of gentiles receiving the Holy Spirit, reports that they received the gifts of the Holy Spirit at the very instant they believed the gospel. - Acts 10:44-46. No one had to lay hands on them, not on that occasion or on any later occasion in order for them to receive the gifts. The gentiles received the gifts in this way as a sign to the Jewish Christians that salvation, as well as the gifts of Spirit, were in fact for the gentiles as well as for the Jews. We have no Biblical reason to believe that the gentiles ever received the Spirit in any other way. The gifts are another matter, but I'll get into that later.
Also, there is the fact that none of the epistles instruct us to have new believers brought before the church so that others may lay hands on them and pray for them to be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Paul speaks a great deal in his epistles about the gifts of the Spirit, Yet makes no mention of any need for anyone (who is already a part of Christ's body) to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. Neither do the writings of any other apostle. This fact alone leaves me to wonder if treating the reception of the Spirit as a secondary blessing ceased to be practiced even among the early Jewish Christians. Remember that Paul, in Acts 19 encountered some men on the road to Ephesus and asked them if they had received the Holy Spirit when they believed, they said no and that they had not even heard there was a Holy Spirit. Paul was surprised by this and asked the men "Then what baptism did you receive?" It seems clear to me that he figured that by that time, if they had been baptized into Christ, they would have received the Holy Spirit. They told Paul that they had John's baptism and so Paul explained to them that they needed to be baptized into Christ, they agreed and Paul baptized them. Here is where it gets tricky. The scipture tells us that when Paul placed his hands on them that they received the Holy Spirit and began to speak in tongues and prophesy. However, it pretty much lumps this right in there with his baptizing them and does not make clear whether or not these were two serperate events. Certainly Paul would have placed his hands on them in order to baptize them and so they may well have received the Spirit at that same instant just as the gentiles in Acts 10:46. However, since these men were disciples of John the baptist, it is certainly possible that they were actually Jewish men who were traveling in Ephesus. The scipture is not clear on this either, so it is pretty much impossible to use this scripture to argue either in favor of the secondary blessing or against it, in regards to gentiles. However, what does stand out is what seems to be Paul's surprise that what he had assumed where disciples of Christ had not received the Holy Spirit. While this would have been a more common sight (among Jewish believers) shortly after Pentecost, it may well be that by this time it was much more rare, and if they were indeed gentiles it may well have been unheard of.
Tongues was indeed the initial evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, but it was not the same tongues as those spoken of in other parts of scripture. The tongues on the day of Pentecost was a sign to the unbelievers and was not in fact an unknown language, but rather it was the speaking of many known languages by people who had never spoken those languages. Some later instances of tongues may have been the same, but from the instance in Acts 19 and throughout the rest of scripture, tongues is said to come with prophecy or the gift of interpretation and therefore it seems that we are now talking about an unknown language that must be interpreted in the public setting as Paul instructs us in 1st Corinthians. Paul also makes it clear in 1st Corinthians chapters 12-14 that not EVERYONE speaks in tongues nor does EVERYONE have any other gift of the Spirit. Rather we all work together as a body, each with our own gifts that help to make up the full functional body of Christ. It would seem that it is possible for some to function in all of the gifts, but no one gift is said to be for every person. Tongues is among the lesser gifts, but now days it would seem that many in Christ treat it as though it is the Holy Grail of spiritual gifts and that without it no one has really received the power of the Spirit. I find no Biblical basis for such a belief and therefore reject any suggestion that the presence of tongues is a must in order to prove that a person has received the Holy Spirit. You may have tongues, you may prophecy, you may have discerning of spirits or any one or more of several other gifts and any of these are true and valid demonstrations of the Spirits power.
Now I do believe that some people get saved, but do not, at first, demonstrate any gifts of the Spirit. This doesn't mean that the person has not received the Spirit or that a gift hasn't been given, it just means that the gift was not one such as tongues or prophecy which would be outwardly apparent, and due to the fact that so many Christian denominations don't teach their people about spiritual gifts, it could take quite some time before the person grows enough in Christ to realise what gift or gifts they may have been given. Sadly, if the church fails to teach it and the person never studies the Word, they may never be enlightened about this aspect of faith. In fact, in some denominations the open door to the Holy Spirit may have been surpressed for so long, that most people who come to faith in those churches, also live and die without any experience with the gifts of the Spirit. This, I believe is the reason for most modern people not having an experience with spiritual gifts, right from the moment of salvation. The Holy Spirit has been surpressed in the churches. However, gifts or no gifts, what matters is true salvation and if your salvation is real, it will not make you any less saved or any less a Christian, even if you never have any experience with spiritual gifts. If a Christian desires a spiritual gift that he has not been given, he should pray for it, but if the gift is never given, he should not be downhearted, because the Holy Spirit gives to each one of us just as He determines and not as we determine. Therefore we should rejoice in whatever blessings the Holy Spirit sees fit to give us.
I believe that the full gospel includes healing for the body and the scriptural manifestations of the Holy Spirit. However, I believe that all things are to be done in order as directed by the apostle Paul in 1 Cor.14.
I fear that many in the charismatic movement have come to base their faith more on their experiences, than on the Word of God and that this has led to many practices which have no true basis in scripture, such as being slain in the Spirit and laughing in the Spirit. There are many other things being attributed to the Spirit of God as well, which have no basis in the Word and in my opinion such things can only serve as deceptions to otherwise well intentioned Christians.
PREDESTINATION:
In my opinion predestination must be considered with the understanding that God is not bound by time. (2 Peter 3:8 and Psalm 90:4) If he were, then it would make sense to interpret Romans 8:29 as saying that God had preselected those who would be saved. But in light of fact that God is not bound by time and the fact that God is omniscient, (Psalm 139:4, Matt. 6:8, 1 John 3:20) it must be understood that before the creation of the world God would certainly have known all that would happen throughout all the ages. Because of this fact, he would also know his own will in regards to every situation and therefore all his plans would have been put into place long before the creation of the world. Therefore, we can have Biblical prophecy and we can be assured that it will all come to pass. This means he would have known that Lucifer would fall, and he would have known that man would fall and he would therefore have willed that his Son Jesus Christ would serve as the Lamb who would bring about man's redemption from the curse of sin. Keeping all this in mind, it also seems reasonable to me, that he would have known before the creation of the earth, every soul who would eventually come to faith in Christ. Therefore it was his will that all those who he foreknew would come to a true belief in Christ, would then also be conformed to the likeness of his Son. This also applies to the fact that they were called, justified and glorified all in advance of this world, because he already knew that their faith would come to pass. God is very concerned with his creation, and because he foreknew, he also forewilled as a result of what he foreknew.
For me, this explains every scripture concerning election. If however, it were not Gods will that all men be saved and if the atonement of Christ were actually limited, then we would not have scriptures such as 2 Peter 3:9, neither would we have the
image of Jesus crying over Jerusalem in Matt. 23:37-39, because it would have been he himself who had condemned them to their unbelief. Last but not least, certainly we would not have John 3:16.
My biggest problem with the Calvinist view of predestination is that in my mind, if God takes total control over who is saved and who is lost, and if there is in fact no free will, then it seems to me that by default God becomes responsible for all evil that has ever come to pass. If man has no free will, then why would Lucifer have had free will and why would the rebellious angels have had free will? And if Lucifer and rebellious angels didn't have free will and if God hated them the way Calvinists believe he hates the non-elect, then as I said, God would have to bear the ultimate responsibility for all evil. Such a thought has no basis in scripture and I could never believe it. God is holy and just and therefore free will must be a reality. Although it is true that man can do nothing to save himself, this cannot be applied to faith. Faith is not a work. Time and time again the scriptures draw a distinction between faith and works. James 2:17 and Eph. 2:8-9.
ETERNAL SECURITY:
I believe that once we have been born again we can be absolutely sure of our salvation, providing our faith is genuine and active. James 2:17, 1 John 1:6 and Acts 26:20, John 10:28-29.
We are assured that no one can steal us away from the hand of God, but I don't see that this could apply in regards to our own will. The scriptures contain many warnings against falling away (John 15:3-6, Romans 11:17-21, 2 Peter 2:20-22, Hebrews 6:4-6) and even predict in 1 Tim. 4:1 that in the latter times some will abandon the faith. You can not abandon the faith if you were never in it. I believe that God is long suffering toward us and I don't believe that we are in constant danger of losing our salvation. If fact, I am inclined to believe that the only way our salvation can be lost is if we so completely turn from God that we mock the very Spirit which regenerated us. This, I think is very unlikely in anyone who has truly tasted the goodness of a relationship with God. There are many who will fall away because although they claimed salvation, they never really lived an active faith or took the time to get to know the Lord through the study of the Word or time spent in prayer. I believe that these are the types who will be judged as goats according to Matt. 25:31-46.
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