Understanding and articulating your beliefs is of critical importance. The core values and principles that you hold can guide your actions, influence your decisions, and shape your interactions with others. In the context of the Christian Karate Association (CKA), our beliefs have a profound impact on the way we teach and practice martial arts.

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Outlined below is our Statement of Faith that serve as the foundation of our association. These statements are not just philosophical concepts, but practical guides that all our instructors and schools abide by and incorporate into their teaching. They represent our collective beliefs, unify our mission, and reflect our commitment to integrating faith with martial arts.

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Each statement has been carefully considered and agreed upon by our instructors and schools. They are not just rules to follow, but principles to live by. They form the bedrock of our teachings, shaping the direction of our instruction and the atmosphere of our schools. As you explore these statements, we invite you to reflect on their significance and the role they play in our association and in your personal journey.

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1. We believe that the Bible constitutes the complete divinely inspired word of God, inerrant in the originals.

 

“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17

 

“Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.” 2 Peter 1:20-21

 

Comment: The Bible is the only source and foundation of all divinely disclosed authoritative information needed in our understanding of God and His plan for creation. The Bible does not “contain” the word of God, it is the word of God in its entirety. Both the Old and New Testaments are applicable today when properly understood and interpreted. Selected verses cannot be removed from their context to teach an idea that is not in agreement with the whole of Scripture.

 

 

2. We believe in one God existing eternally in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

 

“God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us.” Genesis 1:26

 

“In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1

 

“Peter said, “Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself. The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God!” Acts 5:3-4

 

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

 

Comment: Some doctrines of the Bible are difficult for us to understand but that doesn’t make them any less true. It is absurd to believe that a finite mind can understand all infinite truth! Even though the word Trinity is not in the Bible, it clearly teaches the truth of the Trinity. This has also been confirmed by the Christian community throughout history and has been seen as a major test of Christian orthodoxy. Some will claim that the Trinity was “created” by the church during the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD. What is true is that the council was held in response to individuals who disagreed with the common and accepted doctrine of the Trinity and it reaffirmed in a statement, known as the Nicene Creed, what the Church believed from the beginning.

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3. We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death 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.

 

“In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1

 

“Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.” Philippians 2:6-8

 

“This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 1:18

 

“For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone.” 1 Peter 2:21-22

 

“God publicly endorsed Jesus the Nazarene by doing powerful miracles, wonders, and signs through him...” Acts 2:22

 

“We praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.” Ephesians 1:6-7

 

“Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.” 1 Corinthians 15:3-4

 

“When the Lord Jesus had finished talking with them, he was taken up into heaven and sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand.” Mark 16:19

 

“The Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

 

Comment: The Lord Jesus Christ is central to everything. Even though He is God the Son, He came in the form of a human to become a sinless and perfect sacrifice for the sins of anyone who would accept His free gift of salvation. The first time He came in a humble, gracious manner, shedding His blood as a willing servant to pay the price required by a holy God for the forgiveness of sin. He rose again from the dead, ascended to heaven and is coming again in judgment to bring to conclusion God’s plan for his creation.

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4. We believe that the Holy Spirit came forth from the Father and the Son to convict the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment; and to regenerate, sanctify and comfort and guide those who believe in Jesus Christ.

 

Jesus said: “Now I am going away to the one who sent me, and not one of you is asking where I am going. Instead, you grieve because of what I’ve told you. But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate (Holy Spirit) won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.” John 16:5-8

 

“When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior.” Titus 3:4-6

 

“When the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.” John 14:26

 

Jesus said: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere.” Acts 1:8

 

“The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23

 

Comment: Commonly referred to as “the third Person of the Trinity”, the Holy Spirit is actively involved in the world today in a way that is distinct from His activity in the Old Testament. It is God’s Holy Spirit that works in the hearts of individuals to bring them to an understanding of their need of a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. After salvation, He continues to provide comfort, direction, and power to those who are fully committed to Christ. His involvement in the life of a Christian produces all of the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control as one grows in their faith and consistency in walking in the Spirit.

 

 

5. We believe that all people are important to God and that He is not willing that any should perish.

 

“A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.” 2 Peter 3:8-9

 

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

 

Comment: God’s love for His creation is universal. He has not created some people for eternal punishment and some people for salvation. It is God’s desire for everyone to respond to his gracious offer of eternal life but he never removes the person’s ability to choose whether or not to accept his gift of salvation. Freedom to follow the Lord, or not, remains throughout the life of the individual.

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6. We believe that salvation is the gift of God, and is received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose atoning blood was shed on the cross for the forgiveness of sins. It is only through repentance and a personal relationship with Christ that a person has access to God. He is the only mediator between us and the Father.

 

Jesus said: “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” John 3:3

 

“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.” Ephesians 2:8-9

 

“He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins...” 1 John 2:2

 

“From then on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.’” Matthew 4:17

 

Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

 

“We are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:6-7

 

“There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity, the man Christ Jesus.” 1 Timothy 2:5

 

Comment: Salvation is a gift from God but only comes through an individual’s personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. This relationship includes a turning away from sin and a commitment to follow His guidance in life. Salvation is not through baptism, church membership or simply living a good life. While others may pray for us, serve as a role model, or encourage us, only Jesus is the one who can forgive us and enable us to have freedom from sin.

 

 

7. We 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 eternal torment.

 

Jesus said: “The time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God’s Son, and they will rise again. Those who have done good will rise to experience eternal life, and those who have continued in evil will rise to experience judgment.” John 5:28-29

 

“They (the unsaved) will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.” Matthew 25:46

 

Comment: Physical death is not the end of a person’s existence. God created us as eternal beings. There are only two places where we will spend eternity. One is greater than anything we can imagine and one is worse than anything we can imagine.

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8. We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

“Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.” Ephesians 4:3-4

 

Comment: Even though there are many different denominations, all true believers are a part of the body of Christ. In John 17 Jesus prayed for the unity of all believers. For the sake of unity we believe that tolerance is necessary in regard to ideas and beliefs that are not essential to salvation or the preservation of theological standards that are the foundation to belief in Christ. In regard to essential doctrines, we support the unified traditional doctrines, universally accepted by the believing community, that have their establishment based solely on the clear teachings of Scripture.

 

9. We believe the life of the believer is to be separated from the world by consistent holy conduct before God and others, and is to be in the world as a life-giving light.

 

“You must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, ‘You must be holy because I am holy.’” 1 Peter 1:14-16

 

“You are the light of the world.” Matthew 5:14“My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous.” 1 John 2:1

 

Comment: There should be a very clear distinction between the life of a believer and an unbeliever. Salvation is not a ticket to live in sin and still attain eternal life. God clearly calls those who bear the name of Christ to a lifestyle of obedience to the Word of God. Consistent holy living is the result of heart purity. The motive of all of our thoughts and conduct should be a desire to live in a manner reflecting the will and way of the Lord Jesus Christ. Human imperfections are natural but God’s plan for his children is that we do not sin. Sin is unnatural for a Christian. If we do sin then we need to immediately repent and renew our determination to be obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

 

10. We believe that God designed marriage for humanity. As first described in Genesis and later affirmed by Jesus, marriage is a God-ordained, covenant relationship between one man and one woman.

 

“‘God made them male and female’ from the beginning of creation. ‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’ Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together.” Matthew 5:6-9

 

“God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. 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.” Romans 1:24-27

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“As the Scriptures say, ‘A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’ This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one.” Ephesians 5:31-32

 

Comment: Marriage was designed and established by God in the very beginning. His plan was that one man and one woman would be united in love and would be committed to each other for life producing a family that honored Him. This plan has not changed. Any deviation from this design is sinful and repugnant to God. It has always been a goal of Satan to attack and destroy God’s perfect design through divorce, same sex marriage, polygamy and premarital sexual relationships. Marriage is so important that it is used as an example of the relationship between Christ and the Church.