20 MORE religions and faith practices 33

Robyn Lebron

Jesus will odily return to reign on earth for one thousand years.
Only believers in Christ will be resurrected to eternal life. The
resurrection of sinners will occur seven years later, and they will face
eternal damnation. There will be a final judgment in which the
wicked dead will be raised and judged according to their works.
Whosoever is not found written in the ‘‘ ‘ˆ ‹ˆ‡ ǡ together with
the devil and his angels, the beast and the false prophet, will be
consigned to the everlasting punishment in the lake that burns with fire
and brimstone, which is the second death.
The Assemblies of God, while it agrees that God is sovereign, at
the same time believes that mankind has free will—free to accept or
reject God’s gift of salvation and eternal life. Therefore, the
Assemblies of God disapproves of the doctrines of the believer, which
holds that once saved, it is impossible for a person to be lost. If one is
saved, and later commits a serious sin, they can lose their right to
eternal life in heaven.

Special Doctrine
The General Council of the Assemblies of God has historically
opposed the use of alcohol in any form, tobacco or illegal drugs. Early
documents of the church declare, without reservation or compromise, a
position of total abstinence. In more recent years, however, this mark
of separation from the world and this token of dedicated service to
God have been questioned by some. Yet the church continues the
work of challenging all believers to be always filled with the Holy
Spirit…our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit. We need to
cleanse them from all profane habits.7
Although they don’t specifically forbid the use of drugs and
tobacco, they strongly suggest those also should not be part of the

Christian lifestyle. With the realities about alcohol, tobacco, and
drug use, the argument for abstinence is well-established. The
Christian is called to a higher standard of self-control and self-denial
concerning those things not beneficial to his physical and spiritual
well-being. They teach that in view of God’s mercy, to offer your
bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, this is your
spiritual act of worship.
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