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Our Doctrinal Beliefs
Our Statement of our Faith
I. The Scriptures
The Holy Bible was
written by men divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of Himself to
man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its
author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error
in its original texts. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and
trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and
therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center
of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct,
creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a
testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus and expression of all
divine revelation.
Ex. 24:4; Deut.
4:1-2;; Joshua 8:34-35; Psalms 19:7-10; 119:11,89,105,140; Isaiah 40:8;
Luke 21:33; 24:44-46; John 5:39; 16:13-15; 17:17; Acts 17:11; Rom.15:4;
16:25-26; 2 Tim.3:15-17; Heb. 1:1-2; 4:12; 1 Peter 1:25; 2 Pet.1:19-21.
II.
God
There is one and
only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and
personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the
universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. God is
all powerful and all knowing; and His perfect knowledge extends to all
things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His
free creatures. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and
obedience. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, yet without division
of nature, essence, or being. Each is the same in essence and equal in
every divine perfection.
A.
God the Father
God as Father
reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the
flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His
grace. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. God is
Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in
Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward all men.
Gen. 1:1; 2:7; Ex.
3:14; 6:2-3; Deut. 6:4; 32:6; 1 Chronicles 29:10; Isaiah 43:3,15; 64:8;
Mat. 6:9.; 7:11; 23:9; 28:19; John 4:24; 5:26; 14:6-13; 17:1-8; Acts
1:7; Rom. 8:14-15; 1 Cor. 8:6; Gal. 4:6; Eph. 4:6; 1 Tim. 1:17; 1 Peter
1:17; 1 John 5:7.
B.
God the Son
Christ is the
eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was conceived
of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed
and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature with its
demands and necessities and identifying Himself completely with mankind
yet without sin.
He
honored the divine law by His personal obedience. In His
substitutionary death on the cross He made provision for the redemption
of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and
appeared to His disciples just as He was before His crucifixion. He
ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where
He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man, in whose Person is
effected the reconciliation between God and man. He now lives to make
intercession for man; He dwells in all believers as the living and ever
present Lord and He will soon return in power and glory to judge the
world and to consummate His redemptive mission.
Ps.2:7; 110:1.;
Isa.7:14; 9:6; 53:1-12; Mat. 1:20-23; 3:17; 8:29; 11:27; 14:33;
16:16,27; 17:5; 27:27-56; 28:1-6,19; Luke 1:35; 4:41; 22:70; 24:46; John
1:1-18,29; 10:30,38; 11:25-27; 12:44-50; 14:7-11; 16:15-16,28; 17:1-5,
21-22; 20:1-20,28; Acts 1:9; 2:22-23; 7:55-56; 9:4-5,20; Rom.1:3-4;
3:23-26; 5:6-21; 8:1-3,34; 10:4; 1 Cor. 8:6; 15:1-8,24-28; 2 Cor.
5:19-21; 8:9; Gal. 4:4-5; Phil.2:5-11; Col. 1:13-22; 2:9; 1 Thes.
4:14-18; 1 Tim. 2:5-6; 3:16; Titus 2:13-14; Heb. 1:1-3; 4:14-15; 7:25;
9:12-15,24-28; 12:2; 13:8; 1 Peter 2:21-25; 3:22; 1 John 1:7-9; 3:2;
4:14-15; 5:9
C.
God the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is
the Spirit of God, fully divine. He inspired holy men of old to write
the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables men to understand truth.
He exalts Christ. He convicts men of sin, of righteousness, and of
judgment. He calls men to the Savior, and effects regeneration. At the
moment of regeneration He baptizes every believer into the Body of
Christ. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and
bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church.
He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in
the Christian is the guarantee that God will bring the believer into the
fullness of the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the
believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.
Gen. 1:2; Judges
14:6; Job 26:13; Psalms 51:11; 139:7.; Mat. 1:18; 3:16; 4:1; 12:28-32;
28:19; Luke 1:35; 4:1,18-19; 11:13; 12:12; 24:49; John 4:24;
14:16-17,26; 15:26; 16:7-14; Acts 1:8; 2:1-4,38; 4:31; 5:3; 6:3; 7:55;
10:44; 13:2; 15:28; 16:6; 19:1-6; Rom. 8:9-11,14-16,26-27; 1 Cor.
2:10-14; 3:16; 12:3-11,13; Eph. 1:13-14; 4:30; 5:18; 1 Thes. 5:19; 2
Tim. 1:14; 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21; 1 John 4:13; 5:6-7; Rev. 1:10; 22:17.
III.
Man
Man is the special
creation of God, made in His own image. He created them male and female
as the crowning work of His creation. The gift of gender is thus part of
the goodness of God’s creation. In the beginning man was innocent of sin
and was endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice. By his free
choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race.
Through the temptation of Satan man transgressed the command of God, and
fell from his original innocence whereby his posterity inherit a nature
and an environment inclined toward sin. Therefore, not having the Spirit
of God, as soon as they are capable of moral action, they become
transgressors and are under condemnation. The sacredness of human
personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in
that Christ died for man; therefore, every person of every race
possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.
Gen. 1:26-30;
2:5,7,18-22; 3; 9:6; Psalms 1; 8:3-6; 32:1-5; 51:5; 58:3; Isaiah 6:5;
Jeremiah 17:5; Mat. 16:26; Acts 17:26-31; Rom. 1:19-32; 3:10-18,23;
5:6,12,19; 6:6,23; 7:14-25; 8:14-18,29; 1 Cor. 1:21-31; 15:19,21-22;
Eph. 2:1-22; Col. 1:21-22; 3:9-11.
IV.
Salvation
Salvation involves
the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept
Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. It is by grace alone and through faith
alone, apart from any human merit. Christ, by His own blood obtained
eternal redemption for the believer giving them life eternal. Christ’s
salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and
glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus
Christ as Lord.
A. Regeneration, or
the new birth, is a work of God’s grace whereby believers become new
creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy
Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in
repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and
faith are inseparable experiences of grace.
Repentance is a
genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith, which is believing that
God’s Word and its promises are true, is the acceptance of Jesus Christ
and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Savior.
B. Justification
is God’s gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His
righteousness for all sinners who repent and believe in Christ.
Justification brings the believer into a relationship of peace and favor
with God.
C. Sanctification
is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is
set apart to God’s purposes, and is enabled to progress toward moral and
spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit
dwelling in him. Growth in grace should continue throughout the
regenerate person’s life.
D. Glorification is
the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state
of the redeemed.
Gen. 3:15; Ex.
3:14-17; 6:2-8; Mat. 1:21; 4:17; 16:21-26; 27:22-28:6; Luke 1:68-69;
2:28-32; John 1:11-14,29; 3:3-21,36; 5:24; 10:9,28-29; 15:1-16; 17:17;
Acts 2:21; 4:12; 15:11; 16:30-31; 17:30-31; 20:32; Rom. 1:16-18; 2:4;
3:23-25; 4:3.; 5:8-10; 6:1-23; 8:1-18,29-39; 10:9-10,13; 13:11-14; 1 Cor.
1:18,30; 6:19-20; 15:10; 2 Cor. 5:17-20; Gal. 2:20; 3:13; 5:22-25; 6:15;
Eph. 1:7; 2:8-22; 4:11-16; Phil. 2:12-13; Col. 1:9-22; 3:1.; 1 Thes.
5:23-24; 2 Tim. 1:12; Titus 2:11-14; Heb. 2:1-3; 5:8-9; 9:24-28;
11:1-12:8,14; James 2:14-26; 1 Peter 1:2-23; 1 John 1:6-2:11; Rev. 3:20;
21:1-22:5.
V.
God’s Grace and Assurance
Election is the
gracious purpose of God, according to which He first loves, then
reaching to that lost soul, regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and
glorifies sinners in their state of helplessness. God, in His
foreknowledge, comprehends all the means in connection with the end in
the saving of their souls. It is the glorious display of God’s sovereign
goodness, and is infinitely wise, holy, and unchangeable. It excludes
boasting and promotes humility.
All true believers shall endure to the day of Christ. Those
whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit, will
never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end.
Believers may fall into sin through neglect and temptation, whereby they
grieve the Spirit, impair their graces and comforts, and bring reproach
on the cause of Christ and temporal judgments on themselves; yet they
shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.
Gen. 12:1-3; Ex.
19:5-8; 1 Samuel 8:4-7,19-22; Isaiah 5:1-7; Jeremiah 31:31.; Mat.
16:18-19; 21:28-45; 24:22,31; 25:34; Luke 1:68-79; 2:29-32; 19:41-44;
24:44-48; John 1:12-14; 3:16; 5:24; 6:39,44-45,65; 10:27-29; 15:16;
17:6,12,17-18; Acts 20:32; Rom. 5:9-10; 8:28-39; 10:12-15; 11:5-7,26-36;
1 Cor. 1:1-2; 15:24-28; Eph. 1:4-23; 2:1-10; 3:1-11; Phil. 1:6; Col.
1:12-14; 1 Thess 4:13-18; 2 Thes. 2:13-14; 2 Tim. 1:12; 2:10,19; Heb.
11:39–12:2; James 1:12; 1 Peter 1:2-5,13; 2:4-10; 1 John 1:7-9; 2:19;
3:2.
VI.
The Church
A New Testament
church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local congregation of
believers baptized by immersion, associated by covenant in the faith and
fellowship of the gospel; observing the ordinances of baptism and the
Lord’s Supper, governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and
privileges invested in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the
gospel to the ends of the earth. Each congregation operates under the
Lordship of Christ through democratic processes. In such a congregation
each member is responsible and accountable to Christ as Lord. Its
scriptural officers are Elders ( pastors, bishops ) and deacons. While
both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the offices of
elder and deacon are limited to men as qualified by Scripture.
The New Testament
speaks also of the “universal”
church as
the Body of Christ which includes all of the redeemed of all the ages,
believers from every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation.
Mat. 16:15-19;
18:15-20; Acts 2:41-42,47; 6:3-6; 13:1-3; 14:23,27; 15:1-30; 16:5;
20:28; 1 Cor. 1:2; 3:16; 5:4-5; 9:13-14; 12-30; Eph. 1:22-23; 2:19-22;
3:8-11,21; 5:22-32; Phil. 1:1; Col. 1:18; 1 Tim. 2:9-14; 3:1-15; 4:14;
Heb. 10:25; 1 Peter 5:1-4
VII.
God’s Authority and Kingdom
The Kingdom of God
includes both His general sovereignty over the universe and His
particular kingship over men who willfully acknowledge Him as King.
Particularly the Kingdom is the realm of salvation into which men enter
by trustful, childlike commitment to Jesus Christ. Christians ought to
pray and to labor that the Kingdom may come and God’s will be done on
earth. The full consummation of the Kingdom awaits the return of Jesus
Christ and the end of this age.
Gen. 1:1; Isaiah
9:6-7; Jeremiah 23:5-6; Mat. 3:2; 4:8-10,23; 12:25-28; 13:1-52;
25:31-46; 26:29; Mark 1:14-15; 9:1; Luke 4:43; 8:1; 9:2; 12:31-32;
17:20-21; 23:42; John 3:3; 18:36; Acts 1:6-7; 17:22-31; Rom. 5:17; 8:19;
1 Cor. 15:24-28; Col. 1:13; Heb. 11:10,16; 12:28; 1 Peter 2:4-10; 4:13;
Rev. 1:6,9; 5:10; 11:15; 21-22.
VIII.
Last Things
God, in His own
time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end.
According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally, bodily
and visibly in power and with glory to the earth; the dead will be
raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous
will be consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting punishment. The
righteous in their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their
reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord.
Isaiah 2:4; 11:9;
Mat. 16:27; 18:8-9; 19:28; 24:27,30,36,44; 25:31-46; 26:64; Mark 8:38;
9:43-48; Luke 12:40,48; 16:19-26; 17:22-37; 21:27-28; John 14:1-3; Acts
1:11; 17:31; 24:15; Rom. 14:10; 1 Cor. 4:5; 15:24-28,35-58; 2 Cor.
5:10; Phil. 3:20-21; Col. 1:5; 3:4; 1 Thes. 4:14-18; 5:1.; 2 Thes.
1:7-9.; 2; 1 Tim. 6:14; 2 Tim. 4:1,8; Titus 2:13; Heb. 9:27-28; James
5:8; 2 Peter 3:7.; 1 John 2:28; 3:2; Jude 14; Rev. 1:18; 3:11;
20:1-22:13.
IX.
Evangelism and Missions
It is the duty and privilege of every
follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to
endeavor to make disciples of all nations. The new birth of man’s spirit
by God’s Holy Spirit should produce the birth of love for others.
Missionary effort on the part of all rests thus upon a spiritual
necessity of the regenerate life, and is expressly and repeatedly
commanded in the teachings of Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ has
commanded the preaching of the gospel to all nations. It is the duty of
every child of God to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by
verbal witness undergirded by a Christian lifestyle, and by other
methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ.
The fulfillment of the Great Commission requires that
all worldly and personal ambitions be subordinated to a total commitment
to "Him who loved us and gave Himself for us."
Gen. 12:1-3; Ex. 19:5-6; Isaiah 6:1-8;
Mat. 9:37-38; 10:5-15; 13:18-30, 37-43; 16:19; 22:9-10; 24:14; 28:18-20;
Luke 10:1-18; 24:46-53; John 14:11-12; 15:7-8,16; 17:15; 20:21; Acts
1:8; 2; 8:26-40; 10:42-48; 13:2-3; Rom. 10:13-15; Eph. 3:1-11; 1 Thes.
1:8; 2 Tim. 4:5; Heb. 2:1-3; 11:39-12:2; 1 Peter 2:4-10; Rev. 22:17;
Mat. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:46-49; Acts 1:7-8; Rom. 12:1-2;
Gal. 2:19-20; Phil. 3:7-21.
X. Education
Christianity is the
faith of enlightenment and intelligence. In Jesus Christ abide all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge. All sound learning is, therefore, a
part of our Christian heritage. The new birth opens all human faculties
and creates a thirst for knowledge. An adequate system of Christian
education is necessary to a complete spiritual program for Christ’s
people.
Deut.
4:1,5,9,14; 6:1-10; 31:12-13; Nehemiah 8:1-8; Job 28:28; Psalms 19:7.;
119:11; Proverbs 3:13.; 4:1-10; 8:1-7,11; 15:14; Ecclesiastes 7:19; Mat.
5:2; 7:24.; 28:19-20; Luke 2:40; 1 Cor. 1:18-31; Eph. 4:11-16; Phil.
4:8; Col. 2:3,8-9; 1 Tim. 1:3-7; 2 Tim. 2:15; 3:14-17; Heb. 5:12-6:3;
James 1:5; 3:17.
XI.
Stewardship
God is the source
of all blessings, temporal and spiritual; all that we have and are we
owe to Him. Christians have a spiritual debtorship to the whole world, a
holy trusteeship in the gospel, and a binding stewardship in their
possessions. They are therefore under obligation to serve Him with their
time, talents, and material possessions; and should recognize all these
as entrusted to them to use for the glory of God and for helping others.
According to the Scriptures, Christians should contribute of their means
cheerfully, regularly, systematically, proportionately, and liberally
for the advancement of the Redeemer’s cause on earth.
Gen. 14:20; Lev.
27:30-32; Deut. 8:18; Malachi 3:8-12; Mat. 6:1-4,19-21; 19:21; 23:23;
25:14-29; Luke 12:16-21,42; 16:1-13; Acts 2:44-47; 5:1-11; 17:24-25;
20:35; Rom. 6:6-22; 12:1-2; 1 Cor. 4:1-2; 6:19-20; 12; 16:1-4; 2 Cor.
8:1-16; 9:6-15; 12:15; Phil. 4:10-19; 1 Peter 1:18-19.
XII.
The Family and Marriage
God has
ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It
is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, foster
care or adoption.
Marriage is the
uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime.
It is God’s unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His
church and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the
framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression
according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the
human race.
We believe that God hates
divorce and intends marriage to last until one of the spouses dies.
Persons who have been divorced and restored to God may, under certain
circumstances, be used of God for certain services in the church, but
they must agree with God’s Word that divorce is never good, nor
preferred as the ideal. (Malachi 2:14-17; Mat. 19:3-12; Rom. 7:1-3; I
Tim. 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6)
Children, from the moment
of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to
demonstrate to their children God’s pattern for marriage. Parents are to
teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them,
through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make
choices based on biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their
parents.
Gen. 1:26-28;
2:15-25; 3:1-20; Ex. 20:12; Deut. 6:4-9; Joshua 24:15; 1 Samuel 1:26-28;
Psalms 51:5; 78:1-8; 127; 128; 139:13-16; Proverbs 1:8; 5:15-20;
6:20-22; 12:4; 13:24; 14:1; 17:6; 18:22; 22:6,15; 23:13-14; 24:3;
29:15,17; 31:10-31; Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; 9:9; Malachi 2:14-16; Mat.
5:31-32; 18:2-5; 19:3-9; Mark 10:6-12; Rom. 1:18-32; 1 Cor. 7:1-16; Eph.
5:21-33; 6:1-4; Col. 3:18-21; 1 Tim. 5:8,14; 2 Tim. 1:3-5; Titus 2:3-5;
Heb. 13:4; 1 Peter 3:1-7.
Other Convictions:
Gossip and Tale bearing:
We believe that God has condemned the
practice of a person being a gossip, tale-bearer, busybody backbiter,
whisperer or slanderer. This practice can range from the mild end of
simply sharing things which are personal or in any way demeaning ( true
or not ); to sharing secrets or spreading rumors ( true or not ); to
trying to influence one person against another; to making false
accusations and malicious slander. This practice can not be tolerated
in God’s body as it is destructive to our fellow Christian, divides the
church and disobeys Christ. We believe that to listen to gossip is to
participate in gossip. Lev. 19:16; Prov. 11:13; Prov. 20:19; Jer.
6:28; Jer. 9:4; Rom. 1:28-32; II Cor. 12:20; I Tim. 3:11; 5:13; II Tim.
3:3; Titus 2:3
Creation
We believe in the Genesis account of
the seven days of creation of the world by God and that this account is
not figurative and that mankind was created directly by God in the image
of God. Gen. 1:1-31, Ex. 20:11, Acts 17:23-26
Tongues and the Sign Gifts:
We believe that God has
given spiritual gifts to all Christians according to His divine will.
Concerning the particular gift of tongues, we believe the New Testament,
without exception, teaches that tongues were foreign languages which
were a sign ( along with the other sign gifts ) for unbelievers; that
God gave them for the propagation of the gospel to signify the beginning
of His church. (I Cor. 14:20-22, 13:8-11) We believe that God
does answer prayer in accord with His will; that His power is unlimited
to intervene in the affairs of men; that He can heal the sick, and that
such things are simply an act of His grace. (Jn.15:7; IJn. 5:14-15;
Jas. 5:14-16)
Unchaste Conduct
We
believe that God has commanded that no intimate
physical activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and
a woman. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism,
bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography
is a sinful perversion of God’s original intent for a physical
relationship between a husband and wife. (Gen. 2:24; 19:5, 13;
26:8-9; Lev. 18:1-30; Rom. 1:26-29; I Cor. 5:1; 6:9; I Thes. 4:1-8; Heb.
13:4)
Abortion
We believe that human life begins at
conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion
constitutes the unjustified, inexcusable taking of unborn human life.
Abortion is murder. We disagree with any teaching that abortions of
pregnancies due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth
or population control, or the mental well-being of the mother are
acceptable. (Job 3:16; Psalm 51:5; 139:14-16; Isaiah 44:24; 49:1, 5;
Jeremiah 1:5
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