bible_16927ac

 

Section A. The Holy Scriptures

We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally inspired Word of God, the final authority for faith and life, inerrant in the original writings, infallible and God-breathed. II Tim. 3:16; II Pet. 1:19-21; Ps. 119:89.

Section B.  The Godhead

We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons-Father, Son and Holy Spirit; co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections.. Deut. 6:4, II Cor. 13:14; Matt. 28:19; John 14:16; Heb. 1:1-3.

Section C.  The Person and Work of Christ

  1. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men. John 1:1; 1:14; Isa. 7:14; Col 1:19; 2:9.
  2. We believe that the Lord Jesus accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice, and that our justification is made sure by His literal physical resurrection from the dead. Isa. 53:10; Romans 3:24-25; I Cor. 15:3-4; I Pet. 2:24; Eph. 1:17; I Pet. 1:3-5.
  3. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate. Acts 1:9; Romans 8:34; Heb. 9:24; 7:25; I Tim. 2:5; I John 2:1-2.

Section D.  The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit

  1. We believe that the Holy Spirit is a Person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgement, and that He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption. John 16:8-11; John 3:5-6; Eph. 1:13-14; I Cor. 12:13; Romans 8:9.
  2. We believe that He is the Divine Teacher who guides believers into all truth, and that it is the privilege of all saved persons to be filled with the Spirit. John 14:26; I John 2:20, 27; Eph. 5:18.

Section E. The Total Depravity of Man

We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God but that in Adam’s sin the race fell, inheriting a sinful nature and became alienated from God, and that man is totally depraved and of himself utterly unable to remedy his lost condition. Gen. 1:26, 27; Romans 3:22-23; Eph. 2:1-3, 12.

Section F. Salvation

We believe that salvation is a gift of God brought to man by grace, and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins. Eph. 1:7; 2:8-10; John 1:12; I Pet. 1:18-19; Acts 4:12.

Section G. The Assurance and Security of the Believer

  1. Assurance:  We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh. Luke 10:20; I John 5:12-13; II Cor. 5:1, 6-8; Gal 5:13.
  2. Security:  We believe that all the redeemed are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever. John 5:24; 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Rom. 8:1; 8:38-39; I Pet. 1:5.

Section H. The Two Natures of the Believer

We believe that every saved person possesses two natures, with provision made for victory of the new nature over the old nature through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and that all claims to the eradication of the old nature in this life are unscriptural. Romans 6:13, 8,12,13; Gal. 5:16-25; Eph. 4:22-24; Col 3:10; I Pet. 1:14-16; I John 3:5-9.

Section I. Separation

We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord, and that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures and practices is commanded by God.  Romans 12:1-2; 14:13; I John 2:15-17; II John 9-11; II Cor. 6:14; 7:1.

Section J. Missions

We believe that it is the obligation of the saved to witness by life and by word to the truths of the Holy Scriptures and to seek to proclaim the Gospel to all mankind. Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8; II Cor. 5:19-20.

Section K. The Church

  1. We believe that the Church, which is the body of Christ and the espoused bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born again persons of this present age. Eph. 1:22-23; 5:25-27; I Cor. 12:12-14; II Cor. 11:2.
  2. We believe that the establishment and continuance of local church is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures. Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; I Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11.

Section L. Ordinances

We believe that our Lord Jesus Christ has left two ordinances to be observed by the church in commemoration of His person and work. The one is that of baptism, and the other the partaking of the Lord’s Supper. Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; 13:8; I Cor. 11:23-26.

Section M. The Personality of Satan

We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin and the cause of the fall, that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man, and that he shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire. Job 1:16; Isa. 14:12-17; Matt. 4:2-4; 25:41; Rev. 20:10.

Section N. The Blessed Hope

We believe in “that blessed hope” the personal, imminent, pre tribulation and premillennial return of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones. John 14:1-3; I Cor. 15:51-52; I Thes. 4:14-18; Titus 2: 11-14.

Section O. The Second Advent

We believe that the period of great tribulation in the earth will be climaxed by the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to the earth as He went, to introduce the millennial age, to bind Satan and place him in the abyss, to restore Israel to her own land, and to give her the realization of God’s covenant promises, and to bring the whole world to the knowledge of God. Zech. 14:4-11; Romans 11:25-27; Rev. 20:1-6.

Section P. The Eternal State

  1. We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgement and everlasting punishment. Matt. 25:46; John 5:28, 29; 11:25, 26; Rev. 20:6, 2, 13.
  2. We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord. Luke 23:43; Rev. 20:4-6;  II Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23; I Thess. 4:16-17.
  3. We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious misery until the second resurrection, when with the soul and body reunited they shall appear at the Great White Throne of Judgement, and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting, conscious punishment. Luke 16:19-26; Matt. 25:41-46; II Thess. 1:7-9; Mark 9:43-48; Rev. 20:11-15.

Section Q.  Creation

We believe that the Bible provides a literal and historical account of God’s creation of all things.  The climax of the six days of creation was the special, immediate and personal creation of human life.  The first humans, Adam and Eve, were directly created, not evolved from previous life forms.  God created humans, male and female, in His image.  Genesis 1:1-1-24; 2:7-25

Section R.  Sanctity of Life and Design for Marriage

Human life, sexual identity, gender and roles are aspects of God’s creative design.  From creation, marriage is a covenant between a man and a woman that should be marked by sexual purity, by sacrificial male leadership and by recognizing the divine blessing of children, whose lives begin at the moment of conception.  Psalm 127:3-5; Ephesians 5:22-23; Colossians 3:18-19.