
This doctrinal statement
does not exhaust the extent of our faith.
The Bible is our final authority in all matters of faith and practice.
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— The
Holy Scriptures
We believe that the Holy Bible was
written by men supernaturally inspired; that it has truth without any
admixture of error for its matter and therefore is, and shall remain to
the end of the age, the only complete and final revelation of the will
of God to man, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme
standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions should be
tried.
(B) By inspiration we mean that the books of the Bible were written by holy men of old, as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, in such a definite way that their writings were supernaturally and verbally inspired and free from error, as no other writings have ever been or ever will be inspired. (II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:20-21)
— God
We believe that there is one, and
only one, living and true God, an infinite intelligent Spirit, the
Maker and Supreme Ruler of heaven and earth, inexpressibly glorious in
holiness, and worthy of all possible honor, confidence, and love; that
in the unity of the Godhead there are three persons-the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Spirit-equal in every divine perfection and executing
distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption.
(Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; II Corinthians 13:14; John 14:10, 26)
— The
Person and Work of Christ
We believe that the Lord Jesus
Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God,
having been begotten by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary in
order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men. (Isaiah 7:14;
9:6; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14; II Corinthians 5:19-21; Galatians
4:4-5; Philippians 2:5-8)
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ 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. (Acts 2:18-36; Romans 3:24-25; I Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7; I Peter 1:3-5)
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 ministries of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate. (Acts 1:9-10; Hebrews 9:24; 7:25; Romans 8:34; I John 2:1-2)— The
Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a
Person Who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of
judgment; 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; Romans 8:9; I
Corinthians 12:12-14; II Corinthians 3:6; Ephesians 1:13-14)
We believe that He is the Divine
Teacher Who assists believers to understand and appropriate the
Scriptures and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be
filled with the Spirit. (Ephesians 1:17-18; 5:18; I John 2:20, 27)
We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowal of spiritual gifts to every believer. God uniquely uses evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip believers in the assembly in order that they can do the work of the ministry. (Romans 12:3-8; I Corinthians 12:4-11, 28; Ephesians 4:7-12)
We believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and the gift of healing, were temporary. We believe that speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of the baptism or filling of the Holy Spirit and that ultimate deliverance of the body from sickness or death awaits the consummation of our salvation in the resurrection, though God frequently chooses to answer the prayers of believers for physical healing. (I Corinthians 1:22; 13:8; 14:21-22)
— The
Fallen Nature of Man
We believe that man was created in
the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam’s sin the
human race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from
God; and, that all men are sinners by birth and by choice, and, of
themselves, utterly unable to remedy their lost condition. (Genesis
1:26-27; Romans 3:22-23; 5:12; 6:23; Ephesians 2:1-3; 4:17-19)
— Salvation
We believe that salvation is the 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 (John 1:12; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-10; I Peter
1:18-19) and that in order to be saved, sinners must be born again;
that the new birth is a new creation in Christ Jesus; that it is
instantaneous and not a process.
— The
Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers
We believe that all the redeemed,
once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in
Christ forever. (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; I
Corinthians 1:4-8; I Peter 1:4-5)
— The
Church
We believe that the local church,
which is the body and the espoused bride of Christ, is solely made up
of born-again persons. (I Corinthians 12:12-14; II Corinthians 11:2;
Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:25-27)
We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures. (Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; I Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11)
We believe in the autonomy of the local church, free of any external authority or control. (Acts 13:1-4; 15:19-31; 20:28; Romans 16:1, 4; I Corinthians 3:9, 16; 5:4-7, 13; I Peter 5:1-4)
We recognize water baptism and the Lord’s Supper as the Scriptural ordinances of obedience for the church in this age. (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; 18:18; I Corinthians 11:23-26)
— Separation
We believe that all the saved should
live in a manner that does not bring reproach upon their Savior and
Lord; and that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and
sinful pleasures, practices, and associations is commanded of God.
(Romans 12:1-2; 14:13; II Corinthians 6:14-7:1; II Timothy 3:1-5; I
John 2:15-17; II John 9-11)
— The
Second Advent of Christ
We believe in that "blessed hope,"
the personal, imminent return of Christ Who will rapture His Church
prior to the seven-year tribulation period. At the end of the
Tribulation, Christ will personally and visibly return with His saints
to establish His earthly Messianic Kingdom which was promised to the
nation of Israel. (Psalm 89:3-4; Daniel 2:31-45; Zechariah 14:4-11; I
Thessalonians 1:10; 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; Revelation 3:10; 19:11-16;
20:1-6)
— The
Eternal State
We believe in the bodily resurrection
of all men—the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to
judgment and everlasting punishment. (Matthew 25:46; John 5:28-29;
11:25-26; Revelation 20:5-6, 12-13)
We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain after death in conscious punishment and torment until the second resurrection when, with soul and body reunited, they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment and torment. (Matthew 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; II Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Revelation 20:11-15)
— The
Personality of Satan
We believe that Satan is a person,
the author of sin, and the cause of the fall of man; 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 1:6-7; Isaiah 14:12-17; Matthew
4:2-11; 25:41; Revelation 20:10)
— Creation
We believe in the Genesis account of
creation and that it is to be accepted literally, not allegorically or
figuratively; that man was created directly in God's own image and
after His own likeness; that man's creation was not a matter of
evolution or evolutionary change of species, or developments through
interminable periods of time from lower to higher forms; that all
animals and vegetable life were made directly; and that God's
established law was that they should bring forth only after their kind.
(Genesis 1-2; Exodus 20:11)
— Civil
Government
We believe that God has ordained and
created all authority consisting of three basic institutions: (1) the
home, (2) the church, and (3) the state. Every person is subject to
these authorities, but all (including the authorities themselves) are
answerable to God and are governed by His Word. God has given each
institution specific Biblical responsibilities and has balanced those
responsibilities with the understanding that no institution has the
right to infringe upon the other. The home, the church, and the state
are equal and sovereign in their respective Biblically assigned spheres
of responsibility under God. (Romans 13:1-7; Ephesians 5:22-24; Hebrews
13:17; I Peter 2:13-14)
— 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. (Genesis 2:24;
19:5, 13; 26:8-9; Leviticus 18:1-30; Romans 1:26-29; I Corinthians 5:1;
6:9; I Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 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 reject 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, 20:15-18; Luke 1:44)
— Missions
We believe that the command to give
the Gospel to the world is clear and unmistakable and this commission
was given to the churches. (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke
24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8, II Corinthians 5:20)
— Giving
We believe that every Christian, as a
steward of that portion of God’s wealth entrusted to him, is
obligated to support his local church financially. We believe that God
has established the tithe as a basis for giving, but that every
Christian should also give other offerings sacrificially and cheerfully
to the support of the church, the relief of those in need, and the
spread of the Gospel. We believe that a Christian relinquishes all
rights to direct the use of the tithe or offering once the gift has
been made. (Genesis 14:20; Proverbs 3:9-10; Acts 4:34-37; I Corinthians
16:2; II Corinthians 9:6-7; Galatians 6:6; Ephesians 4:28; I Timothy
5:17-18; I John 3:17)