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The Word of God We believe that "all Scripture
is given by inspiration of God", by which we understand the
whole Bible is inspired in the sense that "holy men of God were
moved by the Holy Spirit" to write the very words of Scripture.
We believe that this divine inspiration extends equally and
fully to all parts of the writing - historical, poetical,
doctrinal, and prophetically - as appeared in the original
manuscripts. This belief is often referred to as verbal-plenary
inspiration of Scripture. (Mark 12:24; 13:11; Acts 1:16; Rom.
15:4; I Cor. 2:13; Gal. 3:16; II Tim. 3:16; II Pet. 1:20-21;
3:16). The Existence and Nature of God We believe that there is but one God, eternal, infinite, perfect, and unchangeable, who exists and reveals Himself in three person, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We further believe that God is the source of all knowledge, Creator and Sustainer of the universe, the ultimate point of reference beyond ourselves, and the Creator of Life, for Whom and in Whom we live and to Whom we are accountable. (Matt. 28-18,19; Mark 12:29; John 1:14; Acts 5:3,4; II Cor. 13:14; Heb. 1:1-3; Rev. 1:4-6) We believe that the Genesis account of the Creation is a historic fact and literally true. (Isa. 40:12-31; Heb. 11:3; John 14:6; Ps. 36:9; Ex. 20:11; Gen 1:1; Col. 1:16; Matt. 25:31; Gen. 6-8). We believe that man was created by an immediate act of God, in His own image and after His likeness; that by one act of disobedience he became sinful in the nature, spiritually dead, subject to physical death and to the power of the devil, and that he is unable to save himself from this fallen condition. (Gen. 1:26; 2:17; 6:5; Ps. 14:1-3; 51:5; Jer. 17:9; John 3:6; 5:40; 6:53; Rom. 3:10-19; 8:6, 7; Eph. 2:1-3; I Tim. 5:6; I John 3:8; John 20:20; Phil 3:20; Heb. 1:3; Eph. 1:22, 23; Heb. 7:25; I John 2:1). Jesus ChristWe believe the Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, that He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin - the perfect God-man; that He was without sin, the divinely appointed substitute and representative of sinful man, paying the penalty for man's sins by His death on the cross, making the only adequate atonement for sin by the shedding of His blood, thus reconciling man to God; that He was raised from the dead, ascended to heaven, and ever liveth to make intercession for us. We further believe that Jesus Christ is the Origin of all Truth, and that He is to be exalted in all areas of life. ( Luke 1:30-35; John 1:18; Heb. 4:15; Luke 2:40; John 1:1,2; Phil. 2:5-8; John 1:11; Acts 2:22-24; I Tim. 2:6; John 1:29; Rom. 3:25, 26; II Cor. 5:14; Heb. 10:5-14; I Pet. 3:18; Col. 2:3). SalvationWe believe that man is saved by grace alone through faith in the finished work of Christ; that man is justified from all sin on the basis of Christ's shed blood. We believe that through the new birth man becomes a child of God, is a partaker of eternal life, and is blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ. We further believe that before a child has a knowledge of his sinful nature he is "safe" by the atoning blood of Jesus Christ. (Lev. 17:11; Isa. 64:6; Matt. 26:28; II Sam. 12:22, 23; Rom. 10:9,10, 13; John 3:5, 18; Rom. 5:6-9; II Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:13; 6:15; Eph. 1:7; Phil. 3:4-9; Titus 3:5; James 1:18; I Peter 1:18; 19:23; John 1:12; 3:16; 18:36; 5:24; 6:29; Acts 13:34; 16:31; Rom. 1:16, 17; 3:22, 26; 4:5; 10:4; Gal. 3:22; Eph. 2:8, 9). The Personality and Ministry of the Holy SpiritWe believe that the Holy Spirit is a person, that He convicts the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment, that He indwells the Church, and the body of each believer at the moment of the new birth, that He seals, enlightens, instructs, comforts, guides and wants to fill every born-again person, and that He is the sufficient power for godly living, Christian service and spiritual worship. (I Cor. 12:13; Eph. 4:30; 5:18; John 3:6, 16; 7-11; Rom. 8:9; John 14:16, 17; 16:7-15; I Cor. 6:19; Eph. 3:22; II Thess. 2:7; Acts 4:8, 31; I John 2:20-27; Rom. 8:23; I Cor. 13:8; John 15:7; James 5:13-16; I John 5:14, 15; Eph. 1:13, 14). The ChurchWe believe that the Church is the body of Christ, composed of all those who through repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ have been born-again and baptized by one Spirit into the body. We believe that it is her divinely appointed mission to preach the Gospel to every creature, teaching obedience to all His commandments. (Matt. 16:16-18; Acts 2:22-27; Rom. 12:6; I Cor. 12:12-27; Eph. 1:20-23; 4:3-10; Col. 3:14-24; Matt. 28:19, 20; Acts 11:26; 14:23; Eph. 2:10; 4:3; 11:6; I Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9; Heb. 10:24,25). Church DisciplineWe believe that the Lord has vested the Church with authority in accordance with Scriptural teaching; to choose officials, to regulate the observance of ordinances, to exercise wholesome discipline, and to organize and conduct her work in a manner consistent with her high calling and essential to her highest efficiency. ( Matt. 18:15-19; I Cor. 5:5; II Cor. 13:2-10; I Tim. 1:20; Tit. 3:10; I Cor. 13:1-10; Rom. 16:17). New Testament OrdinancesWe believe that the New Testament Ordinances are Baptism of penitent believers by triune immersion (Matt. 28:19), and the Communion Service which includes feet-washing (John 13:1-20; I Tim. 5:10); love feast ( Luke 22:20; John 13:4; I Cor. 11:17-34; Jude 12); communion ( Matt. 26:26-30). ApostasyWe believe that the latter days will be characterized by general lawlessness and departure from the faith; that on the part of the world "iniquity shall abound' and evil men shall wax worse and worse; that on the part of the Church there will be a falling away and the love of many shall wax cold; that false teachers shall abound, both deceiving and being deceived; and further that present conditions indicate that we are now living in these perilous times. ( I Tim. 4:19, 4:1; II Tim. 4:4; Heb. 3:12; II Pet. 3:17; I Tim. 4:1-3; II Pet. 2; Jude; II Tim. 3:1-9). The ResurrectionWe believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ and in the bodily resurrection of all men, both of the just and the unjust - of the just to the resurrection of life, and of the unjust to the resurrection of condemnation. (Ps. 49:15; John 5:25; 6:40; 11:25; Acts 24:15; II Cor. 4:14; I Thess. 4:16; I Cor. 15). The Blessed HopeWe believe that, according to the Word of God, the next great event in the fulfillment of prophecy will be the coming of the Lord in the air to receive to Himself into heaven both His Own who are alive and remain unto His coming, and also all who have fallen asleep in Jesus, and that this event is the blessed hope set before us in the Scripture, and for this we should be constantly looking. ( John 14:13; I Cor. 15:51, 52; Phil. 3:20; I Thess. 4:13-18; Titus 2:11-14). The TribulationWe believe that the translation of the Church will be followed by the fulfillment of Israel's seventieth week during which the Church, the body of Christ, will be in heaven. The whole period of Israel's seventieth week will be a time of judgment on the whole earth, at the end of which the times of the Gentiles will be brought to a close. This period will be the time of Jacob's trouble and is known as the tribulation. We believe that universal righteousness will not be realized previous to the second coming of Christ, but that the world is day by day ripening of judgment and that the present age will end with a fearful apostasy. ( Dan. 9:27; Rev. 6:1-17, 21: Jer. 30:7; Matt. 24:15-21; Rev. 7:14). The Second Coming of ChristWe believe that the period of great tribulation on the earth will be climaxed by the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to the earth as He went, in person on the clouds of heaven, and with power and great glory to introduce the millennial age, to bind Satan and place him in the abyss, to lift the curse which now rests upon the whole creation, 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. (Duet. 30:1-10; Isa. 11:9; Ezek. 37:21-28; Matt. 24:15-25, 45; Acts 15:16, 17; Rom. 8:19-23; 11:25-27; I Tim. 4:1-3; II Tim. 3:1-5; Rev. 20:1-3). The Intermediate StateWe believe that in the interval between death and resurrection, the dead in Christ will be with Him in a state of conscious bliss and comfort, but that the unsaved will be in a place of torment, in a state of conscious suffering and despair. (Luke 23:43; II Cor. 5:6-8, 19; Phil. 1:23; Luke 16). The Final StateWe believe that Hell is a place of torment prepared for the devil and his angels where, with them, the unsaved will suffer the vengeances of eternal fire forever and ever, and that Heaven is the final abode of the righteous where they will dwell in the fullness of joy forever and ever. (II Thess. 1:7-9; I Thess. 4:13-17; Matt. 25:41-46; Rev. 20:11-15; Mark 9:43-48; Jude 6, 7). Great CommissionWe believe we need to labor
earnestly in harmony with the Great Commission, for the
evangelization of the world, for the conversion of men to Jesus
Christ, and for the realization of the life of Jesus Christ in
every believer. (Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15, 16; II Cor. 3:18).
Christian ServiceWe believe that divine, enabling gifts for service are bestowed by the Holy Spirit upon all who are saved. While there is a diversity of gifts, each believer in energized by the same Holy Spirit, and each is called to his own divinely appointed service as the Holy Spirit wills. (Rom. 12:3-8; I Cor. 12:4-11). |