Doctrinal Statement
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ARTICLE IV – Statement of Faith
Section I – Scriptures:
We believe the Holy Scripture to be the very Word of God, the product of the breath of God, and thus verbally inspired in all parts, and therefore wholly without error as originally given by God, altogether sufficient in themselves as our only infallible rule of faith and practice, the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds and opinions should be tried. (II Tim. 3:16; II Peter 1:19-21)
Section II – God the Father:
We believe in the One Triune God: who is personal, spirit, and sovereign, perfect, infinite, and eternal in His Being, holiness, love, wisdom and power, separate from and above the world as its Creator, yet present everywhere in the world as sustainer, self-existing and self-revealing in three distinct persons – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, each of whom is to be honored and worshipped equally as true God. (Mark 12:29; Deut. 33:27; Ps. 104; John 5:23, 26)
Section III – God the Son:
We believe in the Lord Jesus Christ: the second person of the Triune God, that, without any essential change in His divine person, He became man by the miracle of the virgin birth, thus to continue forever as both true God and man. That as man, He was tested as we are, yet without sin, that as the perfect Lamb of God He gave Himself in death upon the cross, bearing there the sin of the world, suffering its full penalty of divine wrath in our stead; that He rose again from the dead and was glorified in the same body in which He suffered and died. That as our High Priest He ascended into heaven, there to appear before the face of God as our Advocate and Intercessor. (John 1:1; Matt. 1:23; Col. 2:9; Heb. 4:15; Gal. 3:13; John 20:25-28; I John 2:1)
Section IV – God the Holy Spirit:
We believe in the Holy Spirit: who is the Third Person of the Triune God, the divine agent in nature, revelation and redemption; that He convicts the world of sin, restrains evil, regenerates those who believe, and indwells, baptizes, seals, empowers, guides, teaches, and sanctifies all who become the children of God through Christ. (Acts 5:3, 4; I Cor. 2:10; John 16:8-11; I Cor. 6:11-19)
Section V – Creation and Fall of Man:
We believe in the Creation and Fall of Man: that he was the direct creation of God, not in any sense the product of animal ancestry, but made in the divine image; that by personal disobedience to the revealed will of God man sinned and thus brought physical and spiritual death to the entire race; who are universally sinful in both nature and practice, alienated from the life and family of God, and have no possible means of recovery or salvation within themselves. (Gen. 1:26-28; 3:1-24; Rom. 5:12; Eph. 4:18; Rom. 1:18)
Section VI – Salvation:
We believe in Salvation by Grace through Faith: that salvation is the free gift of God, neither merited nor secured in part or in whole by any virtue or work of man, but received only by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom all believers have as present possessions the gift of eternal life, a perfect righteousness, sonship in the family of God, deliverance and security from all condemnation, every spiritual resource needed for life and godliness, and the divine guarantee that they shall never perish. (Rom. 3:24; Titus 3:5; John 3:16; I John 5:13; II Peter 1:3)
Section VII – Satan:
We believe in the existence of Satan: who originally was created a perfect and holy being, but through pride and unlawful ambition rebelled against God, thus becoming completely corrupt in character, the adversary of God and His people, leader of all evil angels and spirits; the deceiver and god of this present world; that his powers are supernaturally great, but limited by the purpose of God who over-rules all his wicked devices for good; that he was defeated at the cross, making certain his final doom. (Ezek. 28:13-17; John 8:44; Rev. 12:9-11; Matt. 12:24-26; John 16:11; Eph. 6:12-18)
Section VIII – The Church:
We believe in the One True Church: the body and bride of the Lord Jesus Christ, which He began to build on the day of Pentecost, and will complete at His second coming; and into which all true believers of the present age are baptized by the Holy Spirit, that the members of his spiritual body should assemble themselves together in local churches, which consist of baptized believers associated by a covenant of faith for worship, prayer, fellowship, teaching, united testimony, and the observance of the two New Testament ordinances, namely baptism by immersion as a public testimony of faith, and the Lord’s Supper as a commemoration of the death of Christ. (Eph. 4:4; Acts 2:41-47; I Cor. 12:12, 13; Heb. 10:25: Matt. 28:19; Acts 8:26-39; I Cor. 11:23-28)
Section IX – The Second Coming:
We believe in the Second Coming of Christ: that His return will be personal, visible and glorious – a blessed hope, the time being unrevealed, yet always imminent; that when He comes He will first remove His church from the earth by resurrection and translation, then pour out God’s righteous judgments on the unbelieving world, afterward descend with His church and establish His glorious Kingdom over all nations for a thousand years, at the close of which He will raise the unrighteous dead for their final judgment. (Titus 2:11-13; I Thes. 4:16-18; Rev. 20:11-15)
Section X – Bodily Resurrection and Judgment:
We believe in Future Life, Bodily Resurrection and Eternal Judgment: that the spirit of believers at death go to be with Christ in heaven, where they abide in joyful fellowship with Him until their bodies are raised from the grave, changed into the likeness of His glorious body, at which time their works shall be brought before the judgment seat of Christ for determination of reward; that the spirits of the unrighteous at death go into Hades where they are kept under punishment until the final day of judgment, at which time their bodies shall be resurrected and they shall be judged and condemned, and they shall be cast into the place of final and everlasting punishment. (Phil. 1:21-23; I Cor. 15:35-58; II Peter 2:9; Luke 16:19-31; Rev. 20:11-15)
Section XI – Good Works:
We believe in Righteous Living and Good Works; not as procuring salvation in any sense, but as its proper evidence or fruit, and therefore as Christians we should keep the Word of God, seek the things which are above, walk as He walked, be careful to maintain good works, and especially accept as our solemn responsibility and privilege the taking of the Gospel to a lost world. (Eph. 2:8-10; John 14:23; Col. 3:1; I John 2:6; Acts 1:8)
Section XII – Godly Separation:
We believe in separation from the world; that since we are citizens of Heaven, as the children of God we should walk in separation from this present world, having no fellowship with its evil ways, abstaining from worldly amusements and unclean habits which defile mind and body. (II Cor. 6:14-18; I Thess. 5:22; Eph. 5:3-11; Col. 3:11)
These articles of faith do not exhaust the content of our creed, which is the whole Word of God. They are not intended as a limit to the Word of God. We do believe that insofar as these articles extend, they are a true presentation of sound doctrine as taught in the Scriptures, and therefore binding upon us as Christian believers.
Section XIII – Human Sexuality and Marriage
A. We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between one man and one woman. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex. We believe that God disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one’s gender by surgery or appearance. (Gen. 2:24; Gen. 19:5,13; Gen. 26:8-9; Lev. 18:1-30; Rom. 1: 26-29; 1 Cor. 5:1; 6:9; 1 Thess. 4:1-8;Heb. 13:4)
B. We believe that the only Scriptural marriage is the joining of one man and one woman. (Gen. 2:24; Rom. 7:2; 1 Cor. 7:10; Eph. 5:22-23)