Okay – Here’s what we believe to be true…. The Doctrine
of the Scriptures WE BELIEVE
that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are verbally inspired by God
and inerrant, and that they are the final authority in faith and life.
It is divine revelation. I believe that God has perfectly preserved His
Word in the Masoretic Text and the Textus Receptus; and that He
gave us His Word in our own languages (the King James Version for the English
speaking people). (2
Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21) The Doctrine
of the Trinity WE BELIEVE
in one Triune God (eternally existent in three persons); the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Ghost. We also believe that these three in one are
perfect, infinite, and equal in all things past, present and future. (Deuteronomy
6:4; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 2:18; 1 John 5:7) The Doctrine
of God WE BELIEVE
in God the Father, Creator of Heaven and earth, perfect in holiness, infinite
in wisdom, rich in grace, supreme in love, and measureless in power. I
rejoice that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of all mankind,
that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ. (Romans
1:18-19; Luke 24:39; 1 Corinthians 2:6-16) The Doctrine
of Jesus Christ WE BELIEVE
in God, the Son, Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, conceived of
the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, sinless in His life, ever obedient
unto the Father, and the only atonement of the sin of this world by His death
(through the shedding of His blood) on the cross. I believe that He
arose bodily after the third day, ascended into Heaven on the fortieth, and
even now is seated at the Father’s right hand, as our High Priest and
Only Mediator, making intercession for His own. We look for His
personal, visible, premillennial, pretribulational, and imminent return to the earth
according to His promises; that is our Blessed Hope. We believe that He
will come with His church at the close of the tribulation to judge the living
nations and to set up His kingdom. (Matthew
1:20; 25:31-46; Acts 1:9-11; Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25; 9:24; 1 John 2:1) The Doctrine
of the Holy Spirit WE BELIEVE
in God the Holy Spirit, a Person, co-equal with the Father and Son, in all
His attributes. He was sent by the Lord Jesus Christ from God the
Father to reprove the world of sin, to regenerate all who receive Christ as
personal Savior, and to indwell, guide, and teach them the things of
God. He empowers the believer to live in victory over sin, self, Satan,
and the world. He helps our infirmities and intercedes for us according
to the will of God the Father. (John
3:5-6; 16:8-11; Ephesians 1:13; John 16:13) The Doctrine
of Man WE BELIEVE
that man was created in the image of God but because of Adam’s
transgression (disobedience) that the whole human race fell. He was
created in a state of unconfirmed holiness. Because of his sin, all men
are totally depraved and without Christ, spiritually dead and lost. All
men everywhere are sinners, both by nature and by choice. To die in
this condition is to be damned forever and eternally separated from God. (Romans
3:23; 5:12) The Doctrine
of Satan WE BELIEVE
in a personal devil (Satan) who is presumptuous, proud, powerful, wicked,
malignant, subtle, deceitful, religious, and fierce. He was cast out of
Heaven and is now prince of the air and this world system. He caused
the fall of man, is his constant adversary, and seeks to beguile, tempt,
accuse, and devour him. He is the archenemy of God, hater of Christ,
and this he perverts the Scriptures, opposes the work of God, hinders the
Gospel, and works lying miracles (wonders). He has already been judged
and someday will be cast into the lake of fire to be tormented day and night,
forever and forever. (Matthew
13:24-40; Genesis 3:4-5; 2 Corinthians 11:3; 1 Peter 5:8; Job 1:6-7) The Doctrine
of Salvation WE BELIEVE
that in Christ only is salvation. To obtain this salvation is to repent
as a sinner toward God and to have faith toward God and to have faith toward
Christ (to receive Him in the heart by faith). This great salvation is
by grace, a free gift, through the merits of the shed blood of the Son of
God. The blood of Jesus Christ was shed for the sins of all mankind,
not merely for a selected few. Once a person is truly saved he is kept by the same power
that saved him, that power being the power of God. We also believe that
we can know for certain that we are saved. It entails what Christ
called the new birth, being born again from above by the Word of God (the
instrument), and the Spirit of God (the Person). We become the children
of God. (Philippians
3:5-11; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 10:9; Acts 16:30; Hebrews 9:22; 1 John 5:13) The Doctrine of Last Things
WE BELIEVE
that Heaven and Hell are literal places, prepared of God as the only eternal
abodes according to the Scriptures. We believe in the bodily
resurrection of the dead, the just and the unjust. All those who have
been saved (born-again) shall live eternally with God in Heaven. All
those without Christ (devoid of spiritual life) shall abide in the lake of
fire forever, eternally separated from God. (1
Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 20:11-15; John 5:21-30) The Doctrine
of the Church WE BELIEVE
in the church (the Body of Christ) who is made up of
all blood-bought, born-again believers from the public ministry of Christ
until His coming again for His own (the Rapture). Some are already in
Heaven. The group has never all been together at one time; so, in this
respect we could say that the church is in prospect. The church will be
together for the first time at the time of the Rapture. We also believe
in the local assemblies (or churches). The Holy Scriptures teach us
more concerning the local churches that the church. These local
churches consist of baptized (buried with Him in baptism) and are banded
together for worship, work, and spiritual fellowship, spreading the Gospel to
the ends of the earth, according to the specific teachings of the New
Testament. Christ is the Head of the church. Each local church is
to be independent and autonomous and free from political authority or ecclesiastical
hierarchy. We believe in religious liberty, in separation of church and
state, and in Christians being good citizens. (1
Peter 1:10-11; Colossians 1:18; Acts 1:8; Ephesians 2:19-22; 1 Thessalonians
4:13-18) The Doctrine
of Ordinances WE BELIEVE
there are two ordinances of the local church, those being water baptism and
the Lord’s Supper. We believe that immersion in water in the name
of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is the only true Scriptural
baptism. The prerequisite to Scriptural baptism is the new birth.
We believe that the Lord’s Supper consists of unleavened bread, and
unfermented fruit of the vine, and that they are mere symbols of His body and
of His blood, which were broken and poured out on the cross for our sins.
The prerequisites to Scriptural observance of the Lord’s Supper are the
new birth, immersion in water (baptism), and membership in a local New
Testament church. The Lord’s Supper is the commemoration of the
Lord’s death until He comes and a reminder of our continual fellowship
with Him. It should always be preceded by careful
self-examination. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are the only
ordinances of the New Testament assemblies and are not for believers apart
from the assemblies. (Acts
2:41-42; 8:36-39; Romans 6:3-6; Colossians 2:12) The Doctrine
of Separation WE
BELIEVE in Bible separation, that is, to be set apart from the world, sin,
self, and Satan, and to be separated “unto the praise of His
glory” and the furtherance of the Gospel. We believe that each of
us should be born of the Spirit walk in the Spirit, be led by the Spirit, and
be filled with the Spirit, that by His power and grace we might bear the
fruit of the Spirit. We believe in being separated from pride, lying,
tattling, backbiting, envy, jealously, bitterness, malice, foolish talking,
ingratitude, covetousness, and any other sin of the flesh or spirit. We
believe in being separated from the world, and therefore not participating or
indulging in alcoholic beverages, drugs (except for medicinal purposes),
tobacco, immodesty, the dance, worldly movies, gambling, or in being a part
of anything else that dishonors the Lord or jeopardizes the Gospel. We
oppose Communism, liberal theology, Neo-orthodoxy, Neo-Evangelicalism, divine
healers, the National Council of Churches, the World Council of Churches,
liturgical formalism, ecumenicalism, five point Calvinism (TULIP), Arminianism, the philosophy of Humanism, (secular and
religious), the “new morality,” and abortion. (Matthew
5:16; Romans 14:13; Colossians 3:8-9; 2 Corinthians 6:14; Ephesians 4:7-16) WE
BELIEVE that all believers (Christians) are to be witnesses unto the lost for
Christ. I believe that all believers have certain God-given gifts and
are stewards for God and that some are called to preach and other special
tasks. We also believe that all who have rejected the Gospel are lost
and that it is every believer’s responsibility to help get the Gospel
to everybody. We believe that every born again Christian should be a
regular witness, and faithful at witnessing. We believe that it is our
responsibility to support missionary endeavors both by prayer and financial
giving. (Ephesians
6:18-20; Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 3:2)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
