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Statement of Faith The Scriptures We believe
the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Bible, as it is
in truth, the Word of God... (I Thessalonians 2:13). We believe in verbal,
plenary inspiration in the original writings, and God's preservation of His
pure words to every generation (II Timothy 3:16, Psalms 12:6-8). The
Masoretic Text of the Old Testament and the Received Text of the New
Testament (Textus Receptus) are those texts of the original languages we
accept and use; the King James Version of the Bible is the only English
version we accept and use. The Bible is our sole authority for faith and
practice. 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 (Deuteronomy 6:4; II
Corinthians 13:14). 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 conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the
virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men (John
1:1-2, 14; Luke 1:35; Isaiah 9:6; 7:14; Philippians 2:5-8; Galatians 4:4-5). We believe
that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His finished
work on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice;
and that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection
from the dead (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 ministry 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 the Person who reproves 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; II Corinthians 3:6; I Corinthians
12:12-14; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 1:13-14). 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 prayer of believers for physical healing (II
Corinthians 12:12; I Corinthians 13:8; Hebrews 2:3-4; Mark 16:17-20; I
Corinthians 1:22, 14:21-22). Man We believe
that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam's sin
the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; and
that man is totally depraved, and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his
lost condition (Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:22-23; Ephesians 2:1-3, 12). The
sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own
image and is mindful of him, and in that Christ died for man; therefore every
individual possesses dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.
(Psalm 8:4-9; Colossians 3:9-11). The Way of Salvation We believe
that the clear message of salvation is " repentance toward God and faith
toward our Lord Jesus Christ " (Acts 20:21). We believe that salvation
is "by grace" plus nothing minus nothing. We believe that men are
justified by faith alone and are accounted righteous before God only through
the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12;
I Peter 1:18-19) We believe
that all the redeemed, once saved are kept by God's power and are thus secure
in Christ forever. We believe that eternal life is the present possession of every
believer (John 6:37-40, 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; I Corinthians 1:4-8; I
Peter 1:4-5; Jude 1, 2). The Church We believe
that the Church, which is the body and the espoused bride of Christ, is a
spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons of this present age
which began with Christ and the Apostles, was empowered at Pentecost, and
will be caught up to be with Christ at the Rapture (Ephesians 1:22-23,
5:25-27; I Corinthians 12:12-14; II Corinthians 11:2). 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). The Ordinances of the Church We
recognize the ordinances of baptism by immersion in water and the Lord's
Supper as a Scriptural means of testimony for the Church in this age
(Matthew. 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42, 18:18; I Corinthians 11:23-26). Biblical 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, practices and associations is commanded of God
(II Timothy 3:1-5; Romans 12:1, 2, 14:13; I John 2:15-17; II John 9-11; II
Corinthians 6:14-7:1). The Return of Christ We believe
the "Blessed Hope" of our Lord's return is literal, personal,
visible, imminent, premillennial, and pretribulational. He will rapture His
Church prior to the seven years of tribulation, and at the end of the
tribulation Christ will return with His saints to establish His thousand-year
reign on the earth. (I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; I Thessalonians
1:10; Revelation 3:10; Zechariah 14:4-11; Revelation 19:11-16, 20:1-6; Psalm
89:3-4) Our 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 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; Revelation 20:4-6; II Corinthians 5:8;
Philippians 1:23, 3:21; I Thessalonians 4:16-17). We believe
that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious misery 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 (Luke
16:19-26; Matthew 25:41-46; II Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Mark 9:43-48;
Revelation 20:11-15). |
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