Beliefs
the inspiration of the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments DOCTRINAL STATEMENT OF The
purpose of this doctrinal statement is to express the beliefs of the membership
of The Bible The Bible (the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments) is
the inspired Word of God and is the final authority for faith and practice. The Bible in the original manuscripts is
inerrant in all that it affirms, and the sincere reader can properly understand
and apply its teachings. The doctrine of inspiration teaches that the human authors of
Scripture were so guided by the Holy Spirit that they, employing their own
personalities and writing styles, wrote without error God's revelation to
mankind in the words of the original manuscripts. This inspiration extends equally and
fully to all parts of the writings.
The exact meaning of Scripture is unchanged in any important respect in
the widely accepted English translations.
The Bible is authoritative and without error in any category of
knowledge, including science and history, and is the supreme and final authority
in all matters about which it speaks. The Bible is to be interpreted in a normal and literal way. This means that history, grammar,
context, and harmony with other Scripture should be considered as guidelines for
interpretation. The Holy Spirit
guides the believer to apply the Bible. Psalm 19:7-11; 119:105; Matthew 5:17-18; 22:29; Mark 12:36; John
5:39-40; 10:35; 16:13-15; 17:17; Romans 3:4; 15:4; 1 Corinthians 2:10-16; 10:11;
2 Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 4:12; 2 Peter 1:21 God The one true God exists eternally in three distinct Persons: the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
God is a spirit who is all-powerful, everywhere-present, all-knowing,
sovereign, unchangeable, holy, just, and loving. He is also the Creator and Sustainer of
all things. Within the Trinity, the three Persons are equal in deity, but
there is also a subordination of position (i.e., rank) wherein the Son submits to
the Father, and the Holy Spirit submits to both the Father and the Son. Each of the three Persons is worthy of
precisely the same confidence, worship, and
obedience. God specially created the universe without employing the processes
of macro-evolution. He is separate
from His creation yet vitally related to it. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is true God and true man. He was conceived of the Holy
Spirit—receiving a human body and an incorrupt human nature--born of a virgin,
and lived a sinless life. The Son is one Person with two distinct natures, divine and
human. These natures are never
mixed, changed, or separated.
Hence, in the New Testament the characteristics of true deity and true
humanity are evident in Jesus Christ, the God-man. Jesus Christ died a substitutionary death for sinners and arose
bodily and immortally from the grave.
He ascended into heaven and will return bodily and visibly to the earth
just as He left. Coming
as To confirm the hope of the Church, Christ will resurrect and
glorify the bodies of deceased and living believers (an event called the
“Rapture"). The Rapture will be
followed by the Tribulation—a seven-year period of great rebellion and judgment
on earth—culminating in the Battle of Armageddon. When Christ returns to earth in
glory, He will bring an end to the Battle of Armageddon and establish a kingdom
wherein He shall reign in righteousness and peace for a thousand years. After this time, He will rule in the new
heaven and the new earth throughout eternity. The Holy Spirit—the Third Person of the Trinity—convicts
unbelievers of their urgent need of God’s salvation. He also indwells all believers,
uniting them in the body of Christ, empowering them for worship and service to
Christ, and sealing them in relationship with Christ. The gifts He gives believers for service
in the Church must be exercised in careful obedience to Scripture and in
deference to God’s sovereignty in distributing them. No two Christians must necessarily share
any one gift in order to express the Holy Spirit’s work in their
lives. Genesis 1:1; Exodus 20:11; Deuteronomy 6:4; 1 Kings 8:27; Psalm
2:7-9; 90:2; 139:7-12; Isaiah 43:10-11; 44:6-8; 45:5-6, 21-22; 46:9; Matthew
28:18-20; John 4:24; 6:27; 14:28-31; 15:26; 16:13-15; Acts 5:3-4; 17:29, 31;
Romans 1:20; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 1:1-23; 2:4-5; James 1:17; 1 Peter
1:16; Revelation 19:6 Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; Daniel 9:27; Matthew 1:23; 24:15-21; 28:6,
18-20; Mark 10:45; Luke 1:35; 2:52; 23:33—24:53; John 1:1, 14; 8:58; 14:6;
20:28; Acts 1:9-11; Romans 5:8; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Galatians 4:4-5; Ephesians
1:22-23; Philippians 2:5-11; 3:20-21; Colossians 1:15-23; 1 Thessalonians
4:13—5:11; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 1:8; 4:15; 7:25; 1 Peter
2:21-22; 1 John 2:1-2; Revelation 6:1—22:21 Psalm 139:7; Matthew 28:19; John 15:26; 16:5-15; Acts 5:3-4; 8:29;
Romans 8:9, 26; 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 2:10-11; 6:19; 12:1—14:40; 2 Corinthians
13:14; Galatians 5:22-23; Ephesians 1:13; 4:30; 5:18; Titus 3:5; Hebrews 10:29;
1 John 2:20, 27 Angels Angels were created by God and are personal and powerful spirit
beings who are distinct from human beings.
Some angels carry out the purposes of God, while others, who have
rebelled, serve Satan who is himself a fallen angel. The destiny of Satan and the wicked
angels is the lake of fire. Psalm 8:4-5; Isaiah 14:12-17; Ezekiel 28:11-19; Matthew 18:10;
25:41; 26:53; Mark 12:25; Luke 10:18; 15:10; 16:22; 20:36; John 12:31; 2
Corinthians 4:3-4; Ephesians 3:10; 6:10-18; Colossians 1:16; 1 Timothy 3:6; 4:1;
5:21; 2 Timothy 2:26; Hebrews 1:14; 1 Peter 1:12; 5:8; 2 Peter 2:11; 1 John 3:8;
Jude 6; Revelation 7:11-12; 20:10 Man, Sin & Salvation Because of the sin of Adam (the first human being and the father
of mankind), all of his descendants (except Jesus Christ) are sinners who stand
condemned before God and in need of His salvation. Moreover, it is only through personal
faith in the Person and the work of Jesus Christ--and not by the sinner's
meritorious works of any kind—that one can receive forgiveness of sins, eternal
life, and membership in Christ's Church. Man was created in the image of God but through rebellion fell
into sin. The objective guilt of
Adam's original transgression is inherited by all of his posterity (except Jesus
Christ) who consequently possess a sinful nature and commit personal acts of
sin. These factors, apart from
God’s grace, result in a refusal to receive God's salvation. Such individuals are separated from God
and hence stand in a state of condemnation which, unless remedied through
salvation, eventuates beyond death in their conscious punishment. Unbelievers will be ultimately
resurrected, judged, and consigned to eternal torment in the lake of
fire. True faith in Jesus Christ--not sincere efforts, confession,
baptism, church membership, or any rite—is the sole condition for
salvation. When a person exercises
faith, he immediately possesses the eternal life to which God ordained him
before the creation of the universe.
The believer is being conformed by God to the image of Christ. He is also commissioned to live by faith
in a manner which will bring honor and glory to God. At death his immaterial nature passes
immediately into the joyful presence of Christ awaiting his resurrection, the
judgment of his works, and his participation in the everlasting rule of
Christ. Genesis 1:26-27; 3:1-24; Matthew 25:46; Luke 16:19-31; John
3:16-18; 5:24-29; Romans 3:9-18, 23; 4:5; 5:6-21; 8:28-30; 1 Corinthians 2:14;
3:11-15; 2 Corinthians 4:4; 5:6-10; Ephesians 1:1-14; 2:1-10; Philippians
1:21-24; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9; 2 Timothy 2:12; Titus
2:11-15; James 2:14-26; Revelation 14:9-11;
20:10-15 The Church The universal Church—being under the headship of Christ—is
composed of all true believers from the Day of Pentecost to the rapture. A person becomes a member of the
universal Church when he is baptized into it by the Holy Spirit at the time he
exercises saving faith in Christ. A
New Testament local church consists of a group of believers who meet regularly
in a particular location under the leadership of godly men for the purpose of
being discipled and making disciples of all nations in obedience to the Great
Commission of Christ. An ordinance is a rite prescribed by Christ to be performed by the
local church. There are two such
ordinances: believers' water baptism and the Lord's Supper. There are two kinds of baptism: Spirit
baptism and water baptism. The
former is accomplished by the Holy Spirit in the person at the moment he
exercises saving faith in Jesus Christ.
It results immediately in regeneration and incorporation into the
universal Church. The latter kind
of baptism is a sign of the former and therefore Christ commands it of His
disciples. Water baptism identifies
the individual with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. The New Testament mode of water baptism
is immersion. There is no biblical
support for infant baptism. The
Lord's Supper is a memorial service observed regularly, commemorating the Lord's
death until He returns. The
elements of the meal are not, nor do they become, the actual body and
blood of Christ. Rather,
they symbolically represent Christ's body and
blood. Church leaders have been given to the Church by Christ for the
purpose of equipping the believers for Christian service. The local church is to be governed by
elders who are selected according to standards expressed by the New
Testament. Matthew 16:18; 18:15-20; 28:18-20; Acts 1:5; 2:42-47; 9:31; 14:23;
20:28; Romans 6:1-4; 16:5; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 11:23-26; 12:1—14:40; Ephesians
1:22-23; 3:10-11; 4:11-13; Colossians 1:18; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 1 Timothy
3:1-13; 5:17; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Peter 5:1-4; Revelation
3:10-11
the creation of man by the direct act of God
the incarnation and virgin birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
His identification as the Son of God
His vicarious atonement for the sins of mankind by the shedding of His blood on the cross
the resurrection of His body from the tomb
His power to save men from sin
the new birth through the regeneration by the Holy Spirit
the gift of eternal life by the Grace of God
the rapture of the church prior to the great seven year tribulation
the return of Jesus Christ to set up His Millennial kingdom on earth