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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 (Isa
7:14, 9:6; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14; 2 Cor 5:19-21; Gal 4:4-5; Phil
2:5-8).
We believe that the Lord
Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the
cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice, and
that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical
resurrection from the dead (Acts 2:18-36; Rom 3:24-25; 1 Pet 2:24; Eph
1:7; 1 Pet 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; Heb 7:25,
9:24; Rom 8:34; 1 John 2:1-2).
PERSON AND WORK OF THE
HOLY SPIRIT
We believe that the Holy
Spirit is a person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness,
and of judgment; and that He is the Supernatural Agent in the new
birth, indwelling and sealing believers unto the day of redemption
(John 16:8-11; I Corinthians 3:6; I Corinthians 12:12-14; Romans 8:9;
Ephesians 1:13-14)
We believe that He is the
divine teacher who guides believers into all truth, and never leads
any person, at any time, contrary to the teaching of the Scriptures.
He bestows spiritual gift(s) to each believer, and that it is the
privilege and responsibility of all born-again believers to be filled
with the Holy Spirit in power for victory and service, and that
walking in the Spirit is the Lord’s only provision for overcoming the
flesh (Eph 1:17-18, 5:18; 1 John 2:20, 27; Gal 5:16).
We believe that God is
sovereign in the bestowal of spiritual gifts to every believer. God
uniquely uses evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip believers in
the assembly in order that they can do the work of the ministry.
Temporary gifts needed only in the infancy of the early church are not
expected today (Rom 12:3-8; 1 Cor 12:4-11, 28; Eph 4:7-12).
CREATION
We believe the Biblical
account of creation as recorded in Genesis, namely, that the heaven
and the earth were created in six literal days approximately 6,000
years ago. We believe that man was created by God and in His image.
We reject all forms of evolution, theistic, or otherwise (Col 1:16-17;
John 1:3; Psalm 33:6-9; Genesis 1:1-31).
PERSONALITY OF SATAN
We believe that Satan is a
person, the author of sin and the cause of the fall; that he is the
open and declared enemy of God and man; and that he shall b e
eternally punished in the Lake of Fire. (Job 1:6-7; Isaiah 14:12-17;
Matthew 4:2-11; 25:41; Revelation 20:10)
DEPRAVITY OF MAN
We believe that man was
created in the image and likeness of God and by the direct act of God;
but that in Adam's sin the entire human race fell, inherited a sinful
nature and became alienated from God, and that man is totally depraved
and of himself utterly unable to remedy this lost condition.
(Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:22-23, 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3, 12)
SALVATION
We believe that salvation
is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on the
cross for the forgiveness of our sins. This gift of salvation is
appropriated solely by faith, not requiring any religious work
(Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12; Ephesians 1:7; I Peter 1:18-19).
ETERNAL SECURITY AND
ASSURANCE
We believe that all the
redeemed, once saved, are kept by God's power and are thus secure in
Christ forever (John 6:37-40; John 10:27-30; Romans 8:1,38-39; I
Corinthians 1:4-8; I Peter1:5)
We believe that it is the privilege of
believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the
testimony of God's Word; which, however, clearly forbids use of
Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh. (Romans 13:13-14;
Galatians 5:16; Titus 2:11-12)
LOCAL CHURCH
We
believe that the Church is the body and bride of Christ, who is the
bridegroom, and is made up of all born-again persons of this present
church age. (Galatians 1:13; Ephesians 1:22-23,5:25-27; I Corinthians
12:12-14; II Corinthians 11:2)
We believe that this church is manifested
through the local church which is a congregation of true believers who
have been immersed upon their confession of faith in Christ and
associated by covenant of faith and fellowship of the gospel;
observing the ordinances of Christ; governed by His laws; exercising
the gifts, rights and privileges invested in them by His word; and
that its officers, Pastor, and Deacons qualifications, claims and
duties are clearly defined in the Scripture. We hold that the local
church has the absolute right of self-government free from the
interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations -
ecclesiastical or political - that the one and only superintendent is
Christ through the Holy Spirit. (Galatians 1:2,22)
We believe the church and state must forever
be separate entities as each having different functions, and each with
responsible duties, free from dictation or patronage of the other, We
believe that is scriptural for true Churches to cooperate with each
other in contending for the faith and for the furtherance of the
gospel; that each local church is the sole judge of the measure and
method of its cooperation; and that on all matters of membership, of
policy, of government, of discipline, of benevolence, the will of the
local church is final.
THE RESURRECTION
We
believe in that "Blessed Hope", the personal, imminent,
pre-tribulation and pre-millennial coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for
His redeemed ones. At the end of the Tribulation, Christ will
personally and visibly return with His saints to establish His
earthly, Messianic Kingdom which was promised to the nation of Israel
(I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Zechariah 14:4-11; Revelation 19:11-16;
20:1-6; I Thessalonians 1:10, 5:9; Revelation3:10).
THE ETERNAL STATE
We
believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal
life, and unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment (Matthew
25:46; John 5:28-29, 11:25-26; Revelation 20:5-6, 12-15).
We believe that the souls of the redeemed
are, at death, absent from the body and immediately present with the
Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection, when
the 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; I Thessalonians 4:16-17).
We believe that the souls of unbelievers
remain after death, in conscious misery until the second resurrection
and judgment of the Great White Throne at the close of the millennium,
when, with the soul and body reunited, they 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; Mark 9:43-48; Revelation 20:11-15).
CIVIL GOVERNMENT
We
believe that God has ordained and created all authority consisting of
three basic institutions: the home, the church, and the state. Every
person is subject to these authorities, but all (including the
authorities themselves) are answerable to God and governed by His
Word. God has given each institution specific Biblical
responsibilities and balanced those responsibilities with the
understanding that no institution has the right to infringe upon the
other. The home, the church, and the state are equal and sovereign in
their respective Biblically assigned spheres of responsibility under
God (Rom 13:1-7; Eph 5:22-24; Heb 13:17; 1 Pet 2:13-14).
HUMAN SEXUALITY
We
believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be
engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a 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 (Gen 2:24, 19:5, 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).
ABORTION
We
believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child
is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified,
unexcused taking of unborn human life (Job 3:16; Psalms 51:5,
139:14-16; Isa 44:24, 49:1-5; Jer 1:5, 20:15-18).
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