Statements of Faith

Ratified June 6th, 1993

Table Of Contents

I. Of The Bible

II. Of The True God

III. Of All Creation

IV. Of The Devil (Satan) And Demons

V. Of The Total Depravity Of Man

VI. Of Christ's Substitutionary Sacrifice For Sin

VII. Of Salvation

VIII. Of The Resurrection Of The Dead

X. Of The Church

XI. Of The Ordinances

XII. Of Separation

XIII. Of Our Attitude Towards Civil Government

XIV. Of The Return Of Christ

XV. Of The Eternal State

STATEMENT I

OF THE BIBLE

  1. We believe in the verbal, plenary, inspiration of the Holy Bible.   The original autographs were written without error by men who were controlled by the Holy Spirit.  The Bible, being all truth, is the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds and opinions should be tried. 1
  2. By the “Holy Bible” we mean that completed collection of sixty-six books, from Genesis to Revelation, which not only contains and conveys the Word of God, but IS the very Word of God.
  3. By “completed collection” we mean that the Bible is the final revelation of the will of God to man, and that no other writings or revelations have ever been or will ever be inspired or needed. 2

STATEMENT II

OF THE TRUE GOD

  1. We believe there is only one living, true and eternal God, an infinite, intelligent and spiritual Being; the Maker and Supreme Ruler of heaven and earth, inexpressibly glorious in holiness and worthy of all possible honor, confidence and love. 1
  2. We believe in the Trinity:  One God consisting of three Persons; the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit; one in substance and equal in every divine perfection and executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption. 2
  3. We further believe that God is:
    • Holy - Holiness is foremost in rank among the attributes of God.  His throne is established on the basis of holiness. 3
    • Spirit. 4
    • Self-existent - He relies on nothing outside of Himself for existence. 5
    • Infinite - He fills His universe with His presence everywhere. 6
    • Eternal - He existed from eternity past and will exist to eternity future. 7
    • Righteous - He is just in all of His dealings with mankind. 8
    • Immutable - He is eternally unchangeable. 9
    • Omnipotent - He is capable of doing whatever He wills, but He never acts contrary to His Word. 10
    • Omniscient - He knows everything. 11
    • Omnipresent - He is everywhere; He fills the universe. 12
    • Goodness - He is love, mercy, grace and benevolence. 13
  4. We believe in the deity of Jesus Christ and that He:
    • Existed from eternity past co-equally with the Father and the Holy Spirit. 14
    • Was miraculously begotten of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. 15
    • Was God incarnate; a perfect, sinless man.  He never ceased to be perfect God. 16
    • Accomplished man’s redemption through His substitutionary, sacrificial death upon the cross. 17
    • Was resurrected from the grave 18 - Through His resurrection God confirmed Christ’s deity and gave proof that God had accepted the atoning work of Christ on the cross. 19
    • Ascended into heaven where He is now exalted at the right hand of God the Father as our Great High Priest, fulfilling the ministries of Representative, Intercessor and Mediator. 20
    • Will personally return (at the rapture) for His church at the end of the age. 21
  5. We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine Person, possessing all the attributes of personality and deity, including intellect, emotions, will, eternality, omnipresence, omniscience, omnipotence and truthfulness. 22  We further believe that the Holy Spirit:
    • Is co-equal and of the same nature with the Father and the Son. 23
    • Was sent by the Father to initiate and complete the building of the body of Christ, which is His church. 24
    • Convicts the world of sin, of righteousness and of  judgment. 25
    • Regenerates and instantly baptizes all believers into the body of Christ. 26
    • Indwells, sanctifies, instructs and empowers all believers for service and seals them unto the day of redemption. 27
    • Imparts spiritual gifts at His discretion to all believers. 28
    • Comforts and fills the child of God who daily yields to Him. 29

STATEMENT III

OF ALL CREATION          

  1. We believe that God created the heavens and the earth, including all life, “eachafter it’s own kind,” as recorded in the book of Genesis.  We further believe that man was created directly by God and we reject the theory that man “evolved” by an evolutionary process over eons of time. 1
  2. We believe that God’s creative acts took place in six literal twenty-four hour days and that on the seventh day He rested.  We further believe that the first eleven chapters of Genesis are truly historical and are to be taken literally and not in a figurative sense. 2
  3. We believe that Genesis is truly a book of origins;  that it gives information about the origin of the universe, order and complexity the solar system, the atmosphere and hydrosphere, life, man, marriage, evil, language, government, culture, nations, religion and of  God’s chosen people (Israel). 3

STATEMENT IV

OF THE DEVIL (SATAN) AND DEMONS

We believe in the distinct personality of Satan; that he was created by God a perfect being, but through pride rebelled against God and became the great adversary of God and His people; that he is the leader of all evil spirits or demons who seek to possess or control the lives of unbelievers and to influence the lives of believers;  that he is the deceiver and ruler of this present age; that anything he does is strictly limited by the permissive will of God, who overrules all Satan’s wicked devices for good; that he was defeated and judged at the cross of Christ and his eternal judgment in the lake of fire foretold in Revelation; that when we appropriate by faith our spiritual position in Christ, we are able to resist and overcome him by putting on the whole armor of God by the blood of the Lamb and through the power of the Holy Spirit. 1

STATEMENT V

OF THE TOTAL DEPRAVITY OF MAN

We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God and is, therefore, an eternal spiritual being.  The first man (Adam) was created innocent, but by voluntary disobedience to the revealed will of God, he became a sinful creature and the father of a fallen race that is universally sinful in both nature and practice.  Therefore, all mankind became alienated from God by sin, is totally depraved, is abiding under the wrath of God and is unable to remedy his lost condition. 1

STATEMENT VI

OF CHRIST’S SUBSTITUTIONARY SACRIFICE FOR SIN

We believe that our Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through the shedding of His blood and sacrificial death on the cross, and that His death was voluntary, vicarious, substitutionary, propitiatory and redemptive.  Because Jesus Christ was completely without sin, He was able to make a full substitutionary sacrifice for our sins.  We further believe that the blood of Christ is God’s only provision for our sins and that salvation is freely offered to all who will believe and accept it. 1

STATEMENT VII

OF SALVATION

  1. BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH.  We believe that man’s salvation is by grace through faith in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ; that salvation is neither merited nor secured in part or whole by any virtue or work of man; that it is extended to the whole world on an individual basis; that it is instantaneous and is accomplished solely by the power of the Holy Spirit through the instrumentality of the Word of God; that God requires and enables man to repent of his sins and to choose to entrust himself by faith to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; that Christ has saved us from the penalty of sin, is saving us from the power of sin and will save us from the presence of sin when He comes again; that this salvation is eternal in it’s duration. 1
  2. JUSTIFICATION.  We believe that justification before God is an act of God by which He declares righteous those who have placed their faith in Christ.  This righteousness is apart from any virtue or work of man and involves the imputation of our sins to Christ and the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to us.  By this means God is enabled to “be just and the justifier of the one who has faith Jesus.” 2
  3. SANCTIFICATION.  We believe that every believer is sanctified (set apart) unto God by justification and is declared to be holy and is therefore identified as a saint.  This sanctification is positional and instantaneous and has to do with the believer’s standing, not his present walk or condition. 3
  4. ETERNAL SECURITY.  We believe that once saved we can never be lost, for we are born of incorruptible seed.  All who take Christ as  their Savior are born from above and are eternally secure in Christ.  We are given everlasting life and are sealed unto the day of redemption and our life is hidden with Christ in God.  We are given knowledge and assurance of eternal life.  We are assured of no condemnation nor separation from God.  We are, nevertheless, warned to examine ourselves whether we are in the faith and to give diligence to make our calling and election sure. 4

STATEMENT VIII

OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD

We believe in the resurrection of the bodies of the dead.  The Bible speaks of two great resurrections; the one unto life and the other unto judgment.

The first resurrection includes the resurrection of Christ as the beginning of the resurrection program, and the resurrection of all those who are in Christ will be joined to Him at His coming to be with Him forever.

The second resurrection includes the unsaved dead at the end of the millennial kingdom at the great white throne judgment.  This is the resurrection unto damnation, and the condemned will be judged according to their works, and then will be cast into the lake of fire to receive eternal punishment.  This is the “second death.”  The “second death” and the “lake of fire” are identical terms and are used to speak of  the eternal state of the wicked. 1

STATEMENT IX

OF THE JUDGMENTS

We believe the subject of judgments in the Scriptures is a large one and encompasses:

The following four judgments have eschatological (the last things) implications and all are associated with the second advent of Christ:

STATEMENT X

OF THE CHURCH

We believe that all who put their faith in Jesus Christ are immediately baptized by the Holy Spirit into one united spiritual body, the Church, of which Jesus Christ is the Head. 1   We further believe that:

  1. All members of His invisible Church should assemble and identify themselves in local, visible churches that are patterned after the New Testament church. 2
  2. A local church consists of an assembly of baptized believers gathered together by the Holy Spirit in the Name of Jesus Christ for the purpose of worship, prayer, fellowship, teaching and preaching of God’s Word. 3
  3. All believers are to observe the two ordinances of the Church: Baptism by immersion and communion. 4
  4. All believers are to carry out our Lord’s Great Commission: To tell the “Good News” of Jesus Christ to all the world; this is the responsibility and privilege of every Christian. 5
  5. The New Testament officers of a local church are pastors and deacons. 6
  6. Each local church is a sovereign unit, independent of other churches and/or organizations, having the God-given right of self-government under the direction of the Holy Spirit, and is directly subject to Jesus Christ. 7

STATEMENT XI

OF THE ORDINANCES

We believe there are two ordinances of the Church:  Water baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

  1. Water baptism is the immersion of a believer in water as a testimony of the believer’s identification in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ; baptism is done in obedience to Christ’s command.  All believers should be baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. 1
  2. The Lord’s Supper is the partaking of the bread and cup as a continuing memorial of our Savior’s crucified body and shed blood until He comes again;  the Lord’s Supper should be taken only by believers, after careful self-examination. 2

STATEMENT XII

OF SEPARATION

  1. We believe it is God’s will for the Church to set ourselves apart unto God and to be separate from whatever is contrary to the Word of God. 1   We are to separate from complicity with and conformity to evil in desire, motive and act.  Believers should live righteously and be separate from worldly practices that dishonor God and harm the cause of Christ.
  2. We believe it is God’s will for the Church to be separate  from all religious teachings and activities that lead people away from the faith and into apostasy.  Apostasy is defined as “the falling away, or the religious defection from the faith; apostasy departs from the faith, but not from the outward profession of it.”  We believe the Scriptures admonish us to separate ourselves from apostasy 2 and not to co-operate with churches, religious associations and campaigns that are not Biblical in message or in practice.

STATEMENT XIII

OF OUR ATTITUDE TOWARDS CIVIL GOVERNMENT

We believe that civil government is ordained of God for the punishment of evil-doers and for the protection of the good.  We, therefore, consider it our duty to pray for rulers and magistrates and to be obedient to their authority, except in things contrary to the will of God.  We are not to withdraw from the world, but to endeavor to be it’s salt and light, doing all in our power to bring righteousness and justice to human institutions and relationships.  We believe that it is our duty, as much as possible, to “live peaceably with all men.” 1

STATEMENT XIV

OF THE RETURN OF CHRIST

  1. We believe in the personal, visible, glorious return of Jesus Christ.  His returnwill culminate in what is known as “the rapture.”  This event is Christ’s coming in the air to catch away all believers, both living and dead.  All believers are instructed to watch for His return and live righteously in readiness for it.  The exact time of this event is not revealed in Scripture.
  2. We further believe that when Christ returns to the earth, He will establish His Messianic kingdom for a thousand year reign on the earth.  During this time the Saints will reign with Christ over all   the nations of the earth.  This reign will be preceded by the overthrow of the antichrist and the False prophet, and by the removal of Satan from the world until the end of the Millennium, when he will be loosed for a short season for one final rebellion before being cast into the lake of fire.  This is known as the pre-millennial position. 1

STATEMENT XV

OF THE ETERNAL STATE

We believe that after all God’s enemies are consigned to eternal punishment, the present order of things will be dissolved and a new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness, shall be brought in as the final state in which the righteous will dwell forever with God. 1

SCRIPTURAL REFERENCES

Of the Bible

  1. Ps. 119:89, 152, 160; Jer. 30:2; II Tim. 3:16-17; II Pet. 1:20-21
  2. Deut. 4:2, 12:32 ; Prov. 30:5-6; Matt. 5:18; Rev. 22:18-19

Of the True God:  God the Father

  1. Gen. 1:1; Deut. 6:4; Is. 43:10-11; 44:6, 8; 45:21-22; Jer.10;10
  2. Gen 1:26; Matt. 3:16-17; 28:19; John 14:9-10, 16-17; II Cor. 13:14; Heb. 9:14; I Pet. 1:2
  3. Lev. 11:44, 19:2; I Sam. 2:2; Ps. 99:9,  145:17; Is. 6:3; I Pet. 115-16; Rev. 4:8
  4. Gen. 1:2,  6:3; Is. 40:13; Jn.  4:24 ; II Cor.3:17
  5. Ex. 3:14; Jn.5:26, 8:58 ; Col. 1:15-17; I Tim. 1:17
  6. I Kin. 8:27 ; II Chr. 2:6; Ps. 139:7-10
  7. Gen. 21:33; Ps. 90.2, 93:2; Is. 40:28; I Tim 1:17
  8. Ezra 9:15; Ps. 7:9, 11:7, 119:137-138; II Tim. 4:8; Rev. 16:5
  9. Ps. 119:89; Mal. 3:6; Heb. 6:17-18, 13:8; Jas. 1:17
  10. Jer. 32:17, 27; Dan. 4:35; Matt. 19:26; Rev. 4:11; Rev. 19:6
  11. Job 37:16; Ps. 139:4, 147:5; Is. 40:28; Rom. 11:33-34; Heb. 4:13; I Jn. 3:20
  12. Job 28:24; Ps. 139:7-10; Jer. 23:23-24
  13. I Chr. 16:34; Ps. 31:19, 36:7, 86:5, 15, 103:8, 136:1; Ps. 145:8-9, 15-16; Lam. 3:22-23; Matt. 5:45; Jn. 3:16; Eph. 2:4; I Jn. 4:8-11

Of the True God:  Deity of Jesus Christ

  1. Jn 1:1, 14, 5:17-18, 10:30 , 33, 14:9; Heb. 18
  2. Is. 7:14; Matt. 1;18-25; Luke 134-35
  3. Jn 1:14; Phil. 2:5-11; Col. 1:15, 2:9; I Tim. 3:16; Heb. 1:3
  4. Rom. 3;24-25; II Cor. 5:21; Col. 1:14; I Pet. 2:24 , 3:18
  5. Luke 24:5-6; Jn. 20:26-29; Acts 1:3; I Cor. 15:3-4
  6. Acts 13:37 -39; Rom. 1:4, 4:25 , 5:10 ; I Cor. 15:14, 17; I Pet. 1:3, 21
  7. Acts 1:9; I Tim. 2:5; Heb. 2:17-18, 4:15 -16; I Jn. 2:1
  8. Jn. 14:1-3; Acts 1:11; I Cor. 15:51-52; I Thes. 4:13-18

Of The True God:  The Holy Spirit

  1. I Cor: 2:10 -13; Eph. 4:30; I Cor. 12:11; Heb. 9:14; Ps. 139:7-10; Is. 40:13-14; Rom. 15:13 ; Jn. 16:13
  2. Acts 5:3-4; I Cor. 12:4-6
  3. I Cor. 12:13; II Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:13-14
  4. Jn. 16:9-11
  5. Rom. 8:9; I Cor. 12;13
  6. Jn. 14:16-17, 26, 16:13 ; Acts 1:8, Eph. 1:13 , 4:30
  7. I Cor. 12:7-11
  8. Jn. 14:16-17, 26; Eph. 5:18

Of the Creation

  1. Gen. 1&2; Neh. 9:6; Ps. 33:6,9, 100:3; Jer. 10:12; Jn. 1:1-3; Acts 17:23-26; Col.1:16-17; Heb. 11:3
  2. Gen. 1-11; Ex. 20:11
  3. Book of Genesis

Of the Devil (Satan) and Demons

  1. Job 1:6-12; Is. 14:12-15; Ezek. 28:12-17; Luke 8:11-12; II Cor. 4:4,          11:13-15;  Eph. 6:10-18; Js. 4:7; I Pet. 5:8-9; I Jn. 4:4; Rev. 20:10

 Of the Total Depravity of Man

  1. Gen. 1:27, 3:1-19; Ps. 14:1-3; Eccl. 7:20; Is. 53:6, 64:6-7; Jer. 17:9; Rom. 1:21-31, 3:10-18, 23

Of Christ’s Substitutionary Sacrifice for Sin

  1. Lev. 17:11 ; Rom. 3:25 ; II Cor. 5:21; Eph. 1:7; Heb. 9:22, 10:4-14; I Pet. 2:24 ,  3:18 ; I Jn. 2:2, 4:10  

 Of Salvation

  1. Jn. 3:16, 5:24; Acts 15:11, 16:31; Rom. 3:20-26, 4:4-5, 10:9-10; Eph. 2:8-9; Gal. 2:20; II Tim. 1:9; Titus 3:5; I Pet. 1:5
  2. Is. 53:11; Acts 13:39; Rom. 3:26, 4:6-8, 5:1, 9, 8:1, 33; II Cor. 5:21; Gal. 2:16;  Phil. 3:9; Col. 2:14; I Pet. 2:24
  3. Ps. 37:23-24, 56:13, 116:8, 138:8; Jn. 17:17, 19; Rom. 6:22; I Cor. 1:2, 30, 6:11; Phil. 1:6; I Thes. 5:23 ; II Thes. 2:13 , 3:3; II Tim. 4:18; Heb. 2:11 , 10:10 , 14; Heb.. 13:12 ; Jude 1
  4. Ps. 121:7; Jn 5:24, 6:37-40, 10:27-29; Rom. 8:1, 35-39; Eph. 1:13, 4:30; Phil.1:6; II Tim. 1:12, 4:18; Titus 1:2; I Pet. 1:5; I Jn. 5:11-13; Jude 1:24

Of the Resurrection of the Dead      

  1. Rev. 20:11-15

Of the Judgments

  1. Jn. 5:24; Rom. 5:9, 8:1; II Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:13; Heb. 9:26-26, 10:10
  2. Prov. 3:11-12; Job 5:17-18; Ps. 94:12; I Cor. 11:31-32; Heb. 12:5-11
  3. Ps.19:12-14, 32:5, 38:18, 51:1-19; Prov. 28:13; I Cor. 11:28-31; II Cor. 13:5; I Jn. 1:9
  4. Rom. 14:10 ; I Cor. 3:12 -15; 4:5, 9:24 -25; II Cor. 5:10; I Thes. 2:19 ; II Tim.4:8; Js. 1:12; I Pet. 5:4; Rev. 22:12
  5. Jer. 30:7; Ezek. 20:33-38; Zech. 13:8-9
  6. Is. 34:1-2; Joel 3:11-16; Zech. 141-5; Matt. 25:31-46; Rev. 19:11-21
  7. Jude 6; II Pet. 2:4
  8. Jn. 5:28-29; Rev. 20:11-15

Of the Church

  1. Eph. 1:22-23, 4:15 , 5:23 -24; Col. 1:18
  2. I Cor. 12:13; Heb. 10:25
  3. Acts 2:41 -41, 47
  4. Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42, 8:34 -39; 10:48 ; Rom. 6:3-6; I Cor. 11:23-26
  5. Ezek. 33:8; Matt. 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8; Col. 4:3-6; II Tim. 4:5; I Pet. 3:15
  6. Acts 6:1-6; Phil. 1:1; I Tim. 3:1-13; I Pet. 5:1-4
  7. Acts 20:28; I Thes. 5:12 -13; Heb. 13:7; I Pet. 5:1-4

Of the Ordinances

  1. Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 2:41 , 8:34 -39, 10:48 ; Rom. 6:3-6
  2. I Cor. 11:23-29

Of Separation

  1. Ps. 101:3;  Rom 12:1-2, 13:14, 14:13; I Cor. 3:16-17, 6:19-20, 8:9; II Cor. 6:3; Eph. 4:20-5:11; Phil. 1:27; I Thes. 5:22 ; II Tim. 2-19; Js. 1:27; I Pet. 1:14-16; I Jn. 2:15-17
  2. Rom. 16:17 -18; II Cor. 6:14-7:1; Gal. 1:8-9; Eph. 5:6-11; Phil. 3:17-18; II Thes. 3:1-6, 14; I Tim. 4:1-7, 6:3-5; II Tim. 3:5; II Jn. 9-11; Jude 3-4; Rev. 18:4

Of Our Attitude Towards Civil Government

  1. Matt. 5:13-16; Jn. 17:15; Acts 5:29; Rom. 12:18, 13:1-7; I Tim. 2:1-4; Titus 3:1; I Pet. 2:13-14

Of the Return of  Christ

  1. Zech. 14:4-11; Matt. 24:27-30,  25:31; Mark 13:24-37; Acts 1:10-11; Jude 14;  Rev. 1:7; Rev. 19:11-20:10

Of the Eternal State

  1. Is. 65:17, 66:22; II Pet. 3:10-13; Rev. 21:1-22:5