Who
We Are
Statement
of Faith
A.
The Holy Scriptures. We believe the Holy
Scriptures, consisting of the 01d and New Testaments only,
to be the planarily, verbally inspired Word of God, inerrant
in the original manuscripts, authoritative, infallible and
God-breathed; and that they are the only supreme and ultimate
authority for faith and practice (II Timothy 3:16-17; II
Peter 1:20-21; Matthew 5:18; I Corinthians 2:10-13).
B.
The Godhead. We believe in one triune God,
existing in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
eternal in being, identical in essence, equal in power and
glory and having the same divine attributes and perfections;
yet exercising them in varied offices (Deuteronomy 6:4;
Matthew 28:19; John 14:7-12; 16:7; II Corinthians 13:14).
C.
The Person And Work Of Jesus Christ.
- We
believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of
God, became man, without ceasing to be God, having been
conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary,
in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man
(Matthew 1:18-20; John 1:1-2,14,18; Luke 1:35).
- We
believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according
to the scriptures, as a substitutionary sacrifice, and
that all who receive Him are justified on the ground of
His shed blood (Romans 3:24-26; 4:25; I Corinthians 15:3-4;
II Corinthians 5:21).
-
We believe in the resurrection of the crucified body of
our Lord Jesus Christ and that our redemption and salvation
is guaranteed to us by His literal, physical resurrection
from the dead; in His bodily ascension into heaven; and
in His present life there for us as High Priest and Intercessor
(Matthew 28:5-6; I Corinthians 15:12-19; Acts 1:9; Hebrews
4:14-16: 7:23-25; 9:24; I John 2:1-2).
- 4.
We believe in "that blessed hope" which is the
PERSONAL, VISIBLE, PRETRIBULATIONAL, PREMILLENNIAL and
IMMINENT return of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ
(I Corinthians 15:51-53; I Thessalonians 4:1417; Titus
2:13; I John 3:2-3).
D.
The Second Coming Of Christ. We believe
in the personal, pre-tribulational, imminent coming of the
Lord Jesus Christ for His own, the church, and His subsequent
personal, pre-millennial return visibly to the earth to
establish His kingdom and to reign for-a millennium over
the entire earth from the throne of David (II Samuel 7:12-16;
Zechariah 14:4-1-1; Luke 1:30-33; Acts 15:14-18; I Thessalonians
4:13-18; I Corinthians 15:51-52; Revelations 19:11-16; 20:6).
E.
The Personality Of The Holy Spirit. We believe
that the Holy Spirit is a Divine Person, equal with the
Father and the Son and of the same substance and nature;
that He convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment;
bears witness to the truth; is the agent of the new birth;
and that He seals, endues, guides, teaches, witnesses to,
sanctifies, and helps the believer; that He baptizes them
into the church, the Body of Christ, indwells them permanently,
seals them unto the day of redemption, bestows spiritual
gifts upon each one, and fills for service those yielded
to Him. We believe that certain of the spiritual gifts of
the Holy Spirit to the church such as apostleship, prophecy
and tongues were temporary, were needed only in the infancy
of the church and are not to be expected today.
We
believe that the Holy Spirit testifies concerning Jesus
Christ and never leads any person, at any time, contrary
to the teaching of the Bible (John 3:8; 14:16; 15:26-27;
16:7-15; Acts 5:1-4; I Corinthians 12:4-13; 13:8-11; Ephesians
4:30; 5:18).
F.
The Total Depravity Of Man. We believe that
man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that
in Adam's sin the race fell and thereby incurred not only
physical death, but also spiritual death, which is separation
from God; and that all mankind have inherited a sinful nature,
became willful sinners with the first expression of personal
choice, are totally unable to regain their former position,
and are without excuse before God (Genesis 1:26; 3:1-24;
Romans 3:23; 5:12; 1:20; Ephesians 2:1-6,12).
G.
Salvation, Regeneration, Eternal Security Of The Believer.
-
We believe that salvation is a gift of God brought to
men by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ, whose blood was shed on Calvary for the
forgiveness of sins. Salvation is solely through faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ who shed His blood for the forgiveness
of our sins and, being a gift, is not earned by any good
works whatsoever. All those who receive Jesus Christ as
Lord and Saviour are regenerated and become sons of God
(Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-9; John 1:2; 3:5-7).
- We
believe that the scriptures teach that regeneration or
the new birth, is that change in the soul by the Holy
Spirit by which a new nature and spiritual life, not before
possessed, are imparted, and the person becomes a new
creation in Christ Jesus; and without it salvation is
impossible (John 3:3-6; II Corinthians 5:17; I Peter 1:23;
Titus 3:5).
- We
believe that the salvation of every believer is secure
for all eternity from the moment of regeneration. This
security is guaranteed to each believer by the fact that
the life received is eternal life, by the keeping power
of God, by the sealing ministry of the Holy Spirit, and
by the interceding ministry of Christ (John 5:24; 10:27-30;
Romans 8:1, 29-30, 38-39; Ephesians 4:30; Hebrews 7:25).
H.
Sanctification. We believe that immediate,
positional sanctification is that act of God whereby
believers are, at the time of regeneration, eternally set
apart as belonging to Him by redemption, thereby being place
in the family of God as children, joint heirs with Jesus
Christ (I John 3:1; Romans 8:14-17; I Corinthians 1:2; Hebrews
10:10-14).
We
believe that progressive sanctification is the process
by which, according to God's will, we are made partakers
of His holiness that it is progressive; that it is begun
in regeneration; that it progresses if the believer is yielded
to the Holy Spirit's control; that it is carried on in the
hearts of believers by the presence and power of the Holy
Spirit through the Word of God, self-examination, watchfulness
and prayer (I Thessalonians 4:13; 5:23; Proverbs 4:18; I
John 2:29; Philippians 2:12-13; Ephesians 6:18; John 17:17).
We
believe that ultimate sanctification will be the
portion of every believer when finally in the presence of
the Lord, complete and entire, with soul and spirit united
in the resurrected body free from every trace or effect
of sin and rebellion (I John 3:2; I Corinthians 15:52-54;
Ephesians 4:30; 5:27; Philippians 4:20-21).
I.
Separation. We believe in the Biblical doctrine
of separation, which encompasses three things:
- The
separation of the local church from all affiliation and
fellowship with those who deny the verities of the "faith
once delivered to the saints";
- The
separation of the individual believer from all worldly
practices that may dishonor the Saviour;
- The
separation of church and state (II Timothy 3:1-5; Romans
12:1-2; 14:13; I John 2:15-17; II John 9-11: II Corinthians
6:11; 7:1).
J.
The Eternal State. We believe that the souls
of those who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation
do at death immediately pass into His presence and there
remain in conscious bliss until the resurrection of the
body at His coming when soul and body reunited shall be
associated with Him forever in glory; but, that the souls
of unbelievers remain after death in conscious misery unto
the final 3udgement of the Great White Throne at the close
of the millennium, when soul and body reunited shall be
cast into the lake of fire from the presence of the Lord
and from the glory of His power (Luke 16:19-26; 23:43; II
Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; II Thessalonians 1:7-9;
Revelations 20:11-15; 14:9-14; I Thessalonians 4:13-18).
K.
The Church. We believe in the church - a
living, spiritual body of which Christ is the Head (Matthew
16:16-18; I Corinthians 12:12-13; Galatians 3:27; Ephesians
1:22-23; 5:25-27).
We
believe that each local church is a visible expression of
the Body of Christ and is a congregation of believers in
Jesus Christ immersed upon a credible confession of faith
and associated together by covenant for worship, evangelism,
and observance of the ordinances, and fellowship. We believe
that the local church is the center of God's program for
this age, and that every Christian is bound by scripture
to give his unhindered cooperation to the program of His
local church (Acts 2:41-47; 14:27; 20:17; I Timothy 3:1-16;
Titus 1:5-11; I Corinthians 3:10-17; 5:1-5; 11:2).
L.
The Church's Ordinances. We believe that
the Lord Jesus instituted two ordinances, baptism and the
Lord's Supper, to be observed by all believers until His
return.
We
believe that baptism is the immersion in water of a believer
in Christ, into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
to show forth by solemn and beautiful symbolism, the believer's
identification with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection,
and that it is a scriptural prerequisite to church membership
(Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38-41; 8:36; Romans 6:3-5; I Peter
3:21).
We
believe that the Lord's Supper is partaking of bread and
the fruit of the vine, as symbols of Christ's body and blood,
commemorating His suffering and death for us; that participation
should be limited to those who have united to the local
church by baptism and testimony, or to those who are baptized
members of churches of like faith and practice, and that
participation should be preceded by careful self-examination
(I Corinthians 11:23-32; 5:1-5; Matthew 18:15-17).
M.
The Great Commission. We believe that the
Lord Jesus Christ has commissioned the church to take the
gospel to the world, and that evangelism at home and abroad
should be primary in the program of the local church (Matthew
28:19-20; Acts 1:8).
N.
The Responsibility of Believers. We believe
that all believers should seek to walk by the spirit, not
bringing reproach upon their Lord and Saviour, exercising
Christian liberty regulated by love, separated from worldly
pleasures and practices, separated from organizational association
with apostate groups (Romans 12:1-2; Galatians 6:16; I Corinthians
8:1-13; II Corinthians 6:14-17). -
We
believe ~that it is the responsibility of all believers
to witness by life and by word to the truths of the Holy
Scriptures and to assume responsibility for the propagation
of the gospel to all the world (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8).
We
believe that it is the responsibility of all believers to
remember the work of the local church and its extension
ministries in prayer, to support it with their tithes and
offerings as the Lord prospers them, to participate in all
the regular services of the church as the Lord enables,
and to voluntarily submit to the watch care and discipline
of the local church (I Corinthians 16:2; Hebrews 10:19-25;
13:17-18).
0.
Creation. We believe that God created the
heavens and the earth, including all life, "each after
its own kind", by direct act, and not by any process
of evolution and that the days of creation in Genesis, Chapter
1 were solar, that is, twenty-four (24) hour days (Genesis
1 and 2, Colossians 1:16-17; John 1:3; Exodus 20:9,11; 31:17).
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