HOLY
SCRIPTURES
We
believe that the Holy Bible, consisting of the Old and New Testament
Scriptures, was written by men divinely inspired and is a perfect treasure
of heavenly instruction; that it has God for its author, salvation for its
end, and truth without any mixture of error for its matter; that it
reveals the principles by which God will judge us and therefore is, and
shall remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union
and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions
should be tried. The King James Version of the Bible is the official and
only translation used by the church (Isa. 8:20; I Thess. 5:21; II Tim.
3:16-17; II Pet. 1:20-21).
THE ONE TRUE
GOD
We believe that there is one, and only one, living and true
God, and infinite, intelligent Spirit whose name is JEHOVAH, the Maker and
Supreme Ruler of heaven and earth; that He is inexpressibly glorious in
holiness and worthy of all possible honor, confidence, and love; that in
the unity of the Godhead there are three persons -- the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Ghost -- equal in every divine perfection and executing
distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption (Ex.15:11;
Psalm 3:8; Matt.28:19; Mark 12:30; John 4:24;
Eph.2:18).
We believe that man was created in holiness under the law of
his Maker but by voluntary transgression fell from that holy and happy
state, in consequence of which all mankind are now sinners, not by
constraint but choice, being by nature utterly void of that holiness
required by the law of God, positively inclined to evil, and therefore
under just condemnation to eternal ruin without defense or excuse
(Gen.1:27, 31; 3:6-24; Isa. 53.6; Eze. 18:19-20; Rom. 1:20;
5:19).
THE WAY OF SALVATION
We believe that the salvation of sinners is wholly of grace through
the mediatorial offices of the Son of God, Who, by the appointment of the
Father, freely took upon Him our nature; that being conceived by the Holy
Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, yet without sin, He honored the divine
law by His personal obedience, and by His death made a full atonement for
our sins; that having risen from the dead, He is now enthroned in Heaven
and, uniting in His wonderful person the tenderest sympathies with divine
perfection's, He is in every way qualified to be a suitable, a
compassionate and an all-sufficient Savior (Isa. 53:4-5; John 3:16; Eph.
2:8; Col. 2:9; Heb. 2:18; 7:25).
JUSTIFICATION
We believe that the great
Gospel blessing, which Christ secures to such as believe in Him, is
justification; that justification includes the pardon of sin and the
promise of eternal life in principles of righteousness; that it is
bestowed not in consideration of any works of righteousness, which we have
done, but solely through faith in the Redeemer's blood, by virtue of which
faith His perfect righteousness is freely imputed to us of God; that
justification brings us into a state of most blessed peace and favor with
God and secures every other blessing needful for time and eternity (John
1:16; Acts 13:39; Rom. 4:4-5; 5:1-2, 9).
BEING FREED BY
SALVATION
We believe that the
blessings of salvation are made free to all by the Gospel; that it is the
immediate duty of all to accept them by a cordial, penitent, and obedient
faith, and that nothing prevents the salvation of the greatest sinner on
earth but his own inherent depravity and voluntary rejection of the
Gospel, which rejection involves him in an aggravated condemnation (Isa.
55:1; John 3:19; 5:40; Rom.
16:25-26).
go back
up
GRACE
IN REGENERATION
We believe that, in order
to be saved, sinners must be regenerated or born again; that regeneration
consists in giving a holy disposition to the mind; that it is effected in
a manner above our comprehension by the power of the Holy Spirit, in
connection with divine truth, so as to secure our voluntary obedience to
the Gospel; that its proper evidence appears in the holy fruits of
repentance, faith, and newness of life (John 3:3,8; II Cor. 5:17; Gal.
5:16-23; Eph. 5:9; I Pet.
1:22-25).
REPENTENCE AND FAITH
We believe that repentance
and faith are sacred duties and also inseparable graces, wrought in our
souls by the regenerating Spirit of God, whereby being deeply convinced of
our guilt, danger, and helplessness and of the way of salvation by Christ,
we turn to God with unfeigned contrition, confession, and supplication for
mercy; and at the same time we heartily receive the Lord Jesus Christ as
our Prophet, Priest, and King, and rely on Him alone as the only and
all-sufficient Savior (Mark 1:15; Acts 2:37-38; 11:18; Rom. 10:9-10; Eph.
2:8).
SANCTIFICATION
We believe that
sanctification is the process by which, according to the will of God, we
are made partakers of His holiness; that it is a progressive work; that it
is begun in regeneration; and that it is carried on in the hearts of
believers by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, the Sealer and
Comforter, in the continual use of the appointed means -- especially the
Word of God, self-examination, self-denial, watchfulness, and prayer (Rom.
8:5; Phil. 2:12-13; I Thess. 4:3; I John
2:29)
go back
up
PERSEVERANCE OF SAINTS
We believe that such only
are real believers as endure unto the end; that their perseverance and
attachment to Christ is the grand mark which distinguishes them from
superficial professors; that a special Providence watches over their
welfare; and that they are kept by the power of God through faith unto
salvation (John 3:31; 6:37; Rom. 8:28; Phil. 1:6; I John
2:19).
go back
up
HARMONY OF THE LAW AND THE
GOSPEL
We believe that the law of
God is the eternal and unchangeable rule of His moral government; that it
is holy, just, and good; that the inability which the Scriptures ascribe
to fallen men to fulfill its precepts arises entirely from their love of
sin; and that the one great end of the Gospel is to deliver them from this
inability and to restore them, through a Mediator, to unfeigned obedience
to the holy law and of the means of grace connected with the establishment
of the visible church (Rom. 3:31; 7:21; 8:2, 4,
7-8).
go back
up
THE GOSPEL CHURCH
We believe that a visible
church of Christ is a congregation of baptized believers, associated by
covenant in the faith and fellowship of the Gospel, observing the
ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws, and exercising the gifts,
rights and privileges invested in them by His Word to fulfill the Great
Commission; that its only Scriptural offices are pastors (bishops, elders,
or overseers), and deacons, whose qualifications, claims and duties are
defined in the Epistles to Timothy and Titus (Matt. 18:17; 28:20; Acts
2:41-42; I Cor. 1:1-13; 11:2; I Tim.
3).
go back
up
BAPTISM AND THE LORD'S
SUPPER
We believe that Christian
baptism is the immersion of a believer in water, in the name of the
Father, and Son, and Holy Ghost, to show forth in a solemn and beautiful
emblem our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior with its
effect in our death to sin and resurrection to a new life. We believe that
the Lord's Supper, in which the members of the church by the sacred use of
the bread and wine are to commemorate together the death of Christ, is to
be preceded always with solemn self-examination (Matt. 28:19; John
3:22-23; Acts 2:41-42; 8:36-39; Rom. 6:4; I Cor. 11:26,
28).
go back
up
CIVIL GOVERNMENT
We believe that civil government is of divine
appointment for the interests and good order of human society; and that
magistrates are to be prayed for, conscientiously honored, and obeyed,
except only in things opposed to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is
the only Lord of the kings of the earth (Matt. 22:21; 23:10; Acts 5:29;
Rom. 13:1-7).
go back
up
THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE WICKED
We believe that
there is a radical and essential difference between the righteous and the
wicked; that such only as through faith are justified in the name of the
Lord Jesus and sanctified by the Spirit of our God are truly righteous in
His esteem, while all such as continue in impenitence and unbelief are in
His sight wicked and under the curse; and that this distinction holds
among men both in and after death (Mal. 3:18; Luke 16:25; John 5:19; Rom.
1:17).
THE WORLD TO COME
We believe that the end of
this age is approaching. We believe in "That blessed hope"--the personal,
imminent, premillenial return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We
believe in the bodily resurrection of the just and of the unjust, the
everlasting blessedness of the saved, and the everlasting punishment of
the lost (Matt. 24:31-46; Acts 1:11; 24:15; I Thess. 4:13-18; I Pet. 4:7;
Rev. 22:11).
go back
up
CREATION
We believe that God created
the universe in six literal, 24-hour periods. We reject evolution, the Gap
Theory, the Day-Age Theory, and Theistic Evolution as unscriptural
theories of origin
(Gen. 1-2;
Ex. 20:11).
go back
up
HUMAN SEXUALITY &
MARRIAGE
We believe that God
has commanded that no intimate sexual activity should be engaged outside
of a one-man, one-woman marriage. We believe that any form of adultery,
fornication, homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest
and pornography are sinful perversions of God's gift of sex. We believe
that God disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one's gender by
surgery or appearance. (Gen. 2:24; 19:5, 13; 26:8-9; Lev. 18:1-30; Rom.
1:26-29; I Cor. 5:1; 6:9; I Thess. 4:1-8; Heb. 13:4) We believe that the
only legitimate marriage is the joining of one man and one woman. (Gen.
2:24; Rom. 7:2; I Cor. 7:10; Eph.
5:22-23).
go back
up
ABORTION AND EMBRYONIC STEM CELL
RESEARCH
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. Abortion is murder. We reject any teaching that abortions of
pregnancies due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth or
population control, or the mental well being of the mother are acceptable
(Job 3:16; Psalms 51:5; 139:14-16; Isa. 44:24; 49:1,5; Jer. 1:5; 20:15-18;
Luke 1:44).
go back
up
LAWSUITS BETWEEN BELIEVERS
We believe that Christians
are prohibited from bringing civil lawsuits against other Christians or
the Church to resolve personal disputes. We believe the Church possesses
all the resources necessary to resolve personal disputes between members.
We do believe, however, that a Christian may seek compensation for
injuries from another Christian's insurance company as long as the claim
is pursued without malice or slander (I Cor. 6:1-8; Eph.
4:31-32).
go back
up
We believe that our music
must be directly related to our understanding of the holiness of God. Our
praise and worship of God through music, consisting of hymns and spiritual
songs, must therefore be acceptable to a Holy God and must not be
tainted nor polluted with any of the characteristics of carnal, worldly
music, which appeal to and stimulate carnal reactions. We therefore reject
the CCM movement. (Ex. 15:1; I Chr. 16:9,23; II Chr. 15:14; Ps. 9:11;
40:1-3; 47:6; 118:14; Rom. 15:9; I Cor. 10:31; Eph. 4:29; 5:19; Heb. 2:12;
Rev. 5: 9-10; 15:3,4)
Present Trends in
Doctrine and Practice
NEO-ORTHODOXY
This theological persuasion
is a futile attempt to reconcile the higher scientific Biblical criticism
with the true Biblical interpretation. Such an appeal to Biblical
revelation is based on half-truths and as such is false and deceptive. We
utterly reject this method and
position.
go back
up
ECUMENICAL MOVEMENT
We believe that this
movement is an attempt to unite different faiths and religions on the
basis of the least common denominator of doctrine. It emphasizes love at
the expense of truth. It is a betrayal of the unity of believers based
upon sound doctrine of the historic Christian Faith. Its method of
operation is subversive. Its concept of an ecclesiastical Kingdom is not
supported by Scripture. We reject all cooperation with this movement (II
Cor. 6:14-17).
go back
up
NEO-EVANGELICALISM
This movement, while
claiming to be fundamental in theology, has actually compromised the
underlying principles of the Christian faith. It questions inspiration and
literal interpretation; it accepts liberals as Christians, takes a new
attitude toward the ecumenical movement, promotes ecumenical evangelism,
denies both ethical and ecclesiastical separation, restructures
eschatology, and over-stresses the social aspects of the Gospel. We hold
this stand to be unscriptural.
go back
up
TONGUES MOVEMENT
We believe that the gift of
tongues was given as a sign to Israel and like the gifts of Apostleship
and prophecy, which were for the founding of the church, is therefore not
being given today. We believe that the current resurgence of the practice
of tongues, which is not Scripturally regulated and which is usually
divisive, is not the Scriptural gift.
|
