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The 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).
The Fall of
Man
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).
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).
Preservance
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).
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).
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).
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).
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).
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).
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).
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).
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).
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).
Music in
the Church
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 to 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.
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).
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.
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. |
