Biblical Truths and Doctrinal Statements

GOD

There is one living and true God, the creator of the universe (Exo 15:11; Isa 45:11; Jer 27:5).  He is revealed in the unity of the Godhead as God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, who are equal in every divine perfection (Exo 15:11; Mat 28:19; 2Co 13:14).

God the Father is the supreme ruler of the universe. He providentially directs the affairs of history according to the purposes of His grace (Gen 1; Psa 19:1; Psa 104; Heb 1:1-3).

God the Son as Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God, which is to say, He is Himself is God and is the Savior of the world; being conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary (Mat 1:18; Luk 1:26-35).  He declared His deity among men (Joh 1:1, 4, 18; Mat 9:6), died on the cross as the only sacrifice for sin (Php 2:6-11), arose bodily from the grave (Luk 24:6-7, 24-26; 1Co 15:3-6), and ascended back to the Father, interceding for the saints (Rom 8:34; Heb 7:25), until He returns to rapture them from the world (Act 1:11; 1Th 4:16-18).

God the Holy Spirit is the manifest presence of deity. He convicts of sin (Joh 16:8-11), teaches spiritual truths according to the written Word (Joh 16:12-15), permanently indwells believers (Act 5:32, Joh 14:16-17, 20, 23), and confers on every believer at conversion the ability to render effective spiritual service (1Pe 4:10-11).

 

THE SCRIPTURE

The Scriptures are God's inerrant revelation, complete in the Old and New Testaments, written by divinely inspired men as they were moved by the Holy Spirit (2Ti 3:16; 2Pe 1:21). Those men wrote not in words of human wisdom, but in Word taught by the Holy Spirit (1Co 2:13).

The Scriptures provide the standard for the believer's faith and practice (2Ti 3:16-17), reveal the principles by which God will judge all (Heb 4:12; Joh 12:48), and express the true basis for Christian fellowship (Gal 1:8-9; 2Jo 1:9-11).

 

CREATION

The World - God created all things for His own pleasure and glory, as revealed in the Biblical account of creation (Gen 1; Rev 4:11; Joh 1:2-3; Col 1:16).

The Angels - God created an innumerable host of spirit beings called angels. Holy angels worship God and execute His will; while fallen angels serve Satan, seeking to hinder God's purposes (Col 1:16; Luk 20:35-36; Mat 22:29-30; Psa 103:20; Jud 1:6).

Man - God created man in His own image. As the crowning work of creation, every person is of dignity and worth and merits the respect of all other persons (Psa 8; Gen 1:27; Gen 2:7; Mat 10:28-31).

 

SATAN

Satan is a person rather than a personification of evil (Joh 8:44), and he with his demons oppose all that is true and Godly by blinding the world to the Gospel (2Co 4:3-4), tempting saints to do evil (Eph 6:11; 1Pe 5:8), and warring against the Son of God (Gen 3:15; Rev 20:1-10).

 

DEPRAVITY

Although man was created in the image of God (Gen 1:26; Gen 2:17), he fell through sin and that image was marred (Rom 5:12; Jam 3:9). In his unregenerate state, he is void of spiritual life, is under the influence of the devil, and lacks any power to save himself (Eph 2:1-3; Joh 1:13). The sin nature has been transmitted to every member of the human race, the God man, Jesus Christ, alone being excepted (Rom 3:23; 1Pe 2:22). Because of the sin nature, man possesses no divine life and is essentially and unchangeably depraved apart from divine mercy (Rom 3:10-19; Jer 17:9).

Every part of man—his mind, will, emotions and flesh—have been corrupted by sin (Gen 3).  Man’s heart is “deceitful and desperately wicked” (Jer 17:9), man is born dead in transgression and sin (Psa 51:5, Psa 58:3, Eph 2:1-5), man loves the darkness (John 3:19), man does not understand the things of God (1Co 2:14), man suppresses the truth of God in unrighteousness (Romans 1:18) and continues to willfully live in sin, man rejects the Gospel of Christ as foolishness (1Co 1:18), and his mind is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is unable to do so (Rom 8:7).

The Apostle Paul summarizes the total depravity of man in Rom 3:9-18.

Since Scripture is very clear that all of man is affected by sin and so much so that “no one seeks after God,” then how can anyone possibly become a Christian? The answer is that God must overcome man’s depravity in such a way that man is able to recognize his spiritual state and his hopeless condition apart from the grace of God. Man’s spiritually blind eyes must be opened and the bondage of sin that renders him hopelessly enslaved must be broken so that he can respond in faith to the Gospel message and the atoning work of Christ on the cross.  For man who is “dead in trespasses and sins” to be able to understand and respond to the Gospel in faith, he must first be born again or regenerated by the Holy Spirit (Joh 3:3). It is only after God infuses spiritual life into a dead sinner that he can “see the kingdom of God.” This is a sovereign act of God, whereby men are born again “not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (Joh 1:12-13).

 

SALVATION

The Meaning of Salvation - Salvation is the gracious work of God whereby He delivers undeserving sinners from sin and its results (Mat 1:21; Eph 2:8-9). In justification He declares righteous all who put faith in Christ as Savior (Rom 3:20-22), giving them freedom from condemnation, peace with God, and full assurance of future glorification (Rom 3:24-26).

The Way of Salvation - Salvation is based wholly on the mercy and grace of God apart from works (Tit 3:5; Eph 2:9).

The Provision of Salvation - Christ died for sin (Joh 1:29; Joh 3:16; 1Jo 2:1-2), and it is through the shedding of His precious blood and His death that atonement is made without respect of persons (1Ti 2:4-6).

 

DIVINE SOVEREIGNTY

God's sovereignty is a natural consequence of His omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence.  God alone purposed, planned, and executed salvation.  God is described in the Bible as all-powerful and all-knowing (Psalm 147:5), outside of time (Exodus 3:14; Psalm 90:2), and responsible for the creation of everything (Genesis 1:1; John 1:1). These divine traits set the minimum boundary for God’s sovereign control in the universe, which is to say that nothing in the universe occurs without God’s permission.

The fact that God is sovereign essentially means that He has the power, wisdom, and authority to do anything He chooses within His creation.  God has the ability to do anything, even to take action and intervene in any situation.  God’s “sovereignty” means that He is absolute in authority and unrestricted in His supremacy.

 

SANCTIFICATION

All believers are set apart unto God (Heb 10:12-14) at the time of their regeneration (1Co 6:11). They should grow in grace (2Pe 1:5-8) by allowing the Holy Spirit to apply God's Word to their lives (1Pe 2:2), confirming them to the principles of divine righteousness (Rom 12:1-2; 1Th 4:3-7), and making them partakers of the holiness of God (2Co 7:1; 1Pe 1:15-16).

 

SECURITY

All believers are eternally secure in Jesus Christ (Joh 10:24-30; Rom 8:35-39). They are born again (Joh 3:3-5; 1Jo 5:1; 1Pe 1:23), made new creatures in Christ (2Co 5:17; 2Pe 1:4), and indwelt by the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:9; 1Jo 4:4), assuring their perseverance in good works (Eph 2:10). A special providence watches over them (Rom 8:28; 1Co 10:13), and they are kept by the power of God (Php 1:6; Php 2:12-13; 1Pe 1:3-5; Heb 13:5).

 

THE CHURCH

The Nature of the Church - A New Testament Church is a local congregation (Act 16:5; 1Co 14:7) of baptized believers in Jesus Christ (Act 2:41) who are united by covenant in belief of what God has revealed and in obedience to what He has commanded (Act 2:41-42).

The Autonomy of the Church - She acknowledges Jesus as her only Head (Eph 5:23; Col 1:18) and the Holy Bible as her only rule of faith and practice (Isa 8:20; 2Ti 3:16-17), governing herself by democratic principles (Act 6:1-6; 1Co 5:1-5) under the oversight of her Pastor (Act 20:28; Heb 13:7, 17, 24).

The Perpetuity of the Church – The church was Instituted by Jesus during His personal ministry on earth (Mat 16:18; Mar 13:13-19; Joh 1:35-51).  True churches have continued to the present and will continue until Jesus returns (Mat 16:18; Mat 28:20).

The ordinances of the Church - Her two ordinances are Baptism and the Lord's Supper. Baptism is the immersion in water of a believer as a confession of his faith in Jesus Christ (Mat 28:19; Rom 6:4) and is a prerequisite to Church membership and participation in the Lord's Supper (Act 2:41-42). The Lord's Supper is the sacred sharing of the bread of communion and the cup of blessing by the assembled Church (Act 20:7) as a memorial to the crucified body and shed blood of Jesus Christ (Luk 2:19-20; 1Co 11:23-26). Both ordinances must be administered by the authority of the New Testament Church (Mat 28:18-20; 1Co 11:23-26).

The Officers of the Church - Pastors and Deacons are the permanent officers divinely ordained in a New Testament Church (Php 1:1). Each church may select men of her choice to fill those offices under the leading of the Holy Spirit (Act 6:1-6; Act 20:17-18) according to the divinely given qualifications (1Ti 3:1-13).

Pastors (elders, bishops) are authorized to oversee and teach the church under the Lordship of Jesus Christ (Act 20:28; Heb 13:7, 17, 24; 1Pe 5:1-4). Each church is responsible to follow them as they follow Christ (1Co 11:1; 1Th 1:6; Heb 13:17) and to provide a livelihood for them that they might fulfill their ministries (1Ti 5:17-18; Php 4:15-18). Pastors are equal in the service of God (Mat 23:8-12).

Deacons (ministers, servants) are servants of the churches and assistants to the Pastors, particularly in benevolent ministries. Each church may select her own Deacons according to her needs, and no church is bound by the act of another church in that selection (Act 6:1-6).

The Ministry of the Church - Her mission is evangelizing sinners by preaching the Gospel (Mat 28:19; Luk 24:45-47), baptizing those who believe (Act 2:41; Act 8:12, 35-38), and maturing them by instruction and discipline (Mat 18:17-18; 1Co 5:1-5).

The Fellowship of the Church - She is free to associate with true churches in furthering the faith (2Co 11:8; Php 4:10, 15-16) but is responsible to keep herself from those who hold doctrines or practices contrary to Holy Scripture (Gal 1:8-9; 1Jo 2:19). In association with other churches, each church is equal and is the sole judge of the measure and method of her cooperation (Mat 20:25-28). In all matters of policy and practice, the will of each church is final (Mat 18:18).

 

CIVIL AUTHORITY

Human government was instituted by God to protect the innocent and punish the guilty. It is separate from the church, though both church and state exercise complementary ministries for the benefit of society (Mat 22:21).

Christians should submit to the authority of the government under which they live, obeying all laws which do not contradict the laws of God, respecting officers of government, paying taxes, rendering military service when called for, and praying for the welfare of the nation and its leaders (Rom 13:1-7; 1Pe 2:13, 17; 1Ti 2:1-2). They should vote, hold office, and exercise influence to direct the nation after the principles of Holy Scripture.

Civil authority is not to interfere in matters of conscience or disturb the institutions of religion (Act 4:18-20), but it should preserve for every citizen the free exercise of his religious convictions.

Churches should receive no subsidy from the government, but they should be exempt from taxation on property and money used for the common good through worship, education, or benevolence.

 

LAST THINGS

Return - Our risen Lord will return personally in bodily form to receive His redeemed unto Himself. His return is imminent (1Th 4:13-17; Rev 22:20).  We believe in a premilliennial return of Christ to earth, after which He shall reign in peace upon the earth for a thousand years (Rev 20:4-6).

Resurrections - After Jesus returns, all of the dead will be raised bodily, each in his own order: the righteous dead in "the resurrection of life" and the wicked dead in "the resurrection of damnation" (Joh 5:24-29; 1Co 15:20-28).  We believe the Scriptures to teach two resurrections: the first of the righteous at Christ's coming; the second of the wicked at the close of the thousand year reign (1Th 4:13-17; Rev 20:6, 12-15).

Judgments - Prior to the eternal state, God will judge everyone to confer rewards or to consign to punishment (Mat 25:31-46; 2Co 5:10; Rev 20:11-15).

Eternal States - Heaven is the eternal home of the redeemed (Joh 14:1-3) who, in their glorified bodies (1Co 15:51-58), will live in the presence of God forever (1Th 4:17) in ultimate blessing (Rev 21; Rev 22). Hell is the place of eternal punishment and suffering (Luk 16:19-31) reserved for the devil, his angels (Mat 25:41), and the unredeemed (Rev 20:10-15).