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OUR STATEMENT OF FAITH
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(A) The Holy Scriptures. |
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We believe the Bible to be the
verbally and plenary inspired Word of God in the original
autographs. (2 Tim.
3:16; 2 Pt. 1:21).
We believe that the Holy Scriptures, as the Word of God, are inerrant and
infallible just as their author is (Titus
1:2; John
17:17; Ps. 119:151). The Scriptures testify of themselves in Heb.
4:12 that they are "living and powerful able to discern the thoughts
intents of the heart". We believe the Scriptures are enduring and
unchanging (Ps.119:89;
Is. 40:8; Matt.
5:18).
Lastly, we believe the Word of God is authoritative and sufficient as it
pertains to all matters of faith and practice in the life of a believer (Ps.
19:7-11; Ps. 119:98-100; Matt.4:4) |
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(B) The Triune Godhead. |
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We believe in one triune God, who has existed eternally in three persons
from eternity past--God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We
believe all the persons of Triune Godhead to be co-eternal and co-equal.
Although they differ in function, in essence they are equal. We believe
evidence of the Trinity is found in the first verse of the Bible where we
find a plural noun and a singular verb, which indicates the presence of a
plurality. The grammar of Deut. 6:4 teaches unity in plurality. We believe
that in Is. 48:16 of the Old Testament all three persons of the Triune
Godhead are revealed as they are in the New Testament in Matt.
3:16, 17 and I Jn 5:7 NKJV.
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(C) Person and Work of God The
Father |
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1 We believe
the Father is the first person of the Triune Godhead. We believe he is fully
God (John 6:27; Eph.
4:6; Phil. 2:11; 1 Pt.
1:3).
2 We
believe the Father as God possesses all the attributes of deity and we offer
(Amos 9:2-4 and Ps. 139:7-12)
as proof of his
omnipresence.
3. We
believe that the Father chose us to be His own before the foundation of the
world (Eph. 1:4).We believe that the Father
Himself provided the only sacrifice that would satisfy His justice in regard
to our sinful and lost condition (John 3:16)
and by so doing proved His love toward us (Rom
5:8).
We believe that in this present church age the Father also proves His love
to us by chastening His children (Heb. 12:6)
for their benefit that they might yield the peaceable fruit of
righteousness (Heb. 12:9-11).
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(D) Person and Work of God The
Son |
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1. We believe that the Lord
Jesus Christ, the Eternal Son of God, became man
(Phil.
2:7, 8; Gal.
4:4; John 1: 14) without ceasing to be God
(John
1:1; Heb. 1:8). We believe He was supernaturally conceived by the
Holy Spirit (Lk. 1:35), and that His birth was
a virgin birth (Is.
7:14; Lk. 1:34). We believe
that in the person of Christ we have had a perfect visible manifestation of
God the Father (John 1:
18;
14:9).
2. We believe that Jesus Christ
is God's Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Rev.
13:8).
We believe
that He was our substitutionary sacrifice (I Pt. 2:24),
and that He redeemed us by His death and the shedding of His blood (Acts
2:22-36; Eph. 1:7; Rom. 3:23, 24). We believe that Jesus' redemptive
work was a fully completed transaction which paid the debt of sin that man
owes to God (John 19:30).
3. We believe that Jesus Christ
rose from the dead (Lk. 24:5,
6; 1
Cor. 15:4) with
a literal, incorrupible, immortal human body (I
Cor. 15:42, 53, 54). In this regard we are told that He is the first
fruits (prototype) and that as believers in Him we will experience the same
kind of transformation
at His coming (I Cor.
15:23; Phil. 3:20, 21).
We believe that forty days after His Resurrection He ascended bodily to
Heaven (Acts 1: 9; Lk.
24:51). Today He sits in
the place of honor at the right hand of the Father (Heb.
10:12; 12:2). During this Dispensation of Grace He functions as our
Great High Priest. (Heb.
4:14-15); He ever
lives to make intercession for us (Heb.
7:25; Rom.
8:34).; He is our Advocate with the Father when we sin (I
John 2:1); and he serves as our sole Mediator with God (I
Tim. 2:5).
4. We believe that the Son as
God possesses all the attributes of deity. In (Colossians
2:9) the Bible teaches that in Him (the Son) dwells all the fullness of
the Godhead bodily. We believe that (Colossians
1:16-18)
attest to the omnipotence of God the Son as the creator of all things.
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(E) The Person and Work of God
the Holy Spirit
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1. We believe that the Holy
Spirit is the third person of the Triune Godhead and is fully God (Acts
5:3, 4). We
believe He is instrumental in salvation (John 16:8-11).
At the time of salvation the Holy Spirit regenerates us and makes us new
creatures (Titus 3:5, 6; 2 Cor 5:17); He indwells
us (I Cor. 6:19); He baptizes us into the Body of
Christ (I Cor. 12:13); and He seals us until the
day of redemption (Eph. 1: 13, 14).
2. We believe that the Holy
Spirit is our Helper, sent by Jesus Christ to live in us during His absence (John
14:16, 17). He guides the believer into all truth (John
16:13). We believe the Holy Spirit never seeks to glorify Himself, but
seeks to glorify Jesus Christ (John 16:14). We
believe the Holy Spirit is the Enabler, giving to the believer the
supernatural power he needs to live a godly life (Eph.
3:16) when the believer allows himself to be under the control of the
Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18) and he uses the power of
the Holy Spirit to cultivate His fruit in his life (Gal.
5:22, 23).
3. We believe the Holy Spirit
gives spiritual gifts to the church as He wills (I
Cor. 12:11; Heb. 2:4) for the edification of the church
(Eph.
4:12). These gifts of the Spirit for the church are contained in
lists in the following Scriptures: (Ephesians 4:11,
12;
Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians
12:7-10,
12:28; 1 Peter 4:9-11). We believe that members of the Body of Christ
should never use a spiritual gift for selfish reasons,
but for the good of all
(I Cor. 12:7; 1 Cor. 14:12).
4. We believe that the Holy
Spirit as God possesses all the attributes of deity. First Corinthians 2: 10,
11 teach the omniscience of the Holy Spirit and Ps. 139:7 teaches the
omnipresence of the Holy Spirit. We also recognize the supernatural power of
the Holy Spirit that was exercised in the conception (Lk.
1:35); the virgin birth (Is.
7:14; Lk. 1:34;
Matt. 1: 18); and the incarnation of Jesus Christ (Matt.
1:20, 21; Lk. 1:35)
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(F) The Total Depravity of Man.
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We believe that God created man in his image and likeness (Gen.
1:26, 27). When man sinned in the garden (Gen.
3:6) he acquired a sinful nature that set him at enmity with God (Rom.
5: 10; 8:7). From that time forth man's offspring no longer bore the
original image of God, but bore the fallen image and likeness of sinful man
as well (Gen. 5:3). Because of man's position
in Adam as the federal head of the
human race, all men are born spiritually dead (I Cor.
15:22; Eph. 2: 1) and are incapable of doing good
(Rom.
1:18-32; 3:10-18). Man in his depravity denies the existence of God,
but the Scriptures tell us that the evidence found in creation is sufficient
and that man is without excuse (Rom.
1:20).
Depraved man says he has no knowledge of
God's Law, but the Scriptures once again teach
that he is without excuse (Rom. 2: 1) because
his conscience either accuses or excuses him of
sin (Rom. 2:15). God
does not hold him guiltless (Ex.
20:7) and
depraved man has no hope (Eph. 2:12). |
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(G) Salvation.
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We believe that salvation is a gift from God (Rom.
6:23). We believe that because of God's great mercy and love (Eph.
2:4), even when we were dead in our trespasses (Eph.
2:5), without strength and ungodly (Rom. 5:6),
that God made the provision for us--that of his Son shedding His blood and
taking upon Himself the wages due us because of our sin--death (Rom.
5:8; 6:23). We believe salvation is entirely by God's grace
(unmerited favor) apart from any human effort and is received through faith
alone in the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ (John
3:14, 15; Acts 16:31; Eph. 2:8, 9). |
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(H Justification.
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We believe that the Scriptural teachings on the doctrine of justification
answer the age old question asked by the patriarch Job and other men of all
ages who have had some understanding of their state of
unholiness and unrighteousness---" but how
can a man be righteous before God?" (Job
9:2). We believe that God is infinitely Holy (Is.
6:2, 3) while man is totally depraved and unrighteous
(Rom. 1:18-32; 3:10-18). We believe that
justification is a legal declaration by God Himself by
which He declares the saved sinner fit to come to Himself because of
the believers position in
Christ. We believe the grounds of our justification is a righteousness which
is foreign or alien to us, which is the righteousness
of Jesus Christ the righteous (I
Jn. 2:1). We
believe that God who is our justifier imputes the
righteousness of Christ
to us when we place our faith in Jesus (Rom.
3:26; 4:6, 11,
22-25
; 2 Cor 5:21).
We believe that justification comes spontaneously and freely by grace the
moment we trust Jesus Christ as our savior based on
the redemptive work of Jesus Christ (Rom.
3:24; 5.9).
We further believe that justification today and always
has been by grace through faith in God who justifies the
ungodly completely apart from works (Gen.
15:6; Rom.
4:5). We furthermore set forth our belief that
justification in no way confers to us any intrinsic, infused, or inherent
righteousness, nor is justification based on any supposed intrinsic,
infused, or inherent righteousness. God declares us to be just because He
sees us clothed in the righteousness of His own Son which has been imputed
to us (Is. 61:10; 2
Cor. 5:21). Our summary
statement on this doctrine is that we believe justification is by grace
alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone completely apart from any
human effort or religious ritual. |
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(I) The Eternal Security of
Believers and Their Assurance of Salvation. |
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1. We believe that once a lost
sinner has been bom again by the Holy Spirit of God (John
3:5), that the child of God is kept secure by the power of God (John
6:37-40). We believe that we cannot be snatched from the hand of the
Father or the Son (John 10:28, 29). We believe
that the Scriptures teach that the Father who justifies will not bring a
charge against us (Rom. 8:33). And furthermore we
believe that Christ who died and rose and is seated at the right hand of God
to make intercession for us will not condemn us (Rom.
8:34). The Scriptures continue to teach on this subject that no one or
no thing can separate us from the love of God (Rom.
8:35-39; Phil. 1:6). We summarize our position on
this subject with the words of the author of the
epistle to the Hebrews in chapter
7 and verse 25 "Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those
who come to God through Him, since He ever lives to make intercession for
them".
2. We believe that as believers rejoice
in the assurance of their salvation, that they
should not turn the liberty we have in Christ into license in order to satisfy
the lusts of the flesh (Rom.
ch. 6; Rom. 7:5, 6; 13:13,
14). |
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(J) The Church |
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1.Although the word church will
be used interchangedly and synonymously with the word assembly in this
constitution, we believe the word church has an ecclesiastical origin and that
the word assembly is the more accurate translation from the original language.
These words are taken from the compound Greek word "ekklesia" (from
the word "ek"--out from; and kaleo--called). Therefore we believe
that members of the church universal are called out of the world (John 15:19)
and have been delivered from this present evil age (Gal.
1:4).
2. We believe that the church
universal is an organism with Christ as its head (Eph.
5:23) and that all believers in Christ make up His Body, the fullness
of Him (Eph. 1:23). We believe that in the
universal church there are no race, gender, or class distinctions (Gal.
3:28). We believe that it is Christ who is building the church today (Matt.
16:18). We believe that as believers we are living stones, being used
by Christ in His building process (I Pt. 2:5). We
believe that it is the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit that places us into
the Body of Christ (I Cor. 12:13). We believe
that the church universal is bethrothed to Christ as His bride (2
Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:25-27).
3. We believe that the
establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly seen in the New
Testament (Acts 14:27;20:17);
(7 churches of Rev. ch. 2
& 3). We believe the local church is the visible manifestation of
the universal church. We believe the local church is built on the same
foundation as the universal church--Christ and His work for every believer (Eph.
2:20-22; 4:1-16). In the local church some believers will have rule
over others in an organizational way (Heb.
13:17; 1 Pt.
5:1-3).
4. We believe in the autonomy of
the local church free of any external control (Acts
13:1-4: 1 Pt. 5: 1-3), except that of the Chief Shepherd, our Lord
Jesus Christ (I Pt. 5:4). We do not believe any
denominational hierarchy or organization is necessary for the function of the
local church.
5. We recognize water baptism by
immersion (Acts 2:41;
8:38, 39) and the Lord's
Supper (I Cor. 11:23-28) as Scriptural ordinances
of obedience for the local church to administer. We furthermore believe that
participation in these ordinances does not earn grace or merit for the
participant, but rather we believe participation is an indication that the one
who participates has already received God's free gift of grace in salvation (Acts
18:8).
6. We believe that although God
has declared the genders to be essentially equal (Gal.
3:28), He has indicated different roles or functions for males and
females in the New Testament churches. We believe that men are to hold the
offices of leadership in the local assembly (I Tim. 3:2;
8-12); should lead in public prayer in any meeting of the local
assembly (I Cor. 14:34;
1 Tim. 2:8,11); and that
only men should teach other men or a mixed congregation (I
Tim. 2:12). We believe the instruction in I Tim. 2:9-11 is vitally
important for sisters in the local assembly---dress modestly and learn in
silence with all submission. We do believe that women in the church receive
gifts of the Holy Spirit just as do men, and should use them (Rom.
16:1, 2)--even the gift of teaching in its proper Biblical context (Titus
2:3-5). Mothering and bringing up children is a role of women in the
church that is of utmost importance (I Tim.
2:15; 5:14).
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(K) Progressive Sanctification.
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We believe that if any man is in Christ he is a new creation (2
Cor. 5:17). We further believe that God greatly desires spiritual
growth in our lives and that we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus
to do good works (Matt.
13:23; Jn. 15:1-8; Eph. 2: 10).
The Apostle Paul used the first three chapters of the epistle to the
Ephesians to inform believers in Christ throughout all the ages of the
blessings and benefits of their position in the Body of Christ. But in the
last three chapters of the Ephesian epistle Paul writes of the type of walk
or practice we should develop because of our position in Christ (Eph.
4:1). We believe that a believer in Christ should put off the former
conduct of the old man (Eph. 4:22) and put on
conduct befitting the new man (Eph.
4:24). We
do not believe that progressive sanctification can by effected by the
establishment of pharisaical guidelines by the elders of this church. We
believe progressive sanctification begins in the heart as the believer makes
use of the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit who indwells him (I
Cor. 3:16) to accomplish what he/she cannot accomplish through their
own strength. We believe that the believer needs to be strengthened by the
Holy Spirit in his inner man (Eph. 3:16) so
that he will be enabled to develop the fruit of the Spirit (Gal.
5:22, 23) and be under the control of the Spirit (Eph.
5:18). Each believer must learn to use the full armor of God in order
to withstand in the evil day and to live a Christ-like life (Eph.
6:13ff). Believers must allow God to work in their lives to give them
the desire and the ability to do God's good pleasure
(Phil.
2:13). We set forth our belief that every child of God who makes use
of these resources has the ability to progress in their Christian walk to
the point of proclaiming as Paul did at the end of his life—"I have
fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith"
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(L) The Eternal State. |
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1 . We believe in the bodily
resurrection of all men. We believe the saved dead will rise (John
5:24; 29a; 11:25, 26) victorious over sin, death, and the grave
(I
Cor 15:55-57) to ever be with Jesus Christ (Dan.
12:13; John 14:3; 1 Thes.
4:16; Rev. 21:3,4). We believe the unsaved
dead will rise at the end of the millenial reign of Christ (Rev.
20:5) to judgment and everlasting punishment
(John
5:29b; Rev. 20:10-15).
2 .We believe that the souls of
the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord (2
Cor. 5:8) in a state of conscious bliss (Lk.
16:22; 23:43) as they await the first resurrection at which time soul
and spirit are reunited with a glorious, immortal, and incorruptible human
body (1 Cor.
15:20-23; 42-44;
53, 54) to be glorified forever with the Lord Jesus
Christ (Rom. 8:30; Rev. 20:4-6).
3. We believe that the souls of
unbelievers remain, after death in conscious punishment and torment (Lk.
16:23-26) until the second resurrection
(John
5:29b) when with soul and spirit and body reunited, they shall appear
at the Great White Throne Judgment (Rev. 20:11-13)
and
are cast into the lake of fire, experiencing the second death---etemal
separation from God (Rev. 20:14), not to be
annihilated but rather to suffer everlasting conscious punishment and torment (2
Thes. 1:8, 9; Rev. 14: 10, 11).
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(M) Satan, Demons, and Sin. |
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We believe that Satan is a spirit being, created by God (Ps.
148:2-5; Col. 1: 16). We believe that after his creation Satan was
the most exalted of the highest rank of angels (Ezek.
28:14). We believe that before he fell his name was Lucifer (Is.
14:12) and that he attempted to pridefully exalt himself above God (Is.
14:13, 14; Ezek. 28:17; 1 Tim. 3:6). We believe that after he sinned
he was cast out of Heaven (Ezek. 28:16) along
with countless minions of angels who sided with him
(Rev.
12:4). We believe that after Satan successfully tempted Adam and Eve
to sin that God removed administration of the Earth from Adam and gave it to
Satan (Matt. 4:8, 9;
John 14:30; 1
Jn. 5:19).
Satan, the usurper, will rule the Earth until the second Adam (Jesus Christ)
comes with the seven sealed title deed to the Earth to reclaim possession of
it for mankind (Rev. 5:7). During the interim
from the fall of the first Adam to the advent of the second Adam, Satan and
his demonic hordes are deceiving the world (Rev. 12:9);
accusing the brethren (Rev. 12: 10); being
adversaries of the saints (I Pt. 5:8); tempting
believers (Acts 5:3); possessing and oppressing
unbelievers (Acts
19:16; Matt. 8:28,
29);
causing tragedies in the lives of believers (Job 1:
12-19; 2:7); and influencing world rulers to do evil
(Dan.
10: 13, 20; 2 Thes. 2:8,
9; Rev. 13:2). We further believe that Satan
is the author of sin (Ezek. 28:15; 1 Jn
3:8)
and that he and his demonic hordes will be punished forever in the lake of
fire (Matt. 25:41;
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(N) Creation. |
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We believe that God created the universe and all it contains in 6 literal 24
hour periods (Gen. 1:1-31;
Ex. 20:11; 31:17;
Ps.
33:6-9). We reject the gap theory and the day-age theory. We also
reject theistic evolution because we believe the Bible teaches that God
produced varieties of vegetation and trees which produced seed which caused
reproduction according to their kind (Gen. 1: 11,
12).
We furthermore believe that God created marine life and birds of the air and
told them to multiply according to their species (Gen.
1:20-22). We further believe that the land creatures were created
according to the vast numbers of species that God so desired (Gen.
1:24, 25). We further believe that man did not evolve from lower life
forms but was created by God in His image (Gen.
1:26)
and with great intelligence (Gen.
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| (0) Civil Government. |
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We believe that God has ordained and created all authority consisting of
three basic institutions: the home, the church, and the state. We believe
that the Bible teaches that we are to be subject to the authority of these
three God ordained authorities: the home (Eph.
5:22-24; 6:1-3); the church (Heb. 13:17);
and the state (Rom. 13:1-7). Each of these has
received its authority from God: the home (Eph.
5:23);
the church (Acts 20:28); and the state
(John
19:11; Rom. 13: 1). God has given each institution specific Biblical
responsibilities and balanced those responsibilities with the understanding
that no institution has the right to infringe upon another. As adherents to
dispensational theology we believe God has given human government (the
state) to mankind as one of the ways that He uses to administer His eternal
moral absolutes. The role of human government should be to promote
righteousness and to restrain unrighteousness as they are defined by God in
His Word. We believe that when accepted public policy as established by
human government (the state) conflicts with the clearly defined teachings of
the Scriptures, we believe that individual believers and churches have no
choice but to obey God rather than men (Acts
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(P) Human Sexuality. |
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(1) We believe that human
sexuality is a gift from God (Gen
1:27) and is
pure and holy because at the end of the sixth day of Creation God saw all
that he had made (including human sexuality) and called it very good (Gen.
1:31). Even after man fell and sin entered the world, human sexuality
within God's parameters for it remains pure and holy
(Heb. 13:4). We believe God created human sexuality for the
procreation of the human race to take place (Gen.
1:28) and for each spouse to give to the other sexual satisfaction
and pleasure (I Cor. 7:3; Song of Solomon). We
believe that Satan has succeeded in perverting God's pure and holy gift of
human sexuality in many ways and we believe each of the following listed
perversions and not necessarily limited to them to be sinful: Sexual sadism;
voyeurism (2 Sam 11:2); pornography; sexual
masochism; exhibitionism; bestiality (Ex.
22:19);
fetishism; incest (Lev. 18:6-17); transvestism;
transexualism; lesbianism and homosexuality (Rom.
1:26, 27; Lev. 20:13); pedophilia; rape (Gen.
34:2); prostitution (I Cor. 6:16);
adultery (I Cor. 6:9); masturbation; and
fornication (I Cor. 6:9).
2. We believe that the only
Biblical God-sanctioned marriage is the joining of one man and one woman (Gen
2:24; Matt. 19:4-6; Mk.
10:5-9; 1 Cor.
7:10; Eph. 5:22, 23). We
believe that any perversion of God's plan for marriage as taught in the
preceding verses to be sin. We believe that in essence God created men and
women as equals. Both were created in the image of God (Gen.
1:27) and they were to be co-regents over the Earth and all that was
on it (Gen. 1:28). We also believe that God
ordained separate and distinct functions for men and women in the home and
the church. We believe the husband is to exhibit servant headship just as
Christ did in His earthly ministry (Matt.
20:26; Eph.
5:23); he is to exhibit self sacrificing love to his wife (Eph
5:25); and he is to dwell with his wife with understanding (I
Pt. 3:7). We believe that the wife is to be the ideal compliment and
helper to her husband (Gen.
2:18; 1 Cor. 11:9);
She is to submit to his headship (Eph. 5:22);
and she is to respect his position (Eph. 5:33).
We believe that God has clearly delineated in His Word the fact that men and
women are to have different functions in the local church. We believe that
women should not hold positions of authority over men in the church, and
that women are not eligible for the office of an elder--men alone are
eligible for that office (I Tim
2:12; 3:2; Titus 1:6).
We believe that women are not to teach men in the church but are to learn in
silence (I Tim. 2:12; 1 Cor. 14:34, 35). We
believe that the office of deacon as well as the office of elder should be
held solely by men (I Tim. 3:11-12). We do
believe that the Holy Spirit gives gifts to women in the Body of Christ as
well as to the men and we believe that the women should be encouraged to use
their spiritual gifts (Rom. 16:1,2), even the
gift of teaching in its proper context (Titus 2:3, 4).
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(Q) Divorce and Remarriage. |
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We believe that when God instituted marriage that he intended it to be a
lifelong covenant of companionship which would be dissolved only by the
death of one of the spouses (Matt. 19:5,6). We
furthermore believe that God hates divorce (Mal. 2:16).
We believe that divorce is a human institution (Matt.
19:8), tolerated by God but sinful nonetheless. We believe God allows
only two exceptions to His desire that marriage be a lifelong covenant of
companionship. We believe that the Scriptures teach that if one of the
spouses is involved in sexual immorality, that involvement constitutes
grounds for divorce (Matt 19:9). However, we
also believe that divorce should not be pursued until all attempts to
accomplish repentance and confession by the guilty spouse and obtaining
forgiveness from the innocent spouse have been exhausted (Prov.
28:13; Eph. 4:32). We believe that in the event of a divorce the
innocent spouse is free to remarry. We believe that the only other Biblical
grounds for divorce occurs when an unbelieving spouse leaves a believing
spouse, and we believe that the believing spouse is free to remarry in that
situation (I Cor. 7:15). We believe that when
spouses divorce illegitimately (Deut. 24:1),
the Holy Scriptures command that they are to either remain unmarried or be
reconciled to each other (I Cor. 7: 10, 11).
If either or both spouses marry following an illegitimate divorce they are
guilty of adultery (Matt. 19:9). If
either or both spouses remarry the Scriptures forbid their remarriage to
each other at a future time (Deut.
24:2-4). We
further believe that for a spouse to file for divorce for any other than the
two previously mentioned exceptions is a violation of the teaching of (I
Cor. 6:1-8). We believe divorced and/or remarried persons may hold
positions of service in the church or serve as officers in the church but
only after careful study of the circumstances and careful study of their
lives in the aftermath of the divorce and/or remarriage. |
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| (R) Missions. |
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We believe that God has given the church a great commission to proclaim the
Gospel to all nations (Matt. 28:19, 20). We
believe that as part of this commission He promised an empowering by the
Holy Spirit to all believers involved in accomplishing the great commission (Acts
1:8). We have the example of the early church first preaching the
Gospel locally (Acts 1-7); then reaching out to
the surrounding provinces (Acts 8-12); and then
literally to the ends of the Earth (Acts 13-28).
We believe that we should assist those brothers and sisters who have this
gift and calling to the utmost of our ability as they go to far away places
to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the lost (Phil.
4:15, 16). |
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| (S) Lawsuits Between Believers. |
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We believe that Christians are prohibited from bringing civil lawsuits
against other Christians or the local church to resolve personal disputes (I
Cor. 6:1-8). We believe the church possesses all the resources
necessary to resolve personal disputes between believers in fellowship or
between believers in fellowship and the local church (I
Cor. 6:5; Eph. 4:32; Rom. 12:17,
18; Gal. 6:1; Matt.
18:15; Procedures for
Arbitration---Country Bible Church). We do believe, however, that a
Christian may seek compensation for injuries or damages from another
Christian's insurance company as long as the claim is pursued without malice
or slander (Eph. 4:32;
Rom. 12:19). |
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| (U) Abortion and Euthanasia. |
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We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is
a living human being and that God Himself is personally responsible for the
beginning of human life and the growth and formation of the unborn child (Ps.
139:13-16; Is. 44:24; Jer.
1:5; Eccl. 11:5). Abortion constitutes the
unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life and is therefore to be
considered as murder (Ex.
20:13; Prov. 6:16, 17).
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. We believe that in those rare
instances in which continuance of a pregnancy to full term will cause a real
risk to the physical life of the mother, that termination of the pregnancy
is permissible. We further believe that the parents should not make this
decision hastily, except in those cases where haste is necessary and
expedient. We believe that they should pray in earnest to God and seek His
guidance and should seek to understand as fully as possible the physical
factors and dangers involved as they consider which course of action to
pursue. We believe that the voluntary requests by persons or by members of
their families for doctor assistance in terminating their lives will
eventually lead to selective terminations by medical professionals and/or
government workers among the aged, infirm, diseased, or handicapped in the
name of compassion. We believe that compassion is shown by acts of mercy; by
relieving pain and suffering; and providing for the needs and comfort of
these people rather than terminating their lives. We believe that it is the
Lord who gives life (Acts 17:25) and only He
has the right to take it (Ps. 104:29) |
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(V) Israel. |
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We believe that God has sovereignly chosen the Jew as a special treasure for
Himself (Deut. 7:6;
32:9). God did not choose
them because they were righteous (Deut. 9:6) or
because they were a great and powerful people (Deut
7:7), but in order to keep the oath that He made to the fathers of
the Jewish nation (Deut.
7:8; Heb. 6:13). We
believe that God instructed Abram to leave his home in Ur of the Chaldees,
and go to a land He would show him (Gen. 12: 1)
and give him (Gen. 15:18) as an everlasting
possession (Gen. 17:8, 9). We furthermore
believe that God's covenant promises to Abraham were established with his
second son Isaac (Gen. 17:21) and through
Isaac's second son Jacob (Gen 28:13, 14). We
believe that through the Jewish nation came a Seed in which all the nations
of the world would be blessed (Gen.
12:3; 21:12; 22:18; Gal.
3:16). Because of national disobedience and rejection of
the Messiah we believe God has punished Israel (Amos
3:2) by scattering her among the nations of the world (Deut.
28:63-68; Hosea 3:4). In spite of this we believe that God has
promised to preserve the Jewish people (Jer. 31:35-37).
We believe it is possible the nation was resurrected physically in 1948 in
fulfillment of Ezek. 37: 1 - 10. We believe that when the fullness of the
gentiles is come in (Rom. 11:25) that God will
again turn His focus toward Israel in fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy (Dan.
9:27). The prophet Jeremiah refers to that time as the time of
Jacob's trouble (Jer. 30:7). Jesus Christ
referred to this period as an unprecedented time of tribulation for the
Jewish people (Matt. 24:21) and this period
includes chapters 6-19 of the Book of Revelation culminating with the second
coming of Christ at which time Israel will be regathered (Hosea
3:5; Is. 43:6, 7) and the Jewish people will recognize Jesus Christ
as their Messiah (Rom. 11:26-27). The Jewish
people will inhabit their land in peace during the millenial kingdom (Amos
9:14, 15). We believe that the Prince of Peace (Is.
9:6) will rule from His father David's throne (Is.
9:7; 2 Sam 7:13, 16) governing the entire world (Zech.
9:10). We also set forth our belief in the still existing legitimacy
of one of the provisions of the covenant God made with Abraham, the father
of the Jewish people: "I will bless him who blesses you, and I will
curse him who curses you (Gen. 12:3). |
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(A)
Dispensationalism. |
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We believe that the Scriptures interpreted by the historical-grammatical
method reveal several different, particular ways that God
administered His rule over the world as He progressively works out His
purpose for world history. We believe that in each dispensation God has
added at least one ruling factor to administer His eternal moral absolutes.
Each dispensation applied a test to mankind and each dispensation brings
more divine revelation from God. Each dispensation results in man's failure
to obey God's new ruling factor and the failure brings God's judgment. We
believe an example of this principle is found in (Gen.
6:5, 6) (man's failure) and (Gen. 6:7,
13; 7:10-12, 17-24) (God's judgment). We do not believe that each
dispensation introduced a new avenue to obtain salvation, but do hereby
affirm our belief that salvation has always been by grace through faith (Eph.
2:8, 9) regardless of which dispensation man found himself living in.
We believe that there is a definite distinction between Israel (Ex.
19:4-6; Deut 7:6-8) and the church (Matt
16:18;
Acts 2:41). Furthermore we believe in the use of a single hermeneutic
in interpreting the Holy Scriptures, that being the historical-grammatical
method. We also believe that the ultimate purpose of history as manifested
by the various dispensations is to reveal the glory of God through the
demonstration that He alone is the Sovereign God. |
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| (B) The Rapture of the Church. |
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We believe that when the fullness of the
Gentiles is come in (Rom.
11:25) that Jesus Christ will come in the air to rapture (take up)
His church from the Earth (I Thes. 4:16,
17; 1 Cor.
15:51, 52; John 14:2, 3). We believe this coming of Christ for His
church is the believers "blessed hope" (Titus
2:13) and will take place prior to the seven year period of
tribulation and wrath (Dan.
9:27; 1 Thes. 5:9).
Although we are certain of His coming, the time of His coming is
uncertain-it is imminent (I John 2:28) and as
we wait for His coming we are urged to purify ourselves so we will not be
ashamed when He does come (1 John
3:2, 3; 1 John 2:28). |
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The Second Advent of Jesus Christ. |
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We
believe that at the end of the seven year tribulation period, Jesus Christ
shall return to the Earth physically and visibly (Acts
1: 11). We believe that Jesus will defeat the beast (antichrist) and
the false prophet and the assembled armies of the Earth as they gather
together to make war against Him and His army (Rev.
19:17-21). We believe that Christ's feet will touch the Mount of
Olives, creating a vast valley spoken of by the prophet Joel as the valley
of decision (Joel 3:12, 14), where God will
judge and determine which Jews that survive the tribulation and remain alive
on the Earth may enter His Kingdom (Ezek. 20:37, 38)
as well as which Gentiles that survive the tribulation and remain alive on
the Earth may enter His Kingdom (Matt. 25:32-46).
We believe that at that time Jesus Christ will establish the kingdom that
has been promised to Israel (2 Sam.
7:16; Ezek. 36:28-38; Ezek. 28:24-26)
and will reign as King over it for a
thousand years (Rev.
20:4; Rev. 19:15, 16; Is.
2:2-4;
Ps. 89:36) with His saints (Rev. 20:4, 6). |
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(D)
The Baptism and Reception of
the Holy Spirit and The Speaking in Tongues. |
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We believe that various teachings about the
Person and the work of the Holy Spirit are confusing and
troubling members of Christ's Body-the church. We believe that
once a person has been truly born again that we are not to
expect something more—"a second blessing". We believe that the
Bible teaches that just as in our first birth (physical) we are
born complete, only needing to grow, so also when we are born
again spiritually that we are complete in Christ (Col. 2:10; 2 Pt. 1:3)
except for spiritual food so we might grow and mature spiritually (1
Cor. 3:2; Heb. 5:13, 14). We believe that a new believer is
immediately indwelt by the Holy Spirit (1
Cor. 3:16;
6:19) even though on two occasions early in church history the
reception of the Holy Spirit was subsequent to salvation (Acts
2:14; 8:17). We also believe that the baptism in the Holy Spirit
takes place immediately after salvation for all believers (1
Cor. 12:13). We also believe that the Holy Spirit seals every
believer for the day of redemption (Eph. 1:
13; 4:30).
We do not believe that either the reception or baptism of the Holy Spirit
are evidenced by the occurrences of tongues today, although three instances
did occur in the early days of the church (Acts
2:1-4; 10:44-46; 19:1-7). We furthermore believe that the gift of tongues is
being misused today just as it was in the early church. The Scriptures teach
that tongues were being used for self-edification (1
Cor. 14:3-5) rather than for the edification of the Body of
Christ--which is the purpose of the gifts of the Holy Spirit (Eph.
4:12). The Scriptures teach that tongues are unfruitful as a prayer
language (1 Cor.
14:14-17). We believe that
tongues are also unfruitful in witnessing to unbelievers (1
Cor. 14:23). Furthermore, we believe that a careful student of the
Bible should not formulate his doctrine in these areas by teaching the
experience of the apostles as recorded in the Book of Acts, but that they
should formulate their doctrine by the understanding of the teachings of the
apostles as set forth in the New Testament epistles. |
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(E) Head Coverings for Women. |
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We
believe that the Holy Spirit sets forth the principle of the authority of
the men in the church and the submission of women to that authority in the
church (1 Cor. 11:3). We believe that Scripture
teaches that man is the image and glory of God (1 Cor.
11:7) and that his head should not be covered when he prays or
prophecies (1 Cor. 11:4) because there is no
earthly head over him and to cover his head would dishonor that One who is
his spiritual head-Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 11:4).
We believe the Bible teaches that the woman is the glory of man (1
Cor. 11:7) and that her long hair is her glory (1
Cor. 11: 15), indicating the presence of two competing glories in the
church to the man who is the glory of God (1
Cor. 11:7). God has given the woman a natural covering, her long hair, to
cover the glory of man (woman herself) (1 Cor. 11: 15).
We further believe that the Scriptures use a different Greek word for
covering in 1 Cor. 11:6 than in 1 Cor. 11:15, indicating that in the church
service the woman is to veil her glory (her hair) (1
Cor. 11:6) in order that only God's glory (the man) is seen. Angels
witnessed woman's first usurpation of man's authority (Gen.
3:6) and now the angels witness the assembling of believers together
and the covered heads of women show the angels that the women of the church
recognize and respect man's authority (1 Cor. 11: 10).
We believe that these teachings were not based on a unique Corinthian
culture feature but on God's order of creation (1 Cor.
11:8, 9). Nor do we believe it was a teaching intended only for the
church at Corinth because Paul indicates that the teachings he gives in the
First Corinthian epistle apply to all other churches as well (1
Cor. 4:17; 7:17; 11:
16; 14:33, 34). |
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