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1. We believe that love one for another as Jesus loves the
believer manifests our discipleship, proves our love for God
and symbolizes our authority as New Testament churches. Love
is therefore the great commandment of the LORD Jesus Christ
upon which all others are dependent (Matt. 22:35-40; John
13:34, 35; John 15:12; 1 John 4:7-21; 1 John 5:1-3; Rev.
2:4, 5).
2. We believe in the infallible, verbal inspiration of the
whole Bible and that the Bible is the all-sufficient rule of
faith and practice (Psalm 119:160; 2 Tim. 3:16, 17).
3. We believe in the personal triune God: Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit, equal in divine perfection (Matt. 28:19).
4. We believe in the Genesis account of Creation (Gen. 1;
2).
5. We believe that Satan is a fallen angel, the archenemy of
God and man, the unholy god of this world, and that his
destiny is the eternal lake of fire (Isa. 14:12-15; Ezek.
28:11-19; Matt. 25:41; 2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 6:10-17; Rev.
20:10).
6. We believe in the virgin birth and sinless humanity of
Jesus Christ (Matt. 1:18-20; 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Peter 2:22).
7. We believe in the deity of Jesus Christ (John 10:30; John
1:1, 14; 2 Cor. 5:19).
8. We believe the Holy Spirit is the divine Administrator
for Jesus Christ in His churches (Luke 24:49; John 14:16,
17; Acts 1:4, 5, 8; Acts 2:1-4).
9. We believe that miraculous spiritual manifestation gifts
were done away when the Bible was completed. Faith, Hope and
Love are the vital abiding Spiritual Gifts (1 Cor. chapters
12-14).
10. We believe that Man was created in the image of God and
lived in innocency until he fell by voluntary transgression
from his sinless state, the result being that all mankind
are sinners (Gen. 1:26; Gen. 3:6-24; Rom. 5:12, 19).
11. We believe that the suffering and death of Jesus Christ
was substitutionary for all mankind and is efficacious only
to those who believe (Isa. 53:6; Heb. 2:9; 1 Peter 2:24; 1
Peter 3:18; 2 Peter 3:9; 1 John 2:2).
12. We believe in the bodily resurrection and ascension of
Christ and the bodily resurrection of His saints (Matt.
28:1-7; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Cor. 15:42-58; 1 Thess. 4:13-18).
13. We believe in the premillennial, personal, bodily return
of Christ as the crowning event of the Gentile age. This
event will include the resurrection of the righteous to
eternal heaven, and the Millennium will be followed by the
resurrection of the unrighteous unto eternal punishment in
the lake of fire and that the righteous shall enter into the
heaven age (John 14:1-6; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; 2 Thess. 2:8;
Rev. 19; Rev. 20:4-6; Rev. 20:11-15; Rev. 21:8).
14. We believe that the depraved sinner is saved wholly by
grace through faith in Jesus Christ, and the requisites to
regeneration are repentance toward God and faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ (Luke 13:3-5; John 3:16-18; Acts 20:21; Rom.
6:23; Eph. 2:8, 9), and that the Holy Spirit convicts
sinners, regenerates, seals, secures, and indwells every
believer (John 3:6; John 16:8, 9; Rom. 8:9-11; 1 Cor. 6:19,
20; Eph. 4:30; Titus 3:5).
15. We believe that all who trust Jesus Christ for salvation
are eternally secure in Him and shall not perish (John 3:36;
John 5:24; John 10:27-30; Rom. 8:35-39; Heb. 10:39; 1 Peter
1:5).
16. We believe that God deals with believers as His
children, that He chastises the disobedient, and that He
rewards the obedient (Matt. 16:27; Matt. 25:14-23; John
1:12; Heb. 12:5-11; 2 John 8; Rev. 22:12).
17. We believe that Jesus Christ established His church
during His ministry on earth and that it is always a local,
visible assembly of scripturally baptized believers in
covenant relationship to carry out the Commission of the
Lord Jesus Christ, and each church is an independent,
self-governing body, and no other ecclesiastical body may
exercise authority over it. We believe that Jesus Christ
gave the Great Commission to the New Testament churches
only, and that He promised the perpetuity of His churches
(Matt. 4:18-22; Matt. 16:18; Matt. 28:19, 20; Mark 1:14-20;
John 1:35-51; Eph. 3:21).
18. We believe that there are two pictorial ordinances in
the Lord's churches: Baptism and the Lord's Supper.
Scriptural baptism is the immersion of penitent believers in
water, administered by the authority of a New Testament
church in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The
Lord's Supper is a memorial ordinance, restricted to the
members of the church observing the ordinance (Matt. 28:19,
20; Acts 8:12, 38; Rom. 6:4; 1 Cor. 5:11-13; 1 Cor. 11:1, 2,
17-20, 26).
19. We believe that there are two divinely appointed offices
in a church, pastors and deacons, to be filled by men whose
qualifications are set forth in Titus and 1 Timothy.
20. We believe that all associations, fellowships, and
committees are, and properly should be, servants of, and
under control of the churches (Matt. 20:25-28).
21. We believe in freedom of worship without interference
from the government and affirm our belief in civil
obedience, unless the laws and regulations of civil
government run contrary to the Holy Scriptures (Rom. 13:1-7;
1 Peter 2:13-15) |