Luke 11:28 blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.
STATEMENT OF FAITH
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Of the Holy Scriptures
We believe the Bible, consisting of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally and plenarily inspired Word of God. The Scriptures are inerrant, infallible God breathed and are our sole and final divine revelation of God and man. God's Word is pure and preserved and it is the book to guide us in all areas of life. The authorized King James Version Bible is the preserved Word of God and shall be the official and only translation used by the church. (2 Tim. 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:20-21, Isa. 8:20, I Thess. 5:21).
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The Godhead
We believe in one triune God eternally existing in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, each co-eternal in being, equal in every divine perfection and executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of Redemption. (Mt. 28:19, 2 Cor. 13:14, John 14:10 & 26, John 4:24, John 10:30, Eph. 2:18)
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The Person and the Work of Christ
(1) We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men (Isa.7:14; 9:6, Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14; 2 Cor. 5:19-21; Gal. 4:4-5; Phil. 2:5-8).
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(2) We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and, that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead (Acts 2:18-36; Rom. 3:24-25; 1 Peter 2:24; Eph.1:7;1 Peter 1 :3-5).
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(3) We believe the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven, and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate (Acts 1:9-10; Heb. 9:24; 7:25; Rom. 8:34; I John 2:1-2).
The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
(1) We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment and, that He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption (John 16:8-11; Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 12:1214; 2 Cor. 3:6; Eph. 1:13-14).
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(2) We believe that He is the Divine Teacher who assists believers to understand and appropriate the Scriptures and that it is a privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 1:17-18; 5:18; 1 John 2:20, 27).
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(3) We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowal of spiritual gifts of every believer. God uniquely uses evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip believers in the assembly in order that they can do the work of the ministry. (Rom. 12:3-8; 1 Cor. 12:4-11:28; Eph. 4:7-12).
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(4) We believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking with tongues and the gift of healing were temporary. We believe that speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of the baptism of filling of the Holy Spirit and that ultimate deliverance of the body from sickness or death awaits the consummation of our salvation in the resurrection, though God frequently chooses to answer the prayers of believers for physical healing. (1 Cor. 1:22, 13:8; 14:21-22).
The Fall of Man
We believe man was created in the image of God, however in Adam's sin the human race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God. Man is a sinner by birth and by choice and he is unable to save himself or remedy his lost condition by himself (Gen. 1:26-27, Rm. 3:22-23, Gen. 3:6-24, Eph. 2:1-3; 4:17-19).
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Salvation
We believe that salvation is the gift of God (free and without works) brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins (John 1:12; Eph.1:7;2:8-10, 1 Pet.1:18-19)
Eternal Salvation
(1) We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God's power and thus secured in Christ forever (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Rom. 8: 1, 38-39; I Cor. 4-8; 1 Pet. 1:4-5).
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(2) We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God's Word, which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh. (Rom. 13:13 & 14, Gal. 5:13; Titus 2:11-15).
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The Church
(1) We believe that the local church, which is the body of Christ and his espoused bride, is solely made up of born-again believers (1 Cor. 12:12-14, 2 Cor. 11:2, Eph. 1:22-23, 5:25-27).
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(2) We believe the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught in the New Testament (Acts 14:27, 20:17, 28-32, 1 Tim. 3:1-13)
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(3) We believe in the autonomy of the Local Church free of any external authority or control (Acts 13:1-4, 15:19-31, Rm. 16:1,4, 1 Pet. 5:1-4).
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(4) We recognize water baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper the ordinances of obedience for the church (Mt. 28: 19-20, 1 Cor. 11:23-26).
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Separation (Holy Living)
(1) We believe that all the saved should live in a such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Saviour and Lord; and, that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices and associations is commanded of God (Rom. 12;1-2; 14:13; 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1; 2 Tim. 3;1-5; I John 2:15-17; 2 John 9-11).
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(2) We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity should be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery and pornography are sinful perversions of the bed undefiled (Gen. 2:24; Gen. 19:5, 13; Gen. 26:8-9; Lev. 18:1-30; Rom. 1:26-29; 1 Cor. 5:1; 6:9; 1 Thess. 4:1-8; Heb. 13:4).
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(3) We believe that the only Scriptural marriage is the joining of one natural-born man and one natural-born woman. (Genesis 2:24; Rom. 7:2; 1 Cor. 7:10; Eph. 5:22-23)
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(4) 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 abortion 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).
Second Coming of Christ
We believe in “that blessed hope,” the personal, literal and visible, premillennial return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ (commonly called the Rapture). We believe the second coming of Jesus comes immediately after the Great Tribulation and before the Millennial Reign. (1 Thess. 4:13-18; 2 Thess. 2:1-3; Matthew 24:3-31).
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Eternal State
(1) We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment (Matt. 25:46; John 5:28, 29; 11:25-26; Rev. 5-6, 12-13).
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(2) We believe that souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord (Luke 23:43; 2 Cor. 5:8, Phil. 1:23; 1 Thess. 4:16-17; Rev. 20:4-6).
(3) We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious punishment and torment until the second resurrection, when the soul and body are reunited they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment, and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment and torment (Matt. 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; 2 Thess. 1;7-9; Jude 6-7; Rev. 20:11-15).
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Reality of Satan
We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin and the cause of the Fall of Man; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man, and that he shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire (Job 1:6-7; Isa. 14:12-17; Matt. 4:2-11; 25:41; Rev. 20:10).
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Missions
We believe that God has given the Church a Great Commission to proclaim the Gospel to all nations so that there might be a great multitude from every nation, tribe, ethnic group, and language group who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. As ambassadors of Jesus Christ, we must use all available means to go to the foreign nations and not wait for them to come to us (Matt. 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8, 2 Cor. 5:20).
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Giving
We believe that every Christian, as a steward of that portion of God's wealth entrusted to him, is obligated to support his local church financially. We believe the God has established the tithe as a basis for giving but that every Christian should also give other offerings sacrificially and cheerfully to the support of the Church, the relief of those in need, and the spread of the Gospel. We believe that a Christian relinquish all rights to direct the use of the tithe or offering once the gift has been made (Gen. 14:20; Provo 3:9-10; Acts 4;34-37; 1 Cor. 16:2; 2 Cor. 9:6-7; Ga. 6:6; Eph. 4:28; 1 Tim. 5:17-18; 1 John 3:17).
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 (Genesis 1-2; Ex. 20:11).
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Civil Government
We believe that God has ordained and created all authority consisting of three basic institutions: 1) the home; 2) the church; and 3) the state. Every person is subject to these authorities, but all (including the authorities themselves) are answerable to God and governed by His Word. God has given each institution specific Biblical responsibilities and balanced those responsibilities with the understanding that no institution has the right to infringe upon the other. The home, the Church, and the state are equal and sovereign in their respective Biblically assigned spheres of responsibility under God (Rom. 13: 1-7; Eph. 5:2224; Heb. 13:17; 1 Pet. 2:13-14).
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AUTHORITY OF STATEMENT OF FAITH
The Statement of Faith does not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible itself is the sole and final source of all that we believe. We do believe, however, that the foregoing Statement of Faith accurately represent the teaching of the Bible, and therefore, is binding upon all members.