I. GOD
There is one living and true God, the creator of the universe (Exod. 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 (Exod. 15:11; Matt. 28:19; II Cor. 13:14). A. 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; Ps. 19:1; Ps. 104; Heb. 1:1-3).
B. God the Son is the Savior of the world. Born of the virgin Mary (Matt.1:18;
Luke 1:26-35), He declared His deity among men (John 1:14, 18; Matt. 9:6), died
on the cross as the only sacrifice for sin (Phil. 2:6-11), arose bodily from
the grave (Luke 24:6, 7, 24-26; I Cor. 15:3-6), and ascended back to the Father
(Acts 1:9-11; Mark 16:19). He is at the right hand of the Father, interceding
for believers (Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25) until He returns to rapture them from the
world (Acts 1:11; I Thess. 4:16-18).
C. God the Holy Spirit is the manifest presence of deity. He convicts of sin
(John 16:8-11) teaches spiritual truths according to the written Word (John
16:12-15), permanently indwells believers (Acts 5:32; John 14:16, 17, 20, 23),
and confers on every believer at conversion the ability to render effective
spiritual service (I Peter 4:10, 11).
II. THE SCRIPTURES
A. 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 (II Tim. 3:16; II Peter 1:21). Those men wrote not in words of human
wisdom but in words taught by the Holy Spirit (I Cor. 2:13).
B. The Scriptures provide the standard for the believer's faith and practice
(II Tim. 3:16, 17), reveal the principles by which God will judge all (Heb.
4:12; John 12:48), and express the true basis of Christian fellowship (Gal.
1:8, 9; II John 9-11).
III. CREATION
A. 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; John 1:2, 3;
Col. 1:16).
B. 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; Luke 20:35, 36; Matt. 22:29, 30:
Ps. 103:20; Jude 6).
C. 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 (Ps. 8; Gen. 1:27; 2:7; Matt. 10:28-31).
IV. SATAN
Satan is a person rather than a personification of evil (John 8:44) and he with
his demons opposes all that is true and godly by blinding the world to the
gospel (II Cor. 4:3, 4), tempting saints to do evil (Eph. 6:11; I Peter 5:8),
and warring against the Son of God (Gen. 3:15; Rev. 20:1-10).
V. DEPRAVITY
Although man was created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26: 2:17) he fell through
sin and that image was marred (Rom. 5:12; James 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; John 1:13). The sin nature has
been transmitted to every member of the human race, the man Jesus Christ alone
being excepted (Rom. 3:23; I Peter 2:22). Because of the sin nature, man
possesses no divine life and is essentially and unchangeably depraved apart
from divine grace (Rom. 3:10-19; Jer. 17:9).
VI. SALVATION
A. The Meaning of Salvation--Salvation is the gracious work of God whereby He
delivers undeserving sinners from sin and its results (Matt. 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).
B. The Way of Salvation--Salvation is based wholly on the grace of God apart
from works (Titus 3:5; Eph. 2:9). Anyone who will exercise repentance toward
God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved (Acts 16:30-32; Luke
24:47; Rom. 10:17).
C. The Provision of Salvation--Christ died for the sins of the whole world
(John 1:29; 3:16; I John 2:1, 2). Through His blood, atonement is made without
respect of persons (I Tim. 2:4-6). All sinners can be saved by this gracious
provision (Heb. 2:9; John 3:18).
D. Divine Sovereignty and Human Freedom--God's sovereignty and man's freedom
are two inseparable factors in the salvation experience (Eph. 2:4-6). The two
Bible truths are in no way contradictory, but they are amazingly complementary
in the great salvation so freely provided. God, in His sovereignty, purposed,
planned and executed salvation in eternity; while man's freedom enables him to
make a personal choice in time, either to receive this salvation and be saved,
or to reject it and be damned (Eph. 1:9-12; 1:13, 14; John 1:12, 13).
VII. SANCTIFICATION
All believers are set apart unto God (Heb. 10:12-14) at the time of their
regeneration (I Cor. 6:11). They should grow in grace (II Peter 1:5-8) by
allowing the Holy Spirit to apply God's Word to their lives (I Peter 2:2),
conforming them to the principles of divine righteousness (Rom. 12:1, 2; I
Thess. 4:3-7) and making them partakers of the holiness of God (II Cor. 7:1; I
Peter 1:15, 16).
VIII. SECURITY
All believers are eternally secure in Jesus Christ (John 10:24-30; Rom.
8:35-39). They are born again (John 3:3-5; I John 5:1; I Peter 1:23), made new
creatures in Christ (II Cor. 5:17; II Peter 1:4), and indwelt by the Holy
Spirit (Rom. 8:9; I John 4:4), enabling their perseverance in good works (Eph.
2:10). A special providence watches over them (Rom. 8:28; I Cor. 10:13), and
they are kept by the power of God (Phil. 1:6; 2:12, 13; I Peter 1:3-5; Heb.
13:5).
IX. CHURCH
A. The Nature of the Church--A New Testament church is a local congregation
(Acts 16:5; I Cor. 4:17) of baptized believers in Jesus Christ (Acts 2:41) who
are united by covenant in belief of what God has revealed and in obedience to
what He has commanded (Acts 2:41, 42).
B. 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; II Tim. 3:16, 17), governing herself by democratic principles (Acts
6:1-6; I Cor. 5:1-5) under the oversight of her pastors (Acts 20:28; Heb. 13:7,
17, 24).
C. The Perpetuity of the Church--Instituted by Jesus during His personal
ministry on earth (Matt. 16:18; Mark 3:13-19; John 1:35-51), true churches have
continued to the present and will continue until Jesus returns (Matt. 16:18;
28:20).
D. 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 (Matt. 28:19; Rom. 6:4) and is prerequisite to church
membership and participation in the Lord's Supper (Acts 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 (Acts 20:7) as a memorial to the crucified body and
shed blood of Jesus Christ (Luke 22:19, 20; I Cor.11:23-26). Both ordinances
must be administered by the authority of a New Testament church (Matt.
28:18-20; I Cor. 11:23-26).
E. The Officers of the Church--Pastors and deacons are the permanent officers
divinely ordained in a New Testament church (Phil.1:1). Each church may select
men of her choice to fill those offices under the leading of the Holy Spirit
(Acts 6:1-6; 20:17, 18) according to the divinely given qualifications (I Tim.
3:1-13).
Pastors (elders, bishops) are authorized to oversee and teach the churches
under the Lordship of Jesus Christ (Acts 20:28; Heb 13:7, 17, 24; I Peter
5:1-4). Each church is responsible to follow them as they follow Christ (I Cor.
11:1; I Thess. 1:6; Heb. 13:17) and to provide a livelihood for them that they
might fulfill their ministries (I Tim 5:17, 18; Phil. 4:15-18). Pastors are
equal in the service of God (Matt. 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 (Acts 6:1-6).
F. The Ministry of the Church--Her mission is evangelizing sinners by preaching
the gospel (Matt. 28:19; Luke 24:45-47), baptizing those who believe (Acts
2:41; 8:12, 35-38), and maturing them by instruction (Matt. 28:20; Acts 2:42)
and discipline (Matt. 18:17, 18; I Cor. 5:1-5).
G. The Fellowship of the Church--She is free to associate with true churches in
furthering the faith (II Cor. 11:8; Phil 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; I John 2:19). In association with other churches, each
church is equal and is the sole judge of the measure and method of her
cooperation (Matt. 20:25-28). In all matters of polity and practice, the will
of each church is final (Matt. 18:18).
X. 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 (Matt. 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, and praying
for the welfare of the nation and its leaders (Rom. 13:1-7; I Peter 2:13, 17; I
Tim. 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 (Acts 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.
XI. LAST THINGS
A. Return--Our risen Lord will return personally in bodily form to receive His
redeemed unto Himself. His return is imminent (I Thess. 4:13-17; Rev. 22:20).
B. 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" (John 5:24-29; I Cor. 15:20-28).
C. Judgments--Prior to the eternal state, God will judge everyone to confer
rewards or to consign to punishment (Matt. 25:31-46; II Cor. 5:10; Rev.
20:11-15).
D. Eternal States--Heaven is the eternal home of the redeemed (John 14:1-3)
who, in their glorified bodies (I Cor. 15:51-58), will live in the presence of
God forever (I Thess. 4:17) in ultimate blessing (Rev. 21, 22).
Hell is the place of eternal punishment and suffering (Luke 16:19-31) for the
devil, his angels (Matt. 25:41), and the unredeemed (Rev. 20:10-15).
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