DOCTRINE & PRINCIPLES
WE BELIEVE...
1. Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God and the only Savior from sin.
2. That Jesus Christ is the Great Physician and the Healer of the body and soul through the Blood Atonement.
3. That Jesus Christ is the Baptizer with the Holy Ghost today, just as He was on the day of Pentecost.
4. That Jesus Christ is the soon coming King, coming back to earth again as the only hope for a dying world.
5. That Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.
CREEDAL STATEMENTS
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In the verbal inspiration of the original scriptures;
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In the absolute trinity of the eternal Godhead;
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In the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ;
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In the personality and deity of the Holy Spirit;
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In the reality and personality of Satan (the devil);
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In the natural depravity of the human race;
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In the substitutionary atonement through Jesus Christ;
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In the propitiation for sin, only through the Blood of Christ;
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In full salvation by grace, through faith, and not of works;
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In divine healing through the atonement by the laying on of hands and prayer;
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In the personal baptism of the Holy Spirit;
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In the necessity of the new birth (born again);
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In water baptism by immersion at an age of accountability;
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In the true church composed of blood-washed believers;
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In the evangelism of the heathen and the nations of the world;
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In obedience to civil Government;
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In divorce only on New Testament scriptural grounds;
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In Church Government, loyalty and obedience to those in authority over us in the Lord;
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In tithing as God's financial plan;
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In the restitution for past wrongs whenever possible;
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In God's laws and principles outlined in the Bible as the final authority in Christian conduct;
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In the open table at the Lord's Supper;
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In the maintenance of good works and holy living;
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In Christian modesty in the matter of dress and apparel;
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In a literal heaven and life everlasting for all true believers;
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In everlasting punishment for the impenitent;
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In the personal, literal, bodily, premillennial coming of Jesus Christ;
What we believe ABOUT THE BIBLE:
The Holy Bible was written by men, divinely inspired, and is God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. The Bible is God's message to man, revealing the "mind of the Lord", beyond what can be "clearly understood from the creation", and "things able to make one wise unto salvation through faith". The Bible, neither simple history nor textbook, is a supernatural revelation of the creator to his creation.
Exodus 24:4; Romans 1:20, 11:33-34, 15:4, 16:25-26; 2 Timothy 3:15-17, 4:12
What we believe ABOUT GOD:
God is the creator, sustainer, and ruler of the universe. He is eternally known in three persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
Genesis 1:1, 2:7; Psalm 19:1-3; Jeremiah 10:10;
Mark 1:9-11
What we believe ABOUT JESUS:
Jesus is the eternal Son of God. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life among mankind. He offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice on the cross for our sins. He rose to life again on the third day and has ascended into heaven. One day, He will return unexpectedly in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission.
Isaiah 52; John 1:1-18, 29; Acts 1: 9-11; 1 Thessalonians 5: 1-9; Titus 2:13
What we believe ABOUT THE HOLY GHOST:
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. He inspired holy men of old to write the Bible. Through illumination, He enables mankind to understand the truth. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which we serve God through His church. He proceeds from the Father and the Son and is involved in the creation, the new creation and raising Jesus from the dead.
John 3:5, 14:16-17; Acts 1:8, 2:1-4 ,38; Romans 1:4, 8:11; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 5:18-19; 1 Thessalonians 5:19; Revelation 22:17
What we believe ABOUT MANKIND:
Mankind is the crowning work of God's creation, made in His own image. By man's own free choice he sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship again.
Genesis 1:26-30, Genesis 3; Psalms 8:3-6; 32:1-5; Romans 1:19-32; 3:10; 7:14-25; Ephesians 2: 1-22
What we believe ABOUT SALVATION:
Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior through repentance and faith. Salvation is a gift from God to the man that transforms his or her former life into a new life in Christ.
The Doctrine of Salvation is:
Man, the creation of God, who is good, intelligent, possessing conscience, self-will, dominion, and responsibility is degenerate (fallen) and estranged (separated) from God. The story of man's sin, guilt, shame, and God's redeeming grace are the sum and substance of the Bible. Sin made man universally vulnerable to sickness, sorrow, and death.
Matthew 27:22-28; John 3:3-21, 36: Acts 4:12; Romans 10:9-10, 13
What we believe ABOUT THE CHURCH:
The church is a local expression of the Body of Christ. It is an indigenous congregation of believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The purpose of the church is the fulfillment of the Great Commandment and the Great Commission to 'Go into all the world and...make disciples of all nations'.
Matthew 16:1-19; 22: 34-40; 28: 19-20; Acts 2: 41-42, 47: Ephesians 3: 8-11, 21; Colossians 1:18; 1 Peter 5:1-4; Revelation 21: 2-3