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What We Believe
About . . .
The Scriptures
The Holy Bible was written by men
divinely inspired and is the record of God’s revelation of
Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instructions.
It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth,
without any mixture of error, for its matter. It reveals the
principles by which God judges us; therefore is, and will remain
to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and
the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and
religious opinions should be tried. The criterion by which the
Bible is to be interpreted is Jesus Christ.
God the Father
God as Father reigns with
providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow
of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His
grace. He is all powerful, all loving, and all wise.
God the Son
Christ is the eternal Son of God.
In His incarnation as Jesus Christ he was conceived of the Holy
Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and
did the will of God, taking upon Himself the demands and
necessities of human nature and identifying Himself completely
with mankind yet without sin. He honored the divine law by His
personal obedience, and in His death on the cross He made
provisions for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised
from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His
disciples as the Person who was with them before His
crucifixion. He ascended into heaven is now exalted as the right
hand of God where He is the One Mediator, partaking of the
nature of God and of man, and in whose Person is effected the
reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and
glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive
mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever
present Lord.
God the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of
God. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures.
Through illumination He enables men to understand truth. He
exalts Christ. He convicts of sin, of righteousness and of
judgment. He calls men to the Savior, and effects regeneration.
He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and
bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His
church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption.
Salvation
Salvation involves the redemption
of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus
Christ as Lord and Savior, who by His blood obtained eternal
redemption for the believer.
The Church
A New Testament church of the Lord
Jesus Christ is a local body of baptized believers who are
associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the
gospel, observing the two ordinances of Christ, committed to His
teachings, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested
in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the
ends of the earth.
Ordinances
The ordinances of the church as
set forth in the Holy Scriptures are baptism and the Lord’s
Supper.
Baptism: The ordinance of
baptism shall be by immersion of the professed believer in water
in obedience to the command of Christ.
Lord’s Supper: The
ordinance of the Lord’s Supper shall be faithfully observed.
Baptism and the Lord’s Supper
Christian baptism is the immersion
of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the
believer’s faith in a crucified, buried and risen Savior, the
believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the
resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus.
The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members
of the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of
the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate
His second coming.
Evangelism and Mission
It is the duty and privilege of
every follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus
Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations. The new
birth of man’s spirit by God’s Holy Spirit means the birth of
love for others. Missionary effort on the part of all rest thus
upon a spiritual necessity of the regenerate life, and is
expressly and repeatedly commanded in the teachings of Christ.
Stewardship
God is the source of all
blessings, temporal and spiritual; all that we have and are we
owe to Him. Christians are under obligation to serve Him with
their time, talents, and material possessions; and should
recognize all these as entrusted to them to use for the glory of
God and for helping others.
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