doctrinal statement
1. The Scriptures
I believe the entire Bible, containing the 66 books from Genesis to Revelation, is the Word of God. I believe in verbal, plenary inspiration of the Bible in its original documents. I believe that the Bible was written by holy men of God who spoke as they were moved/controlled by the Holy Spirit; therefore, it is inerrant and the supreme standard of authority by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions shall be tried. I believe that the Canon of Scripture is closed, and that any claims to extra-biblical revelation are contrary to Scripture itself. I am committed to the Bible as being my final authority in all matters of doctrine (faith) and practice. (2 Tim. 3:16, 17; 2 Peter 1:19-21; 2 Peter 1:3; Psalm 119:7-11)
Preservation – God has promised to preserve His Words. (Isa. 40:8; Isa. 55:11; Isa. 59:21; Matt. 5:18; 24:35; Luke 16:17)
I believe that God has preserved his Word through the Hebrew Masoretic text of the Old Testament and the Greek Textus Receptus of the New Testament. I believe that the King James Version of the Bible is the most accurate English translation of these texts. Therefore, the KJV is the only English translation that I use.
2. The Only True God
I believe that there is one and only one living and true God, an infinite Spirit, the creator and supreme ruler of heaven and earth; that He is inexpressibly glorious in holiness, and worthy of all possible honor, worship, confidence, and love; I also believe that in the unity of the Godhead, there are three divine persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three persons are co-equal, co-eternal, and the same in substance and essence but distinct in subsistence. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Exodus 20:2,3; 1 Cor. 8:5,6; Matt. 28:18-20; Rev. 4:11)
1) The Father
I believe in God the Father, who possesses all the attributes and perfections of the Godhead. He is the source of all that the Godhead is and does. He is sovereign and His primary purpose is to bring glory and praise to Himself. He was active in the work of creation and redemption. It was His eternal love that motivated Him to send forth His Son, Jesus Christ to die on the cross for the sins of mankind. (Ps. 33:6; John 3:16; 5:26-27; Eph. 1:9-11; 1 John 4:8-9; 2 Cor. 5:18-19; Rev. 4:9-11)
He is the Father of the nation of Israel. As the Father of Israel this entails a governmental relationship with the nation and not a salvation relationship with individuals in the nation. A salvation relationship with individuals comes through personal repentance and faith. This national relationship is unique to Israel among all the nations of the world. (Ex. 4:22; Amos 3:2)
2) The Son
I believe that Jesus was begotten of the Holy Spirit in a miraculous manner, born of Mary, a virgin woman, as no other man was ever born or can ever be born of woman, and that He is the eternal Son of God. He is Israel’s promised Messiah and the Savior of the world. I believe that Jesus Christ was both fully God and fully man at the same time and that He was totally holy by virtue of His miraculous birth and sinless life. I believe that Jesus Christ voluntarily laid down His life, the Just dying for the unjust, making it possible for man to be saved and that He rose bodily from the dead on the third day after death, and that He ascended into Heaven to the right hand of the Father. I believe that, presently, He is our Intercessor and Advocate, the only true Mediator between God and man. (Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 7:14; Isaiah 53; Matthew 1:18-25; John 2:19-22; 10:17; Acts 1:9-11; 2 Cor. 5:21; Galatians 4:4; Phil. 2:5-8; 1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 1:3, 4:14-15, 7:25, 9:14, 28; 1 Peter 3:18; 1 John 2:1)
3) Holy Spirit
I believe that the Holy Spirit is Deity, a Divine Person of the Godhead. He is not a force, but is truly a Person and is equal with the Father and the Son. I believe that He gives spiritual gifts to every believer at the moment he is regenerated, and that these gifts are to be used for the edification and perfecting of the believers in the Church. I believe that the miracle and sign gifts were given for a unique purpose to the first-century church, but that they ceased at the end of that century. (Acts 5:3-4; Romans 12:3-8; 1 Cor. 12-14; Eph. 4:7-16; Heb. 2:3-4)
3. Satan and the Realm of Fallen Angels
I believe in the personality of Satan, that he is the unholy god of this age, the author of sin, and the open and avowed enemy of God and men. I believe that after he fell, he organized his own kingdom which consists of both evil angels and also unregenerate man. In addition, I believe Satan, and his evil angels, is destined to the judgment of eternal damnation in the lake of fire. (Isaiah 14:12-17; Ezek. 28:11-19; Matt. 4:1-3; 2 Cor. 4:4; 1 John 3:8; John 8:44; 1 Peter 5:8; Rev. 20:10)
4. Creation
I accept the Genesis account of creation and believe that man and all things in the universe came by the direct creation of God and not through any evolutionary process. Marriage was also created by God to be a union of one man and one woman intended to be life-long. Any sexual relationship outside of the bounds of marriage as described in Genesis, is therefore sinful. Moreover, I believe that creation was accomplished recently in six literal, 24 hour, days. (Genesis 1 and 2; Colossians 1:16,17; Hebrews 1:1,2)
5. The Fall of Man
I believe that man was created in unconfirmed holiness under the law of his maker, but by voluntary disobedience, fell from that state (Genesis 3:1-19). The consequence of the fall is that all mankind are now sinners, not only by constraint, but by choice. Therefore, all men are alienated from God in their natural state and are under just condemnation without excuse. (Colossians 1:21; Ephesians 4:17-19; Romans 5:10-19; Romans 1:18-32)
6. Salvation
I believe that the salvation of sinful men and women is the work of God alone and wholly of God’s grace. Because of the fall of Adam, it was necessary for Jesus Christ to freely take upon Himself our nature, yet without sin. He honored the divine law by His perfect obedience, and by His death made a full and vicarious atonement for our sins. This atonement was a voluntary substitution of Himself in the sinner’s place, the just dying for the unjust. Jesus rose from the dead, and is now enthroned in heaven. He is in every way qualified to be a suitable, compassionate, and all-sufficient Savior. The moment a person believes in Christ as Lord and Savior, that person passes from death to eternal life and stands before God clothed in the righteousness of Christ. The true believer is assured of God’s acceptance and love forever because of Christ’s work, and not because of his own efforts. Therefore, salvation is based on the finished work of Christ in bearing the penalty and guilt of our sin. Jesus Christ is the only Savior and apart from Him there is no salvation. Those who do not receive God’s gift of eternal life will perish under the wrath of a Holy God. (Eph. 2:8, 9; Rom. 5:18, 19; Heb. 2:14; Isa. 53:4-7; 1 John 4:10; Gal. 2:20; Acts 4:12; John 3:16-18, 36)
7. The Christian Life
I believe that the Christian life should be characterized by joy, peace, and obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ. The believer is free to be guided by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, and is not bound by the Old Testament (Mosaic) legal code. This liberty in Christ is never to be used as an excuse for sin. The high calling of God in Christ teaches us that we should deny ungodliness and worldly desires and should live sensible, righteous, and Godly lives. The Christian should live in such a way as to positively testify of the new birth he has received in Jesus Christ, and never bring reproach to His glorious name. Furthermore, I believe that all true Christians should be separate from religious apostasy, compromise, and from sinful and worldly practices. (Gal. 5:1,22,23,25; Romans 13:13,14; Titus 2:11, 13; 2 Tim. 3:1-5; 1 John 2:15-17; John 3:14-19)
8. Eternal Security of the Believer
The Bible teaches that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are safe and secure in Christ forever. Therefore, it is impossible for a born again child of God to lose his salvation. (Rom. 8:28-39; John 10:28; 1 Pet. 1:5; 1 John 5:13)
9. The Church
I believe that the church is the body of Christ and had its earthly origin on the day of Pentecost, and is composed of all who truly believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, the only true head of the church, for the saving of their souls. (Matt.16:18; Acts 1:5; Acts 2; Acts 11:15, 16; 1 Cor. 12:13; Col. 1:18; Eph. 4)
I believe that the local church is a congregation of believers associated by a covenant of faith and fellowship in the gospel, observing the ordinances of Christ under the authority of His Word, and exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges given to them by His Word. I believe that each local church, by following scriptural standards, shall determine for itself all matters pertaining to membership, government, discipline, and benevolence. (Acts 2:41, 42; 1 Cor. 11:2; Acts 15:13-18; Acts 20:17,18; 1 Tim. 3:1-7)
The ordinances are an outward rite instituted by Christ to be administered through the church as a visible sign of the saving truth of the Christian faith. Ordinances are to be understood as a symbol of a theological reality rather than as an actual means of bringing grace to the individual. The ordinances are baptism by immersion and the Lord’s Supper which is a commemoration of Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross. (Acts 8:26-39; Romans 6:3-5; Matt. 28:18-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-28)
10. The Second Coming
I believe in the personal, pre-tribulational, and pre-millennial return of Jesus Christ for His church. After His visible return to the earth, Christ will establish a 1,000 year (millennial) kingdom. This kingdom is the fulfillment of the Abrahamic, Land, Davidic, and New Covenants. This kingdom will be marked by the personal reign of Jesus Christ and it will be a time of peace equity, justice, prosperity, and glory. (1 Thess. 4:13-l8; Acts 1:9-11; Zech. 14:4-11; Rev. 20:1-6; Matt. 24:29-31; Isa. 11:2-5)
11. Israel
I believe that God called a people to Himself who are the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (the Jewish people); that God has made four unconditional covenants (Abrahamic, Land, Davidic, and New) with this elect nation that remain unfulfilled; that God intends to fulfill all His promises to Israel in a literal way just as His warnings and judgments were fulfilled in a literal way; that in Israel’s history of unbelief there has always been a believing remnant according to the election of grace; that there will be a national regeneration of Israel at which time all of the provisions of the unconditional covenants will be fulfilled, including the seed, land, and blessing aspects. I believe that Israel is distinct from the church and central to God’s plan, past, present, and future. (Gen. 12:1-3, Deut. 30:1-10, Psalm 89, Psalm 105:6-20, Jer. 31:31-34, Rom. 11)
12. The Eternal State
At death, the believer immediately goes to be with Christ. He is absent from the material body, but face to face with the Lord, and there in conscious joy, he awaits the resurrection of the body. The believer will enjoy eternal bliss in the presence of God forever. (Philippians 1:21-23; 2 Cor. 5:6-8; 1 Cor. 15:51,52; 1 Thess. 4:15-18; Rev. 20:6)
At death, unbelievers immediately go into conscious misery until the second resurrection when they will be reunited with their resurrected bodies to appear before Christ at the great white throne judgment. The unbeliever will not be annihilated, but will suffer everlasting conscious punishment in the Lake of Fire. (Luke 16:19-26; Rev. 20:15; Matt. 25:41-46; 2 Thess. 1:7-9)
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