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STATEMENT OF FAITH One true and living God, the Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer, and Ruler of all things. He is infinite, eternal, unchangeable, and is revealed to us as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God the Father: God, as Father, reigns over His entire universe with providential care. He is all-powerful, all loving, and all knowing, and all wise. He is fatherly in attitude toward all men but is Father, indeed, to those who have become children of God through Jesus Christ, who will deliver them into the Father’s hands. (Genesis 1:1; 1 Chronicles 29:10; Jeremiah 10:10; Matthew 6:9; Acts 1:7; Romans 8:14-15; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 1 Corinthians 15:24; Ephesians 4:6). God the Son: We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God, having been conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man. This redemption He accomplished by voluntarily giving Himself as a sinless, substitutionary sacrifice on the cross, thereby satisfying God’s righteous judgment against sin. After substantiating the accomplishment of that redemption and justification by His bodily resurrection from the grave, He ascended to the right hand of His Father, where He intercedes on behalf of those who trust Him. (Luke 1:34-35; John 1:1,2,14,18; Romans 3:24-26,8:34) God the Holy Spirit: We believe that the Holy Spirit is the Divine Person who convicts the world of sin (righteous-ness and judgment), that He alone brings new life to those who are spiritually dead; that He baptizes (or places) all believers into the one true Church, which is the Body of Christ; that He indwells them permanently, seals them unto the day of final redemption, bestows spiritual gifts upon them, fills (controls) those who are yielding to Him. Every believer is called to life so in the power of the indwelling Spirit that he will not fulfill the lust of the flesh but will bear fruit to the glory of God. (John 3:3-8; 14:16-17; 16:7-11; 1 Corinthians 12:7-11,13; Ephesians 4:30; 5:18). Creation: We believe that God created the heavens and the earth, including all life, by direct act and will. (Genesis 1:1; John 1:3; Colossians 1:16-17) Man: We believe that man was created directly by and in the image of God. Although man was created in the image of God, he fell into sin and is lost. This is true of all men, except a man be born again by the Holy Spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (Genesis 1:26-27; John 3:3; Romans 3:10,23) Satan: We believe that Satan is the author of sin and confusion, and reason for the fall of man, and is destined to the judgment of an eternal punishment in the lake of fire. (Matthew 4:1-3; Acts 5:3; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Revelation 20:10) Atonement for Sin: We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures as a substitutionary sacrifice and that all who believe on Him are redeemed by His shed blood. We believe in the resurrection of the crucified body of our Lord Jesus Christ and in His ascension into heaven; He is our High Priest and Advocate. (John 1:1-3;14; 3:1-7; Hebrews 10:4-14; 1 John 2:2) Baptism and the Lord’s Supper: We believe the Scriptures teach that Christian baptism is the immersion in water of a believer, into the name of the Father, and Son, and Holy Ghost; to show forth in a solemn and beautiful emblem our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior, with its effect, in our death to sin and resurrection to a new life; that it is prerequisite to the privileges of a church relation; and to the Lord’s Supper, in which the members of the church, by the sacred use of bread and wine, are to commemorate together the dying love of Christ; receded always by solemn self-examination. (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:16; John 3:5; Acts 2:38; Acts 18:18; 1 Corinthians 11:23-32) Sanctification: We believe the Scriptures teach that Sanctification is the process by which, according to the will of God, we are made partakers of His holiness; that it is a progressive work; that it is begun in regeneration; and that it is carried on in the hearts of believers by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, the Healer and Comforter, in the continual use of the appointed means especially the Word of God, self-examination, self-denial, watchfulness, and prayer. (John 17:17; 1 Corinthians 6:11; Ephesians 1:4; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4; 5:23; 2 Thessalonians 2:13) The Gospel Church: We believe the Scriptures teach that a visible church of Christ is a congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the Gospel; observing the ordinances of Christ; government by His laws; and exercising gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word; that its only scriptural officers are Bishops or Pastor, and Deacons, whose qualifications, claims and duties are defined in the Epistles of Timothy and Titus. The Christian Sabbath: We believe the Scriptures teach that the first day of the week is the Lord’s Day, or Christian Sabbath, and is to be kept sacred for religious purposes, by abstaining from all secular labor and sinful recreations, by the devout observances of all means of grace, both private and public, and by preparation for the rest that remaineth for the people of God. The World to Come: We believe that the Scriptures teach that the end of the world is approaching; that at the last day, Christ will descend from heaven, and raise the dead from the grave for final retribution; that a solemn separation will then take place; that the wicked will be adjudged to endless punishment, and the righteous to endless joy; and that this judgement will fix forever the final state of men in heaven or hell, on principles of righteousness. |
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