Basic Beliefs: (Taken from
The Holy Bible, consisting of both Old and New
Testaments, is the inspired Word of God, without error in the original
writings, was written by men supernaturally inspired and therefore is the only
complete and final revelation of the will of God to man, and the supreme
standard by which all human conduct, beliefs and opinions should be tried.
The Holy Bible is the collection of sixty-six books from
Genesis to Revelation. The Bible does not only contain and convey the Word of
God, but is the very Word of God.
Inspiration means that the books of the Bible were written
by holy men of old, as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, in such a definite
way that their writings were supernaturally and verbally inspired and free from
error, as no other writings have ever been or ever will be inspired.
Psalm
119:89 Isaiah
40:8 Colossians
3:16
Psalm
119:105 John 5:39 II Timothy
3:16-17
Psalm
119:130 John 17:17 Hebrews 4:12
Psalm
119:160 Romans 15:4 I Peter 1:20-21
Proverbs
30:5-6 Ephesians 6:17 I Peter 1:25
1.2 The One True God.
There is one, and only one, living and true God, an infinitely
intelligent Spirit, the Maker and Supreme Ruler of heaven and earth;
inexpressibly glorious in holiness, and worthy of all possible honor,
confidence and love. In the unity of the Godhead there are three persons, the
Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, equal in every aspect, and executing
distinct but harmonious roles in the great work of redemption.
Exodus
20:2-3 John 10:30 II Corinthians
13:14
Psalm 83:18 John 15:26 Ephesians 4:6
Psalm 90:2 John 17:5 Philippians 2:5-6
Psalm 147:5 Romans 11:33 I Timothy 1:17
John 4:24 I Corinthians 8:6 I John 5:7
1.3 Jesus
Christ.
Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is co-equal with the Father, and in fact
He is God. He has always been God, and will always be God. He came to earth in
the form of a man two thousand years ago. He was born of a virgin, lived a
sinless life, offered Himself as our sacrifice for sin, and rose from the dead.
He ascended to Heaven, where He makes intercession for Christians on a daily
basis. He will return someday to earth, first in the air, to "rapture, or
catch away" those who are saved. Then, He will return as King of Kings and
Lord of Lords, to rule over the earth.
Matthew
1:21-23 I Corinthians
15:3 Hebrews 7:25-26
Luke
1:34-35 Philippians
2:5-11 Hebrews 9:28
John
1:1-4, 14 Colossians
1:13-20 I
Peter 2:24
John
10:30 Colossians
3:1 I Peter 3:18
Romans
5:8-9 I
Thessalonians 4:13-17 I John 2:1
1.4 Holy
Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity; equal
with God the Father and God the Son and is of the same nature. He was active in the creation
of the world. He convicts people of their sin and invites unbelievers to accept
Christ as Savior. He restrains Satan and his demons until God’s purpose is fulfilled.
He convicts of sin, of judgment and of righteousness; and He bears witness to
the truth of the Gospel in preaching and testimony. He is the Agent in the New
Birth and He
seals, empowers, guides, teaches, witnesses, sanctifies and helps the believer.
Genesis
1:1-3 John 16:8-13 I Corinthians 3:16
Luke 1:35 Acts 1:8 Ephesians
1:13-14
John 1:33 Romans 8:9 II Thess. 2:13
John
14:16-17 Romans 8:16 Hebrews 9:14
John 14:26 Romans 8:26-27 I John 3:4
Every believer is given the Holy
Spirit at the time of their salvation. The Holy Spirit also gives each believer
a spiritual gift for the purpose of serving one another. Some spiritual gifts,
such as speaking in tongues, were temporary in nature and ceased as the Bible
was completed. As a non-charismatic
church, we do not practice speaking in tongues, neither do we receive special
revelation from God equal to Scripture, or believe that the gift of healing
resides in people as it did during the days of the Apostles. God will
ultimately deliver us from all sickness and death in heaven, and may choose to
answer the prayer of believers for physical healing in this lifetime.
Acts
2:1-13 I
Corinthians 12:29-31 I
Corinthians 14:22
Acts
5:12-14 I
Corinthians 13:1 I
Corinthians 14:33
Romans
8:9 I
Corinthians 13:8-13 Ephesians
4:7-8
Romans
12:3-8 I Corinthians
14:1-5 Ephesians 4:30-31
I
Corinthians 12:4-11 I
Corinthians 14:7-12 I Peter
4:10-11
I
Corinthians 12:13 I
Corinthians 14:18-19 Revelation 21:4
1.5 Satan.
Satan was once holy, and enjoyed heavenly honors; but
through pride and ambition to be as God, he sinned and one third of the angels
followed him in rebellion. He is now the prince of the power of the air, and
the unholy god of this world. He is the
source of all temptation, the enemy of God, the accuser of the saints, the
author of all false religions, and the instigator of all the powers of darkness. He
is destined to final defeat at the hands of Jesus Christ, and to the judgment
of an eternal justice in hell, a place prepared for him and his angels.
Genesis
3:1-5, 15 John 8:44 I John 3:8
Isaiah
14:12-15 II
Corinthians 11:13-15 I John 4:3
Ezekiel
28:14-17 Ephesians 2:2 Revelation 12:7-10
Matthew
4:1-3 Ephesians
6:12-13 Revelation 20:1-3
Matthew
25:41 I Peter 5:8 Revelation 20:10
1.6 Creation.
Genesis gives the account of how God created the universe. The
Genesis account of creation is to be accepted literally, and not allegorically
or figuratively. Man’s creation was not a matter of evolution or evolutionary
changes of species, or development through long periods of time from lower to
higher forms. All animal and vegetable life was made directly, and God’s law
established that
all life would bring forth only “after their kind”. (Genesis 1:11, 12, 21, 24)
Genesis 1:1 Exodus 20:11 Acts 17:23-26
Genesis
1:11 Nehemiah 9:6 Romans 1:20
Genesis
1:24 Psalm 33:6 Colossians 1:16-17
Genesis
1:26-27 John 1:3 Hebrews 11:3
Genesis
2:21-23 Acts 4:24 Revelation 10:6
1.7 The Fall of
Men and women were created in the image of God, but by Adam
and Eve’s own choices they fell from their sinless condition. The consequence
of their sin
is that we are all born with a sin nature and are now sinners by choice; and
therefore under God’s judgment without defense or excuse.
Genesis
1:27 Romans 1:28 Romans 5:19
Genesis
3:6, 24 Romans 3:10-19 Romans 6:23
John
3:16-18 Romans
3:32 Ephesians
2:1, 3
Romans 1:18 Romans 5:12 Hebrews 9:27
Romans 1:20 Romans 5:17 Revelation 20:11-15
1.8 Eternity.
When God created Adam and Eve, He created them to live forever. Their
sin separated them from God and brought about death. They immediately died
spiritually, and began to die physically. Adam and Eve's soul, however, did not
die. Our souls were created to live forever. At the time of our death, we will
either exist eternally with God or apart from God. Those who accept Christ as
Savior will live forever with God in heaven. Everyone who has rejected Christ
as Savior will live forever separated from God in hell.
Genesis
1:26 John 3:36 Romans 5:12
Ecclesiastes
12:7 John 14:1-3 Romans 6:23
Matthew
25:46 Romans 2:8-9 Colossians 3:5-6
John
1:12 Romans
5:1 Hebrews 9:27
John
3:15-18 Romans
5:8-9 Revelation
20:11-15
1.9 Salvation.
Every person has sinned. Our sin, which we willfully commit, separates
us from a holy and righteous God. Our salvation, or how our sins are forgiven,
is a free gift from God. God, taking on the human form of Jesus Christ, died on
the cross and resurrected from the dead, making it possible for our sin to be
forgiven. We can never do anything on our own that will purchase our salvation.
Jesus died on the cross to take our place and pay the price we owe for our
sins. It is only by faith in Jesus Christ, asking Him to forgive us of our
sins, and become the Lord of our lives, that we can be saved.
John
1:12-13 Acts
16:30-33 II
Corinthians 5:17
John
3:3 Romans
5:1 II
Corinthians 5:19
John
3:6-8 Romans
5:8-9 Ephesians
2:8-9
John
3:16-18 Romans
6:23 Colossians
2:13
Acts
4:12 Romans
10:9-13 Titus 3:5
1.10 God’s Grace.
It is by God’s grace that salvation
is possible. The blessings of salvation are made free to everyone by the Gospel.
It is the responsibility of everyone to accept Christ by a sincere, repentant faith. Nothing
prevents the salvation of the greatest sinner on earth but his own sinfulness, pride, and
voluntary rejection of the Gospel.
Isaiah 55:1 Romans 10:13 Ephesians 2:8-9
Isaiah 55:6-7 I Corinthians 15:10 I Timothy 1:13-15
John 3:36 II Corinthians 8:9 Titus 1:2
John 5:40 II Corinthians 12:9 Titus 2:11
John 6:37 Ephesians 2:4-5 Revelation 22:21
1.11 Security of
the Believer.
The Bible clearly teaches that there is nothing that we can do to earn
our salvation. Eternal life is given to us by God through Jesus Christ. Just as we cannot go back in time and be born
into someone else's family, we cannot undo our spiritual birth. Salvation is
offered and maintained by the grace and power of God, not by our own
self-efforts as Christians. Christ's sacrifice on the cross covered all of our
sins, those in the past, those we commit in the present, and those we are going
to commit in the future. Our sin will affect our day to day closeness with God,
but our sin does not affect, or end our salvation. As a loving Father, God does
discipline His children for their disobedience so that each of us may live holy
lives.
John 5:24 Romans 8:1 Hebrews 6:19-20
John 6:37-40 Romans 8:31-34 Hebrews 7:25-27
John
10:27-30 Ephesians 1:13-14 I Peter
1:3-5
John
17:20-24 Philippians
1:6 I John 2:1-2
Romans 5:1-11 II Timothy 1:12 I
John 5:11-13
1.12 Missions.
God gave the church its purpose in the Great Commission
(Matthew 28:18-20) to proclaim the Gospel to all nations, so that there may be
a great multitude from every nation, tribe, ethnic group, and language who
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. As ambassadors for Christ, we are to use all
available means to go ourselves and provide prayer and financial support to
those who are going to the entire world with the Gospel.
Psalm 2:8 Mark 16:15 Acts 26:18
Psalm 22:27 Luke 24:46-48 Romans 10:10-17
Psalm 96:3 John 20:21 II Corinthians 5:20
Matthew
24:14 Acts 1:8 Philippians
2:10-11
Matthew
28:19-20 Acts 16:9 Revelation 15:4
1.13 The Resurrection and the Return of Christ.
Christ’s body rose physically from
the grave on the third day, just as He said He would. He spent forty days
walking with His disciples, showing Himself to be alive to over five hundred
(500) at one time, and giving last instructions to those who were closest to
Him. While they watched, He ascended into heaven. Angels gave this promise, “Men of
Christ will return for all believers
prior to the seven years of tribulation which shall come upon the earth. After the tribulation, Christ will return
with all believers to set up His government upon the earth, reigning for 1000
years. Jesus could come back to earth at any time and that this “Blessed Hope” has
a vital bearing on the personal life and service of the believer.
Matthew 28:6-7 Acts 1:9,11
I Thess. 4:13-18 Mark 13:33–37 I Corinthians 15:4-8 I Timothy 2:5
Luke 24:2, 4-6 I Corinthians 15:25,
42-44 Titus 2:11–14
John 14:3 I Corinthians 15:51-53 Hebrews 2:17
John 20:27 Philippians
3:20-21 Revelation 20:1-4, 6
1.14 Church.
The local New Testament church is a visible, local assembly of people,
made up of saved individuals who have been scripturally baptized and united in
doctrine, direction, and love for one another. The church's authority comes
from Jesus Christ, as stated in Matthew 16:18.
Biblical church doctrine, or what a church believes, allows a church to
have the proper Biblical authority as an authentic New Testament Church. It is
God's will for each Christian to have a church home of which they are a member.
Matthew 16:16-18 I Corinthians 6:1-3 Ephesians 2:19
Matthew 28:18-20 I
Corinthians 12:8, 11 Ephesians
5:23-24
Acts 2:41-47 I Corinthians 12:25-27 Colossians 1:18
Acts 14:23 I Corinthians 16:1-2 Hebrews10:2-25
I Corinthians 1:10 Ephesians 1:22-23 I Peter 5:1-4
1.15 Church
Government.
Jesus is the Lord and the Head of
the Church, and that every local church has the right under Christ to decide
and govern its own affairs.
Matthew
16:16-18 I Corinthians 6:1-5 I Timothy 5:17-19
Matthew
18:15-17 Ephesians 5:23-32 Hebrews 13:7
Acts
6:1-7 Colossians
1:18 Hebrews 13:17
Acts
20:28 I
Timothy 3:1-13 I Peter
5:1-4
1.16 Ordinances of
the Church: Baptism and the
Lord’s Supper.
The Church has two ordinances to be followed and
practiced until Christ returns. These two ordinances are Baptism and the Lord's
Supper. Both ordinances are symbolic in nature, and do not have any power
within themselves to forgive sin.
a. Baptism.
Baptism is the first act of obedience to the Lordship of
Christ for every believer. It is an outward symbol of your inward commitment
and illustrates Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. Scriptural baptism is
by immersion only and is a prerequisite to membership in our local church.
Matthew
3:1-12 Acts 2:41 Acts 10:47-48
Matthew
28:19-20 Acts 8:36-38 I Peter
3:21
b. The Lord's Supper.
The Lord's Supper is also an act of obedience to the
Lordship of Christ for every Scripturally baptized
believer. It is to be administered with bread that does not have any yeast in
it and grape juice that does not have any alcohol content. Both the bread and
the juice are symbolic of Christ's sinlessness and atonement
for our sins. As often as we partake of the Lord's Supper, it will be with
solemn respect and remembrance of the Lord.
Exodus
12:7,13 I
Corin 11:21 Hebrews
9:22-28
Isaiah
53 I Corin 11:23-28 Hebrews
10:9-10
Luke
22:7-20 I Thess 4:15-18 I
Peter 1:18-19
All Christians, as managers of everything that God has given to them, are
obligated to support their local church financially. God has established the
tithe (10% of the gross income) as a basis for giving. Every Christian should
also give other offerings sacrificially and cheerfully to the support of the
church, to provide for missionary support to take the Gospel around the world,
and to meet the needs of people, both within the church and in the community. Those
who give relinquish all rights to direct the use of the tithe or offerings once
the gift has been made. Special gifts above the tithe can be directed to
special projects or needs upon approval of the Pastor.
Genesis
14:20 Matthew 6:33 II Corinthians 8:5
Proverbs
3:9-10 Luke 6:38 II Corinthians
9:6-7
Proverbs
11:25 Acts 4:34-37 Galatians 6:6-7
Malachi
3:8-10 I Corinthians
16:2 I John 3:17
1.18 Civil
Government.
Civil government is of Divine appointment, for the interests
and good order of human society. Governmental officials are to be prayed for; and to be conscientiously
honored and obeyed. However, where the laws of the civil government conflict
with clear Biblical teaching, it is our duty as Christians first, to obey the
Scripture.
Exodus 18:21-22 Daniel 3:17-18 Acts 23:5
Psalm 72:11 Matthew 22:21 Romans 13:1-7
Proverbs 24:21 Acts 4:19-20 Titus 3:1
Ecclesiastes 8:2 Acts 5:29 I Peter 2:13,
14, 17
1.19 Marriage.
God’s design for marriage is for one man to be
married to one woman for one lifetime. God gives reluctant permission for
divorce and subsequent remarriage for the innocent party in the case of
unrepentant sexual sin or abandonment by an unbelieving spouse.
Genesis 1:27-28 Malachi
2:14-16 Ephesians
5:22-33
Genesis 2:18-24 Matthew 19:3-9 Colossians 3:19
Proverbs 18:22 I Corinthians 7:10-16 Hebrews 13:4
1:20 Human Sexuality.
God has commanded that no sexual activity be engaged in
outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. Any form of homosexuality,
lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and
pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex. Attempting to alter one’s gender by surgery
or appearance violates God’s Word.
Genesis 2:24 Leviticus
18:1-30 Ephesians 5:3
Genesis 19:5, 13 Romans 1:26-29 Colossians 3:5
Genesis 26:8-9 I Corinthians 5:1-13 I Thess 4:1-8
Exodus
20:14 I Corinthians
6:9 Hebrews 13:4
1.21 Sanctity of
Life.
All human life, from the time of
conception until God’s timing of death is sacred.
Psalm 51:5 Psalm 139:14-16 Isaiah
44:24
Psalm
71:6 Ecclesiastes
3:2 Isaiah 49:1, 5
Psalm
95:6 Ecclesiastes
12:7 Luke 1:44
Psalm
100:3 Jeremiah
1:5 I Corinthians
11:12
1.22 Civil
Lawsuits between Believers.