Church Doctrine
I. CHURCH COVENANT
II. DOCTRINAL STATEMENT
A. THE GODHEAD
B. THE PERSON AND WORK OF JESUS CHRIST
C. THE PERSON AND WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
D. THE SCRIPTURES
E. MAN
F. SALVATION
G. THE CHURCH
H. BAPTISM
I. THE LORD’S SUPPER
J. THE ETERNAL SECURITY AND THE ASSURANCE OF BELIEVERS
K. RAPTURE, RETURN OF CHRIST, AND ETERNAL STATE
L. THE PERSONALITY OF SATAN
M. AUTHORITY OF DOCTRINAL STATEMENT
Having been led, as we believe, by the Spirit of God 1 , to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior 2 and, on the profession of our faith 3 , having been scripturally baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit 4 , we do now, in the presence of God, His holy angels, and this local assembly, most solemnly and joyfully enter into covenant with one another as one body in Christ 5 . We promise, therefore, by the aid of the Holy Spirit 6 : to walk together in Christian love 7 ; to strive for the advancement of this church in knowledge, holiness, and spirituality; to sustain its worship, ordinances, discipline, and doctrines; to give it a sacred preeminence over all institutions of human origin; to contribute cheerfully and regularly 8 to the sup-port and expense of the ministries of this local church, which includes spreading the Gospel to all nations. We will continue to watch over one another in brotherly love 9 , remember each other in prayer, aid each other in sick-ness and distress, share one another’s burden 10 , speak courteously 11 , be slow to take offense 12 and always be ready for reconciliation, and be mindful of the teachings of our Savior. Believing these things to be God’s standard, we promise to maintain family and private devotions 13 , scripturally train our children 14 , seek the salvation of our families and acquaintances 15 , walk honestly in the world 16 , be just and faithful in our dealing with others, and maintain control over any sub-stance or habit. We further promise to abstain from all forms of activity that dishonor our Lord Jesus Christ: gossiping, slandering, excessive anger, intoxicating drinks, illegal drugs, obscene or pornographic material, as well as the sale of same as an occupation.17 We agree that if we leave this local church we will, as soon as possible, unite with some other local church of like faith and practice, where we can continue to apply the principles of God’s Word.18
DOCTRINAL STATEMENT
A. THE GODHEAD
We believe in one God, the Creator, Preserver and Ruler of all things, eternally existing in three persons: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who are co-eternal in being, co-equal in nature, co-equal in power and glory, each with distinct 19
1. Eternally existing means without beginning or end. He has always existed and ever shall exist.20
2. Co-eternal in being means that just as God the Father is eternal, without beginning or end, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are also eternal.21 Therefore, all three persons of the Trinity (Godhead) are eternal.
3. Co-equal in nature means that all three persons of the Godhead have the same nature or character. For example, the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit are change-less.22 The same is true of other attributes of God such as holiness, love, etc.
4. Co-equal in power means that all three persons of the Godhead are omnipotent (all powerful).23
B. THE PERSON AND WORK OF JESUS CHRIST
1. We believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, be-came man without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men. He was both true God and true man who lived a sinless life on earth.24
2. We believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross at Calvary as the only satisfactory, substitutionary sacrifice for sinners.25
a) Satisfactory - His death on the cross fulfilled the righteous demands of God.26
b) Substitutionary - He died in our place. We deserve death and hell, but on the cross Jesus suf-fered what we deserve.27
c) Sacrifice - In the Old Testament the priest offered animal sacrifices for sins. Jesus Christ was God’s once-for-all offering for our sins.28
3. We believe in the literal, bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ, Who was buried in and arose from the tomb.29
4. We believe that Jesus Christ ascended into heaven and is now exalted at God’s right hand as our high priest, advocate, and mediator.30
5. We believe that Jesus Christ is coming again in the clouds for His Saints (The Rapture). This is the believer’s “blessed hope” - the personal, bodily, pretribulational, premillennial, and imminent return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.31
6. We believe that Jesus Christ will come with His saints to set up His millennial (1000 years) kingdom on earth following the tribulation (The Second Coming).32
C. THE PERSON AND WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
1. We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity, equal with the Father and the Son; that He convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of 33
2. We believe that He is the Divine Teacher who guides believers into all truth and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with (controlled by) the Spirit.34
3. We believe the Holy Spirit gives to each believer a gift or gifts for the edifying of the body of Christ, the Church.35
4. We believe God heals in answer to prayer. We do not believe in self-proclaimed healers or in the present day practice of speaking in tongues.36
D. THE SCRIPTURES
We believe in the verbal and plenary inspiration of the Old and New Testaments that are the completed Word of God. They are the final authority for faith and life, and inerrant in the original autographs.37
1. Verbal means that EVERY WORD of the original scriptures is inspired, not just the thoughts, since thoughts are conveyed only by words.38
2. Plenary means ALL Scripture is EQUALLY inspired. There are no degrees of inspiration.39
3. Inspiration literally means “God breathed.” Inspiration is the result of the Holy Spirit working on, in, or through the prophets, apostles and writers which enabled them to preach and write down in a trustworthy manner the truth they received from God.40
4. Inerrant means exempt from error, free from mistake, infallible.
E. MAN
We believe that God created man in His image and in a state of innocence, but that in Adam’s sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God. Man is totally depraved, being born in sin and under the condemnation of God, and is utterly unable to remedy his lost condition. Without Christ, man is a sinner by both nature and practice before God.41
F. SALVATION
We believe that all who receive by faith the Lord Jesus Christ are born again of the Holy Spirit and are thereby children of God and are eternally saved.42
G. THE CHURCH
We believe the Church is the spiritual body and bride of the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that a New Testament church is a body of baptized believers assembled for worship, service, and the spread of the Gospel in all the world.
H. BAPTISM
We believe that Christian baptism by immersion of the believer in water, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, is the Biblical mode of baptism. It has no saving power, but rather testifies to the believer’s faith in and identification with the crucified, buried, and risen Savior, Jesus Christ.43
I. THE LORD’S SUPPER
We believe that the Lord’s Supper is a memorial of the death of Christ and that only those who have been saved through faith in His atoning blood and are walking in obedient fellowship with Him ought to partake of it. We do not believe in closed communion.44
J. THE ETERNAL SECURITY AND THE ASSURANCE OF BELIEVERS
We believe that all believers are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever. We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation.45
K. RAPTURE, RETURN OF CHRIST, AND ETERNAL STATE46
1. We believe in the personal, physical, imminent, pretribulational coming of Jesus for His saints.
2. We believe in His pre-millennial return to the earth with His saints to rule the nations in peace for one thousand years.
3. We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men; the saved to eternal life and the unsaved to judgment and ever-lasting punishment.
4. We believe that the souls of the unbelievers at death descend immediately into hades where they are kept under punishment until the great white throne judgment, and then cast into the lake of fire.
5. We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord where they await the first resurrection when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord.
L. THE PERSONALITY OF SATAN
We believe in the personality of Satan, that he is the deceiver, the unholy god of this age, and ruler of all the powers of darkness, and is destined to the judgment of an eternal justice in the lake of fire.47
M. AUTHORITY OF DOCTRINAL STATEMENT
This Doctrinal Statement does not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible is the sole and final source of all that we believe. We do believe, however, that the foregoing Doctrinal Statement accurately represents the teachings of the Bible, and therefore, is binding upon all members.
FOOTNOTES
1 Romans 8:14
2 John 1:12
3 Romans 10:9
4 Matthew 28:19
5 I Corinthians 12:12,13
6 John 14:26;16:13
7 Ephesians 5:1,2; I Thessalonians 4:9
8 I Corinthians 16:2; II Corinthians 9:7
9 Romans12:10; Philippians 2:3,4
10 Galatians 6:2
11 Titus 3:2
12 Romans 12:19
13 Deut. 11:18-20
14 Ephesians 6:4
15 Mark 5:19
16 Matthew 5:16; Ephesians 5:15
17 I Corinthians 6:9-10
18 Acts 18:27,28; Romans 16:1,2; I Corinthians 15:58; Colossians 3:23
19 Genesis 1:1-2, 26, 27; Deuteronomy 6:4; John 1:1-2,14; 10:30; I John 5:7
20 Psalms 90:2
21 John 1:1-2; Hebrews 9:14
22 compare James 1:17 and Hebrews 13:8
23 compare Romans 15:19 and II Corinthians 12:9, Hebrews 1:3; Revelation 1:8
24 Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:20-25; John 1:14-18; Galatians 4:4; Colossians 1:13-19
25 Romans 3:24-25; I Peter 2:24
26 I Peter 2:24
27 Matthew 20:28; II Corinthians 5:21
28 Hebrews 10:14
29 Matthew 27:57-60, 28:5-6; I Corinthians 15:3-4
30 I Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 4:14, 10:12; I Peter 3:22; I John 2:1
31 I Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 3:10; II Thessalonians 2; John 14:1-3; Matthew 24:44
32 Matthew 25:31; Revelation 20:1-6
33 John 3:5-6, 16:7-15; Romans 8:9; I Corinthians 12:12-14; II Corinthians 1:22, 3:6; Ephesians 1:13-14, 4:30
34 John 16:13; I John 2:20,27; Ephesians 5:18
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