DECLARATION OF
FAITH
This church holds the following statement of faith as being a summary
of Christian Doctrines whose authority consists only in its agreement
with the Word of God.
Scriptures: We
believe that the Holy Bible, consisting of the Old Testament and the
New Testament Scriptures, was written by men divinely inspired and is a
perfect treasure of Heavenly instruction; that it has God for its
Author, salvation for its end, and truth without mixture of error for
its matter; that it reveals the principles by which God will judge us
and therefore is and shall remain to the end of the world, the true
center of Christian union and the supreme standard by which all human
conduct, creeds and opinions should be tried. We reject all modern
versions and insist on the KING JAMES VERSION 1611 being used in all
services. (2nd Tim. 3:16-17, 1st Thes. 5:21)
God:
We believe in the triune God, the Creator, Preserver and ruler of all
things; eternally existing in three persons, the Father, the Son and
the Holy Ghost; these three are one God, having precisely the same
nature, attributes and perfections. (Gen. 1:1, 26; Deut. 6:4: Matt.
28:19-20; John 1:1-2; 10:30)
The Lord Jesus
Christ: We believe in:
a) His eternal existence as God: b) His incarnation by means of the
virgin birth; c) His death on the cross as the substitutionary
atonement for sin; d) His literal bodily resurrection from the dead; e)
His present ministry of intercession in heaven; f) His personal return
to earth. (Heb. 1:8; Isa. 7:14; Luke 1:35; Rom. 3:25; Heb. 9:14; Luke
24:36-43; Acts 10:40-41; Heb. 8:1-2; I John 2:1; Acts 1:11; 1st Thess.
4:16)
The Holy
Spirit: We believe that
the Holy Spirit is a divine person; equal with God the Father and God
the Son and of the same nature; that He was active in creation; that in
His relation to the unbelieving world He restrains the evil one until
God's purpose is fulfilled; that He convicts of sin, of judgment and of
righteousness; that He bears witness to the Truth of the Gospel in
preaching and testimony; that He is the agent in the New Birth; and
that He seals, endues, guides, teaches, witnesses, sanctifies, indwells
and helps the believer. (Gen. 1:1; Matt. 28:19; Luke 1:35; John 3:5-6;
John 14:16-17; John 14:26; John 15:26-27; John 16:7-8; Acts 1:8; Acts
5:30-32; Rom. 8:9, 14, 16, 26, 27; 1st Cor. 6:11; Eph. 1:13-14: 2nd
Thess. 2: 7)
Man: We
believe that; a) God created man in His own image and in a state of
innocency; b) Man fell through the sin of disobedience; c) because of
this all men are corrupted in body, mind, and soul; d) all men are in
the need of redemption. (Gen. 1:26-27; Rom. 5:19; 5:12; Eph. 2:3)
Salvation: We
believe; a) that salvation is soley by grace through faith in the
sacrificial death of our Lord Jesus Christ and His resurrection from
the dead; b) that all who repent and receive Jesus are regenerated by
the Holy Spirit and become children of God; c) that all who are truly
saved are kept forever by the power of God. (Eph. 2:8-9; John 1:12; 1st
Peter 1:5)
Repentance: We
believe the Bible teaches repentance is a must for salvation.
Repentance is to have a change of mind and to turn to Christ. A change
of mind about self, sin, and Jesus. (Matt. 21:28,32; Acts 3:19; Acts
2:38; Acts 17:30; Mark 1:15)
Justification: We
believe Justification is being accounted righteous before God. The
sinner accepts the righteousness of Jesus Christ by faith and God see's
him perfect in the righteousness of Christ. Justification is the
judicial act of God, whereby those who put their faith in Christ are
declared righteous in His eyes, free from guilt and punishment. (Rom.
5:1,2,9)
Sanctification: We
believe 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 Sealer and Comforter, in the continual use of the
appointed means, especially the Word of God, self-examination,
self-denial, watchfulness, and prayer. (1st Thess. 4:3; 1st John 2:29;
Rom. 8:5; Phil. 2:12-13)
Eternal
Security: We believe
once a person has truly become a child of God that he/she is eternally
secure and that they will forever be a child of God. They are kept
secure by the promise and power of God. (Eph. 1:13; Phil. 1:6; John
10:28-29; John 3:16,36)
Church: We
believe that the Lord's church is a visible body of scripturally
baptized believers who can trace a succession of churches of like faith
and order clean back to the days of Christ, and who are associated
together by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the Gospel,
observing the ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws, and
exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His
Word; that its only Scriptural officers and bishops or pastors and
deacons, whose qualifications, claims and duties and defined in the
Epistles to Timothy and Titus. (Matt. 18:17; 28:20; 1st Cor. 1:1-13;
11:2; Acts 2:41-42; 1st Tim. 3)
Baptism
(Ordinance): We believe
that Scriptural Baptism is done by the authority of a New Testament
Baptist Church and is immersion in water of a believer, in the name of
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost to show forth in a solemn and
beautiful emblem our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Saviour
with its effect in our death to sin and resurrection to a new life.
(Matt. 3:13; 28:19)
The Lord's
Supper: It was left to
us as an ordinance by the Lord Himself for a memorial of His death,
resurrection and return. This should not be taken inadvisably but after
examination of one's relationship and attitude toward this ordinance.
(Mark 14:22-24; 1st Cor. 11:23-25)
The Lord's
Day: We believe that
the first day of the week is the Lord's Day and is to be kept sacred to
religious purposes by abstaining from all secular labor, except works
of mercy and necessity; by the devout observance of all means of grace,
both private and public; and by preparation for that rest which
remaineth for all the people of God. (Acts 20:7; Heb. 10:24-25; Beb.
4:3-11; Psalms 118:24; Isa. 58:13-14)
Heaven: We
believe in a literal place called Heaven where God's immediate presence
is manifested, from whence Christ descended and to which He ascended
again, where He now makes intercession for the Saints, who will
ultimately dwell there with Him. (John 14:1-3; Rev. 21:1-2)
Hell: We
believe in a literal hell, the lake of fire, which shall be a place of
eternal punishment for Satan, the fallen Angels, and all the
unbelieving dead. (John 14; Acts 1:11; 1st Cor. 15:51-58; 1st Thess.
4:5; Rev. 4:1-2; 19:11-16; 20:1-6; 19:20; 20:10,15; 21:8)
Separation: We
believe a Christian will desire to please Christ in all areas of his
life, which now belongs to Christ because He purchased it with His own
blood. Who should therefore separate ourselves from worldly practices
by following Christ in self-denial and living wholly for Him. (Rom.
12:1-2; 1st John 2:15-17)
Missions: Because
all men everywhere without Christ are lost and bound for eternal
punishment, and because men cannot believe in Him of whom they have not
heard, we believe we are debtors to all men to present them with the
Gospel of Jesus Christ. God commanded all Saints to witness for Him, to
faithfully carry out this command we must witness by out life and by
word to all we come in contact with and that we must support by prayer
and finances those who go out under sound missionary agencies to
represent us in other parts of the world. (Rom. 1:18-20; 10:14; Acts
1:8; Matt. 28:19-20; Mark 16:15)
Return of
Christ: We believe that
the next coming of our Lord Jesus will be two-fold. He will come in the
air and every believer, both living and dead will be caught up to meet
Him, receiving their resurrection bodies and will appear before the
judgment seat of Christ, to be judged not for salvation but for
rewards. Following this catching away (rapture) there will be a
seven-year period of judgment and great tribulation on the earth in
which the wrath of God will be poured out on unsaved man because of
their rejection of God and Christ. Then Christ shall come to the earth
in power, and glory to reign for a thousand years. (John 14:1-3; Rev.
20:1-6; 1st Thess. 4:13-18)
The Last
Things: At the end of
the millennium, the unsaved then will be
raised then, judged according to their works separated from God forever
in the Lake of Fire. Satan, whose a real personality and the source of
all evil in the universe, will also be consigned forever to the Lake of
Fire. Those who are saved will live forever in the presence of Christ,
enjoying the fellowship for which they were created and which was
secured for them through the reconciling work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
(Rev. 19:7,8,20; Rev. 20:7-15; Rev. 22:11-12; John 14:1-4)
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