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The following
represents the church’s position on our essential beliefs:
About God – God is the Creator and Ruler of the
universe. He has eternally existed in three persons: the
Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal
and are one God.
About the Father – He is all powerful, all
knowing, all loving, and all wise. He reigns with
providential care over the universe and the flow of human
history goes according to His purposes and plan.
About Jesus – Jesus Christ is the Son of
God. He is co-equal with the Father. Jesus has eternally
existed and became man at His incarnation. He lived a
sinless human life and offered himself as the perfect
sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on a cross. He
bodily arose from the dead after three days to demonstrate
His power over sin and death. He ascended to Heaven’s glory
and will
return again someday to earth to reign as King of Kings and
Lord of Lords.
About the Holy Spirit – He is the third
person of the Trinity. He guides men into all truth, exalts
Christ, convicts of sin, righteousness and judgment,
cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, bestows
spiritual gifts by which believers serve God and seals the
believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in
the lives of believers is the assurance of God to bring us
into the fullness
of the stature of Christ.
About Scriptures – The Bible is God’s Word
to us. It was written by human authors, under the
supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme
source of truth for Christian beliefs and living. Because it
is inspired by God, it has salvation for its end and is
truth without any mixture of error.
About Human Beings – People are made in the image of God and are the supreme
object of God’s creation. All of us are marred by an
attitude of disobedience toward God called sin. Sin
separates people from God and causes many problems in life.
About Salvation – Salvation is God’s free
gift to us, but we must accept it. We can never make up for
our sin by self-improvement or good works. Only by trusting
Jesus Christ as God’s offer of forgiveness can anyone be
saved from sin’s penalty. When we turn from our self-ruled
life and turn to Jesus in faith we are saved. Eternal life
begins the moment one received Jesus Christ into his life by
faith.
About Eternal Security – Because God gives
us eternal life through Jesus Christ, the true believer is
secure in that salvation for eternity. If you have been
genuinely saved, you cannot “lose ” your salvation.
Salvation is maintained by the grace and power of God, not
by the self-effort of the Christian. It is the grace and
keeping power of God that gives us this security.
About Eternity – People were created to
exist forever. We will either exist eternally separated from
God by sin or eternally with God through forgiveness and
salvation. To be eternally separate from God is Hell. To be
eternally in union with Him is eternal life. Heaven and Hell
are real places of eternal existence.
About Baptism by Immersion – We believe
that scriptural baptism must be: (1) by being completely
immersed under the water and (2) after salvation. Jesus was
immersed and all baptisms in the New Testament were by
immersion. These two facts sets the standard for baptism
today. Baptism has no saving power but is the first act of
obedience symbolizing (1) the believer’s faith in the death,
burial, and resurrection of Jesus, (2) the believer’s death
to sin and resurrection to walk anew in Christ, and (3) the
Christian’s belief that he will die, be buried, and that
Jesus will resurrect him from the dead.
About the Lord’s Supper – The Lord’s Supper
is a symbolic act of obedience whereby believers remember
the death of the Lord Jesus and anticipate His second
coming. The bread is symbolic of His body and the juice
represents His blood.
About Tithing – We believe in giving the
tithe – ten percent of our gross income (not net income) –
as the biblical standard of giving. The tithe is to be given
as an undesignated offering to the “storehouse” ministry of
a local church. According to the Scriptures, we are to give
cheerfully, regularly, systematically, proportionately, and
liberally for the advancement of the Redeemer’s cause on
earth.
About Evangelism – It is the duty of every
born again follower of Jesus Christ and of every church to
endeavor to make disciples of all men everywhere. It is the
command of Christ for every believer to seek constantly to
win the lost to Christ by personal effort and by all other
methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ.
About the Church – A New Testament church
of the Lord Jesus Christ is a local body of baptized
believers who are associated by their common faith and
fellowship with Jesus. A local church is to observe the two
ordinances: (1) baptism and (2) the Lord’s Supper. The
church should exercise their God-given gifts and extend the
gospel to the ends of the earth. The church is an autonomous
body
serving under the Lordship of Christ. All members are
equally responsible as they serve with the scriptural
officers of the church, the pastors and deacons.
About Christian Unity – To live in harmony
with other believers is clearly the teaching of the New
Testament. It is the responsibility of each believer to
endeavor to live in fellowship with each member of the
congregation. It is further the responsibility of each
member to bring all gossiping and backbiting to an end. |
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