Doctrinal Statement
We
accept the following as a statement of our faith in the great
fundamental doctrines of the Christian religion.
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We believe in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments
as fully inspired of God and inerrant in the original writings, and as
of supreme and final authority in faith and life.
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We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
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We believe in God the Father, perfect in holiness, infinite
in wisdom, measureless in power. We rejoice that He concerns Himself
mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayer, and
that He saves from death and hell all who come to Him through Jesus
Christ.
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We believe in Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God,
who was born of the Virgin Mary, lived a sinless life, and laid down
His life upon the cross to make atonement for our sins. We believe in
His bodily resurrection for the dead, His ascension into heaven, His
constant intercession for His people, and His imminent, personal,
visible return to the earth according to His promise.
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We believe in the Holy Spirit who came forth from God to
convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment, and to
regenerate, sanctify, and comfort those who believe in Jesus Christ.
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We believe that man was created in the image of God, in
innocence and with the possibility of acquiring holiness and
immortality through obedience, but that man fell into sin and that the
wages of sin is death, and so natural man is born corrupt, early falls
into active sin, and is destined for death and hell unless he receives
the Savior. We believe that whosoever believes in Jesus Christ,
accepting him for his personal Savior and confessing Him before men is
saved from hell, being born again into life eternal and then prepared
for an eternity of blessedness in the presence of God in Heaven.
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We believe that when our Lord Jesus Christ returns, those
who are asleep in Jesus will arise in new, glorious, spiritual bodies,
and that saints who are alive will be changed, and so we shall be
always with the Lord.
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We believe that the wicked dead shall later rise to be
judged for their sins before the great white throne of God, and those
who are not found written in the book of life will be cast into the
lake of fire.
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We believe in the church as one living spiritual body of
which Jesus Christ is the head and of which all regenerate persons are
members. We believe that a church is a company of professed believers
in Jesus Christ associated for fellowship, worship and service. We
believe that persons should be permitted to church membership only
after credible confession of their faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and
baptism. (“Baptism” with us has its original meaning,
immersion.)
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We believe that God has committed to these churches the
ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, the task of
preaching the Gospel to every creature, and the glorious hope of the
return of the Lord like a bridegroom coming for his bride.
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We believe that every human being has a direct relationship
with God, and is responsible to Him alone in all matters of faith,
though the Church through its officers and members should exert all
possible pastoral and brotherly care for the erring brethren. We
believe that each church is independent and completely autonomous and
not rightly subject to interference by any ecclesiastical or political
authority; and that therefore, Church and State should be kept separate
as having distinct function, each fulfilling its duties free from
dictation or patronage from the other.