Summary of our Statement of Fath. (See Full version on our Website)
I. The Scriptures
The
Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God’s revelation
of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It
has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any
mixture of error, for its matter.
II. God
There
is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent,
spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and
Ruler of the universe.
A. God the Father
God
as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His
creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the
purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and
all wise.
B. God the Son
Christ
is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was
conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.
C. God the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures.
III. Man
Man is the special creation of God, made in His own image. He created them male and female as the crowning work of His creation.
IV. Salvation
Salvation
involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all
who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who by His own blood
obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense
salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and
glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus
Christ as Lord.
V. God’s Purpose of Grace
Election
is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates,
justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. It is consistent with the
free agency of man, and comprehends all the means in connection with the
end.
VI. The Church
A
New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local
congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith
and fellowship of the gospel; observing the two ordinances of Christ,
governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges
invested in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the
ends of the earth.
VII. Baptism and the Lords Supper
Christian
baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience
symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen
Savior, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the
resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a
testimony to his faith in the final resurrection of the dead. Being a
church ordinance, it is prerequisite to the privileges of church
membership and to the Lord’s Supper.
The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic
act of obedience whereby members of the church, through partaking of the
bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer
and anticipate His second coming.
VIII. The Lord’s Day
The
first day of the week is the Lord’s Day. It is a Christian institution
for regular observance. It commemorates the resurrection of Christ from
the dead and should include exercises of worship and spiritual devotion,
both public and private.
IX. The Kingdom
The
Kingdom of God includes both His general sovereignty over the universe
and His particular kingship over men who willfully acknowledge Him as
King. Particularly the Kingdom is the realm of salvation into which men
enter by trustful, childlike commitment to Jesus Christ
XI. Evangelism and Missions
It
is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every
church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all
nations.
XII. Education
Christianity
is the faith of enlightenment and intelligence. In Jesus Christ abide
all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. All sound learning is,
therefore, a part of our Christian heritage.
XIII. Stewardship
God
is the source of all blessings, temporal and spiritual; all that we
have and are we owe to Him. Christians have a spiritual debtorship to
the whole world, a holy trusteeship in the gospel, and a binding
stewardship in their possessions.
XIV. Cooperation
Christ’s
people should, as occasion requires, organize such associations and
conventions as may best secure cooperation for the great objects of the
Kingdom of God. Such organizations have no authority over one another or
over the churches
XV. The Christian and the Social Order
All Christians are under obligation to seek to make the will of Christ supreme in our own lives and in human society.
XVI. Peace and War
It
is the duty of Christians to seek peace with all men on principles of
righteousness. In accordance with the spirit and teachings of Christ
they should do all in their power to put an end to war.
XVII. Religious Liberty
God
alone is Lord of the conscience, and He has left it free from the
doctrines and commandments of men which are contrary to His Word or not
contained in it. Church and state should be separate.
XVIII. The Family
God
has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human
society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage,
blood, or adoption.
Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime.