The Scriptures Inspired

The Scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments, are verbally inspired of God and are the revelation of God to man, the infallible, authoritative rule of faith and conduct.  The Word of God is alive with God’s life, filled with God’s power and imparts to the child of God the heart, mind and nature of God.  (2 Timothy 3:15-17; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Peter 1:3,4,21; Matthew 4:4; Hebrews 4:12; Hebrews 8:10-11).

The Nature of God

The one true God has revealed Himself as the eternally self-existent “I AM.” He is the Creator of heaven and earth and all that exists and by Him all things continue to exist.  He rules sovereignly in the lives and affairs of man and over all creation.  He is the only Redeemer of mankind. He reveals himself as one God manifested in three persons, the Father, Jesus Christ his Son, and the Holy Spirit. He is holy, pure and perfect, separate from all defilement, evil and sin.  He is the Judge of both the living and the dead,  and will pass the final, eternal verdict on each person’s life.  (Exodus 3:14, Deuteronomy 6:4, Isaiah 43:10, Matthew 28:19, Luke 3:22, Isaiah 6:1, Isaiah 55:7, Eze 33:11, John 3:36)

The Nature & Deity of Jesus Christ

Jesus, the Son of God, is eternally existent with God the Father and the Holy Spirit. He is the only begotten Son of God and declared in the Scriptures to be conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin and sinless.  He was God manifest in the flesh, a living example of absolute obedience to the will of God.  He is the only way to God the Father and the Redeemer of all sinners by His work on the cross and resurrection from the dead. He now sits on the right hand of God, making endless intercession for the saints.  (Matthew 1:23, John 21:14, John 14:6, Hebrews 4:15, 1 Corinthians 15:3, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Acts 2:32, Romans 8:34)

The Fall of Man

God, who created man in his own image, good and upright, created mankind to have eternal fellowship with Him. However, by man willfully disobeying God, sin entered into the human race, resulting in spiritual and physical separation from God for all eternity. This broken relationship and fellowship with God is the current state of all mankind who have not sought God's forgiveness by faith in Jesus Christ and by the repentance from their sins.  (Genesis 1:26-27, 2:17, 3:6, Romans 1:18-32, 5:12-19)

Hell

Like heaven, hell is a real place, an eternal, spiritual abode. But unlike heaven, hell is a place of everlasting torment and judgment prepared for the devil and his angels who disobeyed God. However, anyone who has not repented of their sins and received the forgiveness of their sins through the redemption of Jesus Christ, will be condemned to spend eternity in hell. God is not willing for anyone to perish in hell, but for all to come to repentance and forgiveness in Christ Jesus. He will not, however, force anyone to accept His gift of forgiveness; a person must ask for and receive it of their own volition. (John 3:18, Matthew 25:41, Mark 9:43, Revelation 20:10-15, John 3:36, 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10, 2 Peter 3:9)

Salvation of Man

God provided to fallen man restored relationship and fellowship with Him.  He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to the earth to redeem man from his sins.  Through His death and shed blood on the cross, Jesus bore our sins on His Body, taking our judgment for our sin upon Himself.  As our Substitute, Jesus satisfied the justice of God and spared us from the condemnation we deserved.  Through the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave, the power of sin, death and hell are forever defeated.  We can receive this free gift of salvation, provided in Jesus Christ, through faith and faith alone, not by any works or efforts of our own.  Through faith in Jesus Christ, and the repentance from our sins with godly sorrow, we receive right-standing with God and our fellowship with God is restored.  (John 3:16-18 & 36, 2 Corinthians 7:9-10, Romans 1:18, 2 Corinthians 5:21)

The evidence of salvation working in a true believer’s life will include the following: a) an ever increasing desire to know and worship God through the reading of God’s Word, through prayer, through the baptism of the Holy Spirit and through fellowship with other believers; b) a life that pursues righteousness and holiness to please and honor God; and, c) evidence of a separation from the past sinful life and the inherent manifestion of godly fruit (i.e. godly character traits, good works, etc). (Ephesians 2:8-9, John 3:3, Acts 20:21, Romans 3:24, 12:1, Hebrews 13:12).

Regeneration

Regeneration in the Scriptures is also known as being “born again.”  Jesus said we must be born again before we can see or enter the Kingdom of God.

A person is born again when:

1. there is genuine repentance by the conviction of the Holy Spirit, which includes the confession of one’s depravity and sins, and a turning away from those sins
2. there is a profession of faith in the salvation provided only by Jesus Christ, His substitutionary death on the cross and His triumphant resurrection from the dead

When a person is born again by the Spirit of God, three distinct events take place:

1. the human spirit is raised back to spiritual life from spiritual death
2. God’s Spirit is birthed and resides in the human spirit
3. spiritual union and communion is restored with God

The changes which occur in a person when regeneration takes place include:

1. a spiritual hunger and thirst to know God are created
2. the purpose of life changes from pleasing self to pleasing God
3. there is a growing repulsion to sin and a growing love for righteousness
4. The fruit of the Spirit replace sinful behaviors of pride and selfishness

A. Baptism in Water

All who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord are to be baptized by immersion in water, as commanded in the Scriptures.  Water baptism is a declaration and testimony that the believer has been baptized into the death of Jesus Christ, dead to sin and dead to this world.  Water baptism also signifies that the believer has been raised in newness of life, baptized into the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  (Matthew 28:19, Mark 16:16, Acts 10:47, 48, Romans 6:4).

B. Holy Communion

The Lord’s Supper, consisting of two elements, the bread and the cup, is to be received by the church in remembrance of His suffering and death.  The bread symbolizes Jesus’ body broken and the cup symbolizes His blood shed for all mankind.  The Scriptures require the church to observe the ordinance of communion “until He comes” and thereby proclaim His death.  (II Peter 1:4; I Corinthians 11:20-34; I Corinthians 11:26)