Article of Faith

 

I. The Bible
The Bible is the verbally inspired Word of God; therefore, God is the author. The Bible is inerrant, 100% true, trustworthy and preserved by God in the English language as we have it today, and that it is the supreme and final authority in faith and life. I use the 1611 King James Bible.
(Psalms 12:6-7; 119:89, 130, 140; Proverbs 30:5-6; Isaiah 40:8; Jeremiah 36:1, 2; Matthew 24:35; Luke 21:33; 24:27, 44-45; John 12:48;17:17; Acts 1:16; II Timothy 3:16;  Hebrews 1:1; 4:12; 1 Peter 1:23, 25; II Peter 1:20, 21)

 

II. God
There is one God, eternally existing in three Persons (the Trinity): Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God is Omniscient, Omnipotent and Omnipresent.
(Deuteronomy 6:4; Psa. 83:18; 90:2; 147:5; Jer. 10:10; Matthew 28:19; John 10:30; 14:7-12, 16:7; I Cor. 8:6; II Corinthians 3:17; Eph. 4:6; I Tim 1:17; Rev. 4:11 )

 

A. The Father
God the Father reigns with providential care over His universe and His creatures according to the purposes of His grace. God is the Father to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward all men.
(Genesis 1:1; 2:7; Exodus 6:2-3; Psalm 19:1-3; Isaiah 64:8; Matthew 23:9; John 14:6-13; 17:1-8; Romans 8:14-16; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Galatians 4:4-7; Hebrews 12:9; 1 Peter 1:17-19)

B. Son (Jesus Christ)
Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the triune Godhead and eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God, was begotten by the Holy Spirit, was born of the virgin Mary, lived among men in the flesh, is without sin; suffered, bled, died on the cross as a substitute for our sins; was buried; arose from the dead; was seen alive on earth after he arose; ascended to Heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the only Mediator between God and man.
(Psalm 110:1; Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; 53; Luke 1:35; 2:6-7; Matthew 1:16, 18-25; 3:16, 17; 11:27; 16:16; 17:5; 27; 28:1-10, 16-20; Mark 1:9-11; 3:11; Luke 22:66-70; 23:50-56; John 1:1-18, 29; 10:24-38; 11:25-27; 12:44-50; 14:7-11; 16:15-16, 28; 17:1-5, 21-25; 20; Acts 2:24, 33; Acts 7:55, 56; 9:20; Romans 1:3, 4; 3:23-25; 5:6-21; 8:1-3, 34; 10:4; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 15:3-8; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 4:4, 5; Ephesians 1:20-22; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:13-22; 2:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17; 1 Timothy 2:5; 3:16; Titus 2:13, 14; Hebrews 1:1-3; 4:14, 15; 7:24-28; 9:24-28; 12:2; 13:8; 1 Peter 2:21-24; 3:22; I John 1:7-9; 2:1; 3:2; 4:2-3, 14, 15; 5:20; Revelation 1:13-18; 5:9-14; 12:1,11)

C. Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit, third Person of the triune God, is fully divine; regenerates the sinner uniting them to Christ in one body; immediately indwells the body of those that are saved, convicts man of sin, cultivates Christian character, comforts, guides, teaches, enlightens and empowers the saved in worship, evangelism, and service; seals the saved.
(Matthew 12:31-32; Mark 1:8; Luke 4:1; 12:12; John 3:5, 6; 14:16-17, 26; 15:26; 16:7-14; Acts 2:38; 4:31; 10:44; 16:6; Romans 8:2, 9-11,14-16, 26-27; 1 Corinthians 2:10-14; 3:16; 6:17-20; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 1:13-14, 17-18; 4:30; 1John 4:13)

 

III. Creation
The heavens and the earth, including all life, was created by the direct act of God, and was established that every living thing should bring forth only “after their kind;” creation found in Genesis  is to be accepted literally, and not allegorically, figuratively or development through interminable periods of time from lower to higher forms, and was not by any process of evolution; the days of creation were solar, twenty-four hour days.
(Genesis 1, 2:1-25; Exodus 20:11; 31:17; Neh. 9:6; Jer. 10:12; John 1:3; Colossians 1:16, 17; Heb. 11:3)

 

IV. Man / Fall of Man Sin
Man was created by the direct act of God,  in God's own image, after His own likeness, and did not evolve from any lower form of life. Man has the ability to choose between right and wrong and chose to sin against God whereby sin entered the world and thereby incurred both physical death and spiritual death (separation form God). From that time, man has inherited and is born with a sinful nature, are willful sinners in thought, word and deed; are unable to regain their former position, and are without excuse before God. Sin is a voluntary violation of a known law of God by a morally responsible person.(Genesis 3; Psalms 8:3-6; 51:5; Romans 1:18-32; 3:10-18, 23; 5:12, 19; 7:14-25; Ephesians 2:1-3)

 

V. Salvation / Justification
The Lord Jesus Christ literally died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, as our representative and substitutionary sacrifice; after three days, He literally and physically rose from the dead and ascended to Heaven; and that we who believe in Him are justified, on the grounds of His shed blood. (I Corinthians 15:3; John 3:16)

 

VI. Atonement
We believe that Jesus Christ, by the shedding of His own blood, and by His death on the cross, made a full and vicarious atonement, was the voluntary substitution of Himself in the sinner's place bearing our sins on the cross for all human sin, the Just dying for the unjust, and that this atonement is the only ground of salvation.

 

VII. The Church
The church is the Body of Christ composed of all Born Again believers, saved by faith;
the Lord Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church in whom each member is accountable; the principle business of the Church (saved Christians) until the Lord Jesus Christ returns, is to preach the gospel of Christ's death and resurrection; mission is evangelism, discipleship, and service; joining together for   worship, service, discipline, prayer, teaching, testimony, observance of the ordinances, and fellowship; the local church, under the authority of Jesus, has the right of independent self-government, free from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations; matters of the local church, such as: government, policy, discipline, benevolence, appointed offices must be in agreement with the Word of God; while both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture; while all that desire to seek, grow and worship the Lord are welcome to attend the local church, persons may be admitted to church membership after credible profession of their faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
(Ephesians 1:22-23; I Corinthians 12:12-13)

 

VII. Ordinances

1. Baptism
Water baptism is only for those already saved; immersion in water in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to show forth by solemn and beautiful symbolism, the believer's identification with Christ in His death, burial, resurrection -  the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. Immersion is the only form of baptism revealed and commanded in the Scripture; has no saving power; is an act of obedience and a testimony to one's faith.  (Matt. 3:6, 13-16;  28:19, 20; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22;  John 3:23; Acts 2:38, 41; 8:36-38; Acts16:30-33; Rom. 6:3-11; Col. 2:12)

2. The Lord's Supper
Jesus Christ instituted the Lord's Supper which is partaking of bread and the fruit of the vine, as symbols of Christ's body and blood, commemorating His death for us; partaking in this ordinance until He comes again. Participation should be preceded by careful self-examination. Matthew 18:15-17; 26:26-30; Mark 14:22-26; Luke 22:19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:16, 21; 11:23-30)

 

VIII. Rapture / The Second Coming / Kingdom
“That blessed Hope” is our Lord Jesus Christ's personal, visible, pre-millennial, pre-tribulational, and imminent return into the air for His saints, the waiting bride, the church, will be caught up to meet Him, is known as the Rapture of the Church. After the tribulation judgments, which will be poured out upon the earth, Christ will visibly and gloriously return with His saints to judge the nations and to establish His kingdom wherein He will rule upon the entire earth for a thousand years in righteousness from the throne of David “till he hath put all enemies under his feet.” (II Samuel 7:12-16; Daniel 7:13, 14; Zechariah 14; Matthew 24:21, 27, 42; Mark 13:34-37; Luke 1:30-33; 21:34-36; John 14:2, 3; Acts 1:9-11; 15:14-18; I Corinthians 15:25, 42-44, 51, 52; Phil 3:20; I Thessalonians 3: 13; 4:13-17; II Thessalonians 1:7; Titus 2:13; James 5:7,8; I John 2:28; 3:2; Revelation 19:7, 8, 11-16; Revelation 20:1-6)