The Plenary and Verbal Inspiration of the Scriptures
We believe the Scriptures teach that the Old and New Testament are the divine revelation of God and constitutes the entire Word of God. Men chosen by God were guided and enabled by the Holy Spirit to write the Bible. Every word of the original documents are inspired; commonly referred to as verbal plenary inspiration. Therefore, all Scripture is authoritative for the faith of every believer. The sections of Scripture that are directly dealing with the Church are authoritative for the practice of the Church.
2 Timothy 3:16, 17; 2 Peter 1:20, 21;1 Timothy 3:14, 15; 5:18;1 Corinthians 2:9 – 13
The Godhead
We believe the Scriptures teach that God is the Creator and Sustainer of all things, seen and unseen. He is self-existing, one, simple and immense. He is eternal and unchangeable in His nature. His essence is Spirit and His attributes are omnipotent, omniscient, holy (set apart), righteous, goodness, love, and truth. God exists in a trinity of three distinct inseparable Persons; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. All three Persons share the same essence and attributes. In the Godhead, all three Persons are equal.
Ephesians 4:6; Matthew 28:19; Titus 2:13; Acts 5:3 , 4
The Deity and Humanity of Jesus
We believe that the Scriptures teach that the second Person of the triune God is the eternal Son of God, who at the time predetermined by the council of God, came to be found in the outward form of a human. When God the Son took on a human nature, He in no way diminished His existence as God. Only the outward appearance was changed to the similarity of a man’s appearance. God the Father and Jesus attested to Jesus’ Deity while He was on earth. In the incarnation, The Son of God joined His Person with the nature of a human. This human nature was divinely conceived in a virgin. He lived a sinless life, died a substitutionary death for all men, was buried and rose bodily from the grave on the third day.
Luke 1:34, 35; Philippians 2:6, 8; Galatians 4:4; John 1:1, 14; John 10:30; Matthew 3:17; Hebrews 4:15; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; 2 Corinthians 5:14
Salvation
We believe that the Scriptures teach that salvation is by the grace of God, which is an attitude by which God gives a free benefit without consideration of merit. The gospel that the Holy Spirit uses as the basis for His conviction of all sinners to bring them to faith in Christ is the facts that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose physically again according to the Scriptures three days later.
The sole basis of salvation is the death of our Lord Jesus Christ in His human nature on the cross, during which time He was separated from the Father in His human nature when the Father made the Son’s human body and sinless human nature an offering for sin. Through the substitutionary work of the Son the Father’s outraged holiness against man’s sin nature was satisfied. The shedding of His blood was sufficient for the redemption of all mankind. The only condition by which the value of Jesus’ propitiatory, redemptive, and reconciliatory works are applied to an individual by the Holy Spirit is by a personal faith in the crucified and risen Son of God.
1 Corinthians 15:3, 4; Romans 1:16; 3:23, 25; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 1:18, 19; Ephesians 2:8, 9; 2 Timothy 2:8 – 10; Isaiah 53:10; Matthew 27:46; 1 John 2:2; 4:10; 2 Corinthians 5:18 – 20; Acts 16:31
The Rapture and Second Coming of Jesus Christ
We believe that the Scriptures teach that the “Blessed Hope” of believers is the pre-tribulation appearing of Christ in the air for His church, to be followed by His personal, visible return to the earth after Daniel’s seventieth week, in which His righteous judgment will be poured out on an unbelieving world, to set up His millennial kingdom. During the tribulation period a remnant of Israel will be saved and restored as a nation during the millennial kingdom. At which time Satan will also be bound and the curse on the earth will be lifted. Following the millennial kingdom, Satan will be cast into the lake of fire and the Great White Throne Judgment will occur, at which time the souls and spirits of the wicked in Hades will be reunited to a resurrect body and cast into the lake of fire.
Acts 1:11; Revelation 19: 11-16; 20:2-8, 11-15, 20; Titus 2:11, 14; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 24:21; Romans 8:19-23; 11:26, 27
Dispensations and Ages
We believe that dispensations and ages are a result of a consistent literal interpretation of Scripture and are therefore not an approach to the Bible, but rather the result of consistent literal interpretation. Within the Scripture Ages and Dispensations distinguished where an Age can exist outside of time, and dispensations can only exit within time.
An age is a period in the present decree whereby certain events are designed to show rational beings something about God by comparison or contrast.
A dispensation is a period of time in God’s plan for mankind in which He gives rules that are imposed upon some or all of mankind to regulate their daily lives through a steward and to reveal something to man about man.
1 Corinthians 15:51-57; 1 Thessalonians 4:14 – 17; Titus 2:13; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Ephesians 2:7; 3:2, 21; Colossians 1:25; Hebrews 1:2; Galatians 1:4
The Christian Life
At the time of initial salvation the believer is placed into the Body of “The Christ”, wherein, he/she is given all things that pertain to spiritual life and godliness. Each believer is regenerated by the Holy Spirit and shares in a quality of the Divine nature and eternal life, which result in new desires and abilities. These new desires and abilities constitute the believer’s new nature.
Since until the rapture, believers will not received their full redemption, the old sin nature has not been removed, only rendered inactive within the saint’s position in Christ; therefore, the believer needs to be filled up where he/she is lacking in the fruit of the Spirit by the Holy Spirit. It is only when a believer is Spirit-filled that he/she can manifest the fruit of the Spirit and thus manifests Christ’s character.
The requirements to be Spirit filled, resulting in being spiritual, are that a believer reckons him/herself to be dead to the sin nature and alive to God in his/her position in Christ and thus yields his/her members as instruments of righteousness to God. A saint is either spiritual or carnal. Since spiritual and carnal are an absolute state of mind, the saint is either spiritual or carnal at any given time, never both.
Both a trespass and sin will cause the believer to fall out of fellowship with God. To restore fellowship for a trespass the believer must take the way of escape, resulting in reframing his/her mind on his/her position in Christ and thus yields his/her members as instruments of righteousness to God. To restore fellowship for a sin the believer must agree with God that his/her action is sin, at which time God is faithful to that saint to forgive not only the sin, but also cleans the saint from all unrighteousness.
There are three spiritual enemies that the believer has: the Sin nature, Satan, and the World System. God provides a way for the saint to bear up under all of the temptations that come from these three enemies to prevent the saint from being overcome by them. As the spiritual believer overcomes these enemies, he/she grows in maturity by grace and is more and more conformed into the image of Christ.
2 Peter 1:3, 4; 3:18; John 3:6, 15; 1 John 3:4, 9, 10; 5:11, 12; Ephesians 5:18 – 25; 6:10 – 18; Galatians 5:16 – 18, 22, 23, 25; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 4:6, 7; Romans 6:10, 12, 13; Colossians 3:1 – 5; 1 Corinthians 6:18; 7:29 – 31; 10:13; James 1:13 – 15; 1 Peter 5:8, 9; 2 Timothy 2:1
