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WE BELIEVE that the Holy
Scriptures, the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, are the very
Word of God written, inerrant in the original writings and therefore,
that they constitute the supreme and final authority in matters of
faith and life.
WE BELIEVE that there is one
and only one, living and true God, subsisting in three Persons-the
Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. We believe that these three are
eternally co-existent and equal in essence and attributes, yet distinct
in Person, Office and Activity.
WE BELIEVE in the Deity of our
Lord Jesus Christ, in His Virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His
miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in
His bodily resurrection, in His Ascension to the right hand of the
Father, in His High Priestly ministry on behalf of His people and in
His personal and visible return to the Earth in power and glory.
WE BELIEVE that all men are
sinners by nature and by choice, and their salvation is received only
through faith in the atoning death of Jesus Christ. We believe that
this salvation is a gift of God, in no way, nor to any degree,
depending upon any merit which one might seek to achieve by his own
works.
WE BELIEVE that the Church has
a two-fold aspect:
1. That the Church of Jesus Christ is a
living spiritual body, of which Christ is the Head and of which all who
acknowledge Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord are members. This is
the Church universal, the body of Christ.
2. That the local Church is composed of
regenerated, baptized believers voluntarily united for the purpose of
worship, Christian fellowship, prayer, teaching of the Word, service to
the body through the development and use of talents and gifts and the
proclamation of the Gospel of Christ throughout the world.
WE BELIEVE that the Lord Jesus
Christ committed two ordinances to the local Churches - Believer’s
Baptism by immersion and the Lord’s Supper.
WE BELIEVE that the local
Church is independent and self-governing under the Lordship of Jesus
Christ. We believe, therefore, that it must be free from interference
from all ecclesiastical and political authority, and that the Church
and State must be kept separate since they have different functions,
each fulfilling its duties, free from the dictation or patronage of the
other. Under the watch care of the Elders and other supportive
leadership, its members are to work together in love and unity, intent
on the one ultimate purpose of glorifying Christ.
WE BELIEVE in the resurrection
of the body and in the eternal existence of all men - the saved, having
been redeemed by the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, to be forever
with Him in glory - the lost, having died impenitent and unreconciled
to God, to be condemned to eternal punishment in separation from the
Lord.
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