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God, by the
testimony of Scripture, is one divine Being in three eternal,
co-essential, yet distinct Persons -- Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit. He is the one true God, eternal, immutable, omnipotent,
omniscient, omnipresent. He is Creator of heaven and earth,
Sustainer of the universe, and Source of human salvation. Though
transcendent, God has a direct and personal relationship with
human beings. God is love and infinite goodness. (Matthew 28:19;
Mark 12:29; Ephesians 4:6; 1 Timothy 1:17; 1 John 4:8; 5:20; Jesus is the
Word, by whom and for whom God created all things. As God manifest
in the flesh for our salvation, He was begotten of the Holy Spirit
and born of the virgin Mary, fully God and fully human, two
natures in one Person. Jesus is the Son of God and Lord of all,
worthy of worship, honor and reverence. As the prophesied Savior
of humanity, He died for our sins, was raised bodily from the
dead, and ascended to heaven, from where He mediates between
humanity and God. He will come again in glory to reign as King of
kings over all nations in the kingdom of God. (John 1:1;
Colossians 1:16; 1 Timothy 3:16; John 3:16; Matthew 1:20; Acts
10:36; The Holy Spirit,
the third Person of the Godhead, is the Comforter promised by
Jesus Christ, sent from God to the Church. The Holy Spirit lives
in us, transforming us through repentance, sanctification, and
continual renewal. The Holy Spirit is the Source of inspiration
and prophecy throughout the Scriptures, the Source of unity and
communion in the Church, the Provider of gifts for salvation and
for the work of the gospel, and the Christian's constant Guide
into all truth. (Matthew 28:19;
John 14:16-17, 23, 16:13; Acts 2:4, 17-19, 38, 5:3-4, 20:28; God is absolute
sovereign in creation, revelation, redemption, and final judgment.
He has absolute and exclusive right to exercise authority in the
universe. He holds this prerogative because of the perfections of
His character and because of His position as Creator and Sovereign
of the universe. As Creator, His dominion is perfect and His
decrees are final. Because of His authority as Sovereign, He is to
be obeyed. (1 Samuel 2:6-8; 1
Chronicles 29:11-12; Psalm 50:10-11, 95:3-5; Isaiah 44:6; The Holy
Scriptures, the Bible, comprise the canonical books of the Old and
New Testaments. They are the inspired Word of God, absolutely
inerrant in the original documents, the foundation of truth, and
the accurate record of God's revelation to humanity. The Holy
Scriptures constitute ultimate authority in all matters of
doctrine, and embody the infallible principles that govern all
facets of Christian living. (2 Timothy
3:15-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; John 17:17) Humanity was made
immortal, male and female, in the image of God, and endowed with
great mental and spiritual faculties. God formed the first man,
Adam, of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the
breath of life. He formed the first woman, Eve, from Adam's own
body. They were given dominion over all the earth and the freedom
to choose whether to obey their Creator. Because they chose sin,
they and their descendants became alienated from God and subject
to physical and spiritual death, which can be reconciled only by
God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ and His saving work. The
destiny of the saints is to inherit eternal life in glory through
Jesus Christ in the kingdom of God. (Genesis 1:26-28;
2:7, 22; Romans 5:9-21; 1 Peter 1:3-9; Romans 6:23) Sin is
lawlessness, that is, a state or condition of rebellion against
God. From the time sin entered the human race through Adam and
Eve, humanity has been under its yoke -- a yoke that can only be
removed by God's grace through Jesus Christ. The sinful condition
of humanity is manifested in the tendency to consistently choose
self and self-interests over God and God's will. Sin causes
alienation from God, and suffering and death. Since all humans are
sinners, all humans need the salvation God offers through his Son. (1 John 3:4; 5:17;
Romans 1:20-21; 5:12; 7:24-25; Mark 7:21-23; Galatians 5:17-21;
Romans 6:23; 3:23-24) Salvation is
deliverance from the bondage of sin and death, and the restoration
of human fellowship with God. It is the gift of God, by grace
through faith in Jesus Christ, not earned by personal merit or
good works. God gives salvation, not only for the present life,
but for eternity, to all who truly accept Jesus Christ as Lord and
Savior. It is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the
assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God's Word,
which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an
occasion for sinful living and carnality. (John 5:24,
6:37-40, 10:27-30; Romans 5:9-10, 6:15-23, 8:1, 21-23, 31-39,
13:13-14; Grace is the
free, unmerited favor God bestows on a sinner who repents. In its
broadest sense, grace is expressed in every act of God's
self-disclosure. By grace, a person comes to know God and Jesus
Christ, is justified, and is saved. Through faith in Christ, the
Christian remains always under grace. (Romans 3:24; 5:2,
15-17, 21; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:7) Election is the
act of God by which, before the foundation of the world, He chose
in Christ those whom He graciously regenerates, saves, and
sanctifies. Sovereign election does not contradict or negate the
responsibility of man to repent and trust Christ as Savior and
Lord. Nevertheless, since sovereign grace includes the means of
receiving the gift of salvation as well as the gift itself,
sovereign election will result in what God determines. All whom
the Father calls to Himself will come in faith and all who come in
faith the Father will receive. The unmerited favor that God grants
to totally depraved sinners is not related to any initiative of
their own part nor to God's anticipation of what they might do by
their own will, but is solely of His sovereign grace and mercy. (Romans 8:28-30;
Ephesians 1:4-2:10; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 2:10; Justification is
God's gracious act of pronouncing a believer righteous in his
sight. It follows repentance and is made possible through faith in
the shed blood of Jesus Christ and acceptance of Him as Lord and
Savior. (Romans 3:20,
24-31; 4:1-8; 5:1, 9; Galatians 2:16) Faith is belief
and trust in God as our righteous, omniscient, and omnipotent Lord
and our gracious, merciful, and faithful Savior. Faith includes
the conviction, based on natural and Scriptural evidence, that God
exists, that He rewards those who seek Him, and that He gives
eternal life to all who are in Jesus Christ. Faith is granted by
God's grace. (Romans 6:23,
10:17; Hebrews 11:6; Ephesians 2:8-9; James 2:17-18) Sanctification is
the state of holiness imparted to the believer through the work of
the indwelling Holy Spirit. Though all Christians sin, the Holy
Spirit leads them in a life characterized by repentance,
obedience, and Christian growth -- that is, a converted, or
changed, life evidenced by the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Sanctification is made possible by God's grace, through faith in
Jesus Christ. Every saved person is involved in a daily conflict
-- the new creation in Christ doing battle against the flesh --
but adequate provision is made for victory through the power of
the indwelling Holy Spirit. The struggle nevertheless stays with
the believer all through this earthly life and is never completely
ended. Eradication of sin in this life is not possible and all
claims to the eradication of sin are unscriptural, but the Holy
Spirit does provide for victory over sin. (Romans 5:1, 6:22;
Ephesians 4:22-24; Galatians 5:16-25; Colossians 3:9-10; Repentance is a
change of mind and attitude toward God. It follows conviction by
the Holy Spirit and is grounded in the Word of God. Repentance
entails an awareness of personal sinfulness, accompanied by a
positive response to God's call. Repentance toward God leads to
faith in Jesus Christ and a converted life sanctified by the Holy
Spirit. (Acts 2:38; Romans
2:4; 10:17; 2 Timothy 2:25; 2 Corinthians 7:9-11; Matthew 3:8;
Romans 12:2) Water baptism
signifies a believer's repentance and acceptance of Jesus Christ
as Lord and Savior. (Matthew 3:16,
28:19; Mark 16:16; Galatians 3:27; Romans 6:4-5) The evening
before Jesus was crucified, he took bread and wine, saying,
"This is My body ... This is the new covenant in My
blood." At the Lord's Supper service, Christians participate
in the new covenant by partaking of bread and wine in remembrance
of the Savior, who gave His body and shed His blood for all, to
redeem humanity from sin and death. (Matthew 26:26-28;
1 Corinthians 11:23-26; John 13:1-17; Philippians 2:1-8) God chose Israel
to be a blessing to all nations. The Jewish people, by means of
God’s covenant with Abraham, are now and forever, God’s Chosen
People. They have a divine right to their promised land, Israel.
They cannot receive eternal salvation apart from faith in Jesus as
their Messiah. Today, Israel as a nation is experiencing a partial
spiritual hardening of heart regarding the gospel, and this will
be so until all those whom God wishes to save among the Gentiles
are saved. Jesus will one day return bodily and establish His
worldwide rule from Jerusalem, and on that day Israel as a nation
will accept Him as their Messiah and be saved. (Deuteronomy
30:1-6; Psalm 89:20-37; Jeremiah 31:35-37; Ezekiel 36:16-36; The Church, or
the Body of Christ, consists of all who have faith in Jesus Christ
and in whom the Holy Spirit abides. The Church is commissioned to
preach the gospel, to teach all that Christ commanded, to baptize,
and to nurture the flock. In fulfilling its mission, the Church is
directed by the Holy Scriptures, led by the Holy Spirit, and looks
continually to Jesus Christ, its living Head. Believers are to be
one in Christ, and not be divided over peripheral doctrines or
issues. In spite of differences that do not contradict the gospel
of Christ, believers are not to break fellowship, but love, care
for, and encourage one another. (1 Corinthians
12:13; Romans 8:9; Matthew 28:19-20; Colossians 1:18; Ephesians
1:22; Acts 2:1-47; 2 Timothy 2:23; Titus 3:9-11) 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. The new birth of man's spirit by God's Holy Spirit means
the birth of love for others. Missionary effort on the part of all
rests thus upon a spiritual necessity of the regenerate life, and
is expressly and repeatedly commanded in the teachings of Christ.
It is the duty of every child of God to seek constantly to win the
lost to Christ by personal effort and by all other methods in
harmony with the gospel of Christ. Genesis 12:1-3;
Exodus 19:5-6; Isaiah 6:1-8; The Christian is
the person who lives by faith in Jesus Christ and in whom the Holy
Spirit abides. The Christian experiences a new birth through the
regeneration of the Holy Spirit and is placed in a right
relationship with God and fellow humans by God's grace. The
Christian's life is characterized by the fruit of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 8:9, 14; 1
Peter 2:21; 1 John 2:4-6; Matthew 22:37-39; John 13:35; The gospel is the
good news about salvation by God's grace through faith in Jesus
Christ alone, not by works. It is the message that Christ died for
our sins, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day
according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to His
disciples. It is the good news that the kingdom of God has been
inaugurated by the saving work of Jesus Christ. (Matthew 28:19-20;
Mark 1:14-15; Acts 8:12; 28:30-31; Luke 24:46-48; Christian faith
includes allegiance and obedience to our Savior, who gave Himself
for us. The purpose of this law is summarized in His commands to
love God and neighbor. Therefore, faith in Christ leads to works
of love and service. Through the Holy Spirit, Christ transforms
the hearts of his followers, producing in them the fruit of love,
joy, peace, faithfulness, meekness, kindness, goodness,
gentleness, self-control, righteousness and truth. (2 Corinthians
5:15; Matthew 22:36-40; Romans 13:9-10; Galatians 5:6, 22-23;
Ephesians 5:9) The setting aside
of one day of the week for Christian assembly is part of the
regenerated life of faith in Jesus Christ, in whom every believer
finds true rest. The weekly seventh-day Sabbath, which was
enjoined upon Israel in the Ten Commandments, was a shadow that
prefigured the true Reality to whom it pointed -- our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ. Though physical Sabbath keeping is not
required for Christians, the Bible commands that Christians meet
together to encourage and upbuild the faith of one another. (Exodus 20:8-11;
Matthew 11:28-30; Romans 14:4-5; Colossians 2:16-17; According to the
Word of God, the next great event in the fulfillment of prophecy
will be the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in the air to receive
to Himself into heaven both His own who are alive and remain unto
His coming, and also all who have fallen asleep in Jesus, and that
this event is the blessed hope set before us in Scripture, and for
this Christians should be constantly looking. This first stage of
the Second Coming (commonly referred to as the rapture), is
imminent, personal, pre-millennial, and pre-tribulational. The
second stage of the Second Coming occurs seven years later and
involves the Lord Jesus Christ returning to earth with His saints
to establish His Millennial Kingdom upon the earth. (Daniel 9:24-27; 2
Thessalonians 2:1-12; Zechariah 14:4-11; John 14:1-3; At death the
spirits and souls of those who have trusted in the Lord Jesus
Christ for salvation pass immediately into His presence and there
remain in conscious bliss until the resurrection of the glorified
body when Christ comes for His own, whereupon soul and body
reunited shall be associated with Him forever in glory; but the
spirits and souls of the unbelieving remain after death conscious
of condemnation and in misery until the final judgment of the
great white throne at the close of the millennium, when soul and
body reunited shall be cast into the lake of fire, not to be
annihilated, but to be punished with everlasting destruction from
the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power. (Matthew 25:46;
Luke 16:19-26, 23:42-43; John 5:28-28; Acts 7:58-60; The Apostles' Creed I believe in God, the Father
Almighty, I believe in Jesus
Christ, God's only Son, our Lord, I believe in the
Holy Spirit,
We believe in one God, We believe in one Lord, Jesus
Christ, We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
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