Statement of Faith

ARTICLE I

Concerning the Scriptures

We believe in the Holy Scriptures, accepting fully the writings of the Old and New Testaments as the very Word of God, verbally inspired in all parts and therefore wholly without error as originally given of God, altogether sufficient in themselves as our only infallible and authoritative rule of faith and practice. (II Timothy 3:16, 17; II Peter 1:19-21; Proverbs 6:23; Isaiah 40:8; John 10:35)

 

ARTICLE II

Concerning the True God

We believe that there is one living and true God, the creator, sustainer and supreme ruler of heaven and earth; that in the unity of God there are three equal persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, each having precisely the same nature, attributes and perfections, yet each executing distinct and harmonious offices. (Genesis 1:1; Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; John 14:9, 16, 17; II Corinthians 13:14; Psalms 22:28; Psalms 36:6)

 

SECTION A

God the Father

We believe in God, the Father, perfect in holiness, justice and love, infinite in wisdom, measureless in power and omnipresent. We rejoice that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ. (Exodus 20:2, 3; I Corinthians 8:6; Timothy 1:17)

 

SECTION B

God the Son

We believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the second Person in the Triune God, the eternal Word and only begotten Son; that without any change in His divine Person, He became man by the miracle of the Virgin Birth, thus to continue forever as both true God and true man; that being tempted in all points as men are, He lived a life of absolute sinlessness; that He voluntarily gave Himself in death upon the cross, becoming there our sin and suffering the full penalty of Divine wrath in our stead, that He arose bodily from the dead the third day and that as our great High Priest, He ascended into Heaven, there to appear before the Father as our Advocate and Intercessor; that He shall return, visibly, to the world according to His promise. (John 1:1-7; John 1:14; Galatians 4:4; Hebrews 4:15; Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:2; John 5:23a; Philippians 2:5-8; I Timothy 2:5; II Corinthians 5:21; I Timothy 4:10; I Corinthians 15:3,4; Hebrews 1:3; Hebrews 7:25; I John 2:1, 2)

 

SECTION C

God the Holy Spirit

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Triune God, the divine agent in creation and revelation; that He convicts the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment; that He is the divine agent of the new birth; that He indwells, baptizes and seals all believers at the moment of regeneration; that He further fills, guides, illuminates, sanctifies and assures all believers who are yielded to Him; that He endows every believer with one or more spiritual gifts upon regeneration. (Genesis 1:2; Matthew 1:2; II Peter 1:21; II Corinthians 2:11; I Corinthians 12:11; Romans 8:14; John 14:16, 17; I Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 4:3; Ephesians 1:13, 14; I Corinthians 12:7, 8; Ephesians 5:18; Romans 8:14; I John 2:27; Galatians 5:22, 23; Galatians 5:16)

 

ARTICLE III

Concerning Satan or the Devil

We believe in the distinct personality of Satan, who was created a holy angel and enjoyed heavenly honours, but through pride and ambition to be as the Almighty, fell and drew after him a host of angels; that he is the prince of all the powers of darkness and sin; that he is the enemy of God and accuser of the saints; that he is the author of all false religions and apostasy and tempter of the saints; that he is destined to final defeat at the hand of God's Son and to the judgment of an eternal justice in the lake of fire. (Job 1:7; Ezekiel 28:14, 15; Isaiah 14:12-15; John 8:44; II Corinthians 11:3; I Peter 5:8; John 12:31; II Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 6:12; Revelation 20:4; Revelation 20:10)

 

ARTICLE IV

Creation

We believe in the literal interpretation of the Genesis account of creation, discarding any theories such as spontaneous generation and evolutionary development. (Genesis 1; Exodus 20:11; Psalm 33:6-9; Isaiah 40:8; John 10:35)

 

ARTICLE V

Concerning Man

We believe that man was the direct creation of God, made in His image and likeness in a state of innocence; that by voluntary transgression he fell from his sinless and happy state; that in consequence of this fall all mankind incur physical and spiritual death; that all mankind are sinners by nature and by choice; that man in his natural state is in a condition of total depravity, utterly devoid of the holiness required by God, positively inclined to evil and therefore under just condemnation to eternal punishment and everlasting existence separated from God without defense or excuse. (Genesis 1:26, 27; Isaiah 4:3, 7; Revelation 4:11; Genesis 2:7-25; Romans 5:12-19; Psalm 51:5; Romans 8:8; Hebrews 9:27; Romans 1:20; Jeremiah 17:9; Isaiah 53:6; Ephesians 4:18-19; Romans 3:10-12)

 

ARTICLE VI

Concerning Salvation

We believe that salvation is wholly by God's grace through the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ; that it is entirely apart from man's works, and is upon the sole condition of repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ; and that believers have been "chosen in Him before the foundation of the world." We believe that in order to be saved the sinner must be born anew, being regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit, thus becoming a recipient of a new nature called the Divine nature. We believe that the great Gospel blessing which Christ secures to such as believe on Him is justification, which includes pardon of sin and the imputing of divine righteousness; that having exercised personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the believer is completely justified and is in possession of salvation which is eternally secure. (Acts 4:12; Acts 20:21; II Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 1:4, 13; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 1:12; Romans 2:4; 5:1; 8:9; 10:13; Titus 3:5-6)

 

ARTICLE VII

Concerning the Righteous and the Wicked

We believe that there is a radical difference between the righteous and the wicked; that only such as are justified through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and sanctified by the Spirit are truly righteous in His sight, while all such as continue in impenitence and unbelief are in His sight wicked. (Malachi 3:18; Romans 1:17; I John 5:19; Genesis 18:22-33; Psalm 7:10-13; Psalm 119:155; John 3:36; Romans 6:16-23)

 

SECTION A

 

The Eternal State

We believe this distinction holds among men both in and after death; that the righteous who 'sleep in Christ' enjoy the presence of God and the wicked dead experience conscious suffering in Hell; that the scriptures teach the bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust; that all the righteous will spend eternity in full enjoyment of God's presence and all the wicked will spend eternity in everlasting punishment in the Lake of Fire. (Proverbs 14:32; Luke 16:19-24; John 4:24-29; Revelation 20:11-15; I Thessalonians 4:14)

 

SECTION B

 

Sanctification

We believe that the righteous are sanctified; that sanctification is the setting apart unto God; that this sanctification is: 1. Positional - in that the believer is 'in Christ' as to his standing and set apart unto God at the time of salvation. (I Corinthians 6:11; Hebrews 2:11; Hebrews 10:10, 14) 2. Progressive - in that the believer grows in grace becoming more like Christ day by day by the washing of the Word, by the cleansing of the blood of Christ, by the inworking presence of the Holy Spirit. (II Corinthians 7:1; II Peter 3:18; I Thessalonians 4:37) 3. Perfect - in that the child of God will be fully sanctified in his state at the coming of our Lord, as he is now sanctified in his standing in Christ. (I John 3:1-4; I Thessalonians 3:13; Philippians 3:20-21)

 

SECTION C

 

Priesthood of the Believer

We believe in the priesthood of all believers, that Christ is our Great High Priest and through Him every believer has direct access into God's presence without the need of a human priest; that the believer has the right and responsibility to personally study and interpret the scriptures guided by the Holy Spirit, whereas the wicked accept not the things of the Spirit of God. (Hebrews 4:14-16; I Peter 2:5, 9; II Timothy 2:15; I Corinthians 2:12-16; II Corinthians 4:3, 4)

 

ARTICLE VIII

Concerning the Church

 

SECTION A

 

As to its Aspects: 1.

We believe that the church universal is a New Testament Institution: unknown to the Old Testament prophets; established by Jesus Christ, who is its sole Head; revealed through the Apostles, empowered and perpetrated by the Holy Spirit; composed of believers in Jesus Christ as Saviour, both Jew and Gentile; called out from the world and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 1:22-23; I Corinthians 11:12; Ephesians 4:25-27; Ephesians 2:13-22) 2. We believe that the church universal is manifested through the local church, which is a congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant of faith and fellowship of the Gospel, observing the ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws and exercising the gifts, rights and privileges invested in them by His Word. (Jude 3; Acts 14:21-23; Revelation 2:3; Acts 2:42; Philippians 1;5; I Timothy 3:15)

 

SECTION B

 

As to its Officers:

We believe that the officers of the local church are pastors (or elders, or bishops) and deacons, whose qualifications, claims and duties are clearly defined in the scriptures. (Philippians 1:1; Acts 20:17, 28; Titus 1:5-11; I Timothy 3:1-13)

 

SECTION C

 

As To Its Ordinances:

We believe that there are only two ordinances for the local church observed in the New Testament in the following order: 1. Baptism - which is the immersion in water of a believer in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, to show forth: (a) our union with the crucified, buried and risen Christ, and (b) our death to sin and resurrection to a new life. We hold it to be a condition of church membership. (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:41; Acts 8:12-13; Acts 8:35-39; Colossians 2:12) 2. The Lord's Supper - which is the memorial wherein the believer partakes of two elements, bread and cup ('fruit of the vine'), which symbolize the Lord's body and shed blood, proclaiming His death until He comes. (Matthew 26:26-29; Acts 2:41-43; I Corinthians 11:23-30).

 

SECTION D

 

As To Its Self-Government:

We believe that a local church has the absolute right of self-government; that it has the power and right within itself to confess its own faith in accordance with the New Testament, wherefore it must be kept free from interference by any ecclesiastical or political authority, and therefore church and state must be kept separate as having different functions with each fulfilling its duties free from the direction or patronage of the other; that it is scriptural for true churches to co-operate with each other in the furtherance of the gospel and in contending for the faith, and that every church is the sole and only judge of the measure and method of its co-operation: therefore; on all matters of membership, of policy, of government, of discipline or benevolence, the will of the local church is final. (Matthew 18:15-18; I Corinthians 12:25-28; I Timothy 3:15; Acts 4:29; Acts 14:23)

 

ARTICLE IX

Concerning Separation

 

SECTION A

The Church

We believe in the separation of the church from combined meetings with any and all organizations or groups who deny any of the great fundamentals of our faith: the verbal inspiration of scripture, the virgin birth of Christ, the substitutional death of Christ, the bodily resurrection of Christ, and the visible return of Christ; or who are sympathetic to the modern ecumenical movement which is exemplified in ecclesiastical organizations such as the National and World Council of Churches. (Romans 16:17; II John 7:11; II Corinthians 6:14; II Corinthians 7:1; Jude 3,4).

 

SECTION B

The Believer

We believe the Bible clearly teaches non-conformity to the world for every believer; that it is commanded of the Lord that all believers live lives of separation: (a) from worldly, sinful and doubtful practices, and (b) unto Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, the place of worship, prayer, personal godliness, personal witness and the ministries of the church. (Philippians 1:27; II Corinthians 6:14; I John 2:15-17; James 4:4; Romans 12:9; Romans 12:1-2; Hebrews 10:25; Hebrews 12:1-2; I Thessalonians 5:21-22).

 

ARTICLE X

Concerning the Return of Christ

We believe in the bodily, personal, premillennial return of Jesus Christ; that He will come before the seven years Tribulation period to catch away His church, coming only in the air; that He will come with His church at the close of the Tribulation to judge the living nations and to set up His kingdom. The premillennial - pretribulational doctrine of Christ's return is the official position of the church, but it is not a requisite to church membership. (I Thessalonians 4:13-17; I Thessalonians 5:9; Revelation 3:10; Matthew 24:29-30; Matthew 25:31-46; Revelation 19:11-21).

 

ARTICLE XI

The Lord's Day

We believe that the first day of the week is the Lord's Day, which commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and that, in a special sense, it is the divinely appointed day for the gathering of believers for worship and spiritual exercise. (John 20:19; Acts 20:7; I Corinthians 16:1-2; Revelation 1:10).

 

ARTICLE XII

Concerning Stewardship

We believe that stewardship is incumbent upon every believer and encompasses every area of life in which God has manifested His grace; that it begins with the giving of oneself first to the Lord, for this is pleasing to Him.

A) Stewardship of Abilities and Spiritual Gifts.

As God has graced every believer with abilities and one or more spiritual gifts, we believe in the faithful and grateful rendering of such unto God in whatsoever manner of contribution the believer is able, remembering that "unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required." (Luke 12:48; I Peter 4:10; I Timothy 6:4; II Timothy 1:6).

B) Stewardship of Time

We believe that God's people have a responsibility toward God concerning the use of their time. God exhorts all believers to walk wisely, making the most of their time. (Ephesians 5:15-16; Hebrews 10:25)

C) Stewardship of Finances

We believe the focus of New Testament teaching about giving is centred in the doctrine of grace. Believers are instructed to give individually, regularly, proportionately and cheerfully to the support of the local church and missions. (I Corinthians 16:1; II Corinthians 8:7; II Corinthians 9:7-11).

 

ARTICLE XIII

Civil Government

We believe that civil government is of divine appointment for the interest and good order of society; that magistrates and government leaders are to be prayed for conscientiously, honoured and obeyed, except only in the things opposed to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 13:1-7; I Timothy 2:1-3; I Peter 2:13-17; Acts 4:29).