I The Scriptures

The Bible was written by men inspired by God and is God’s revelation of Himself to man. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and without contradiction and is the standard by which all human action, creeds, and opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of the divine Book.

Exodus 24:4; Deuteronomy 4:1-2; 17:19; Joshua 8:34; Psalms 19:7-10; 119:11,89,105,140; Isaiah 34:16; 40:8; Jeremiah 15:16; 36:1-32; Matthew 5:17-18; 22:29; Luke 21:33; 24:44-46; John 5:39; 16:13-15; 17:17; Acts 2:16ff.; 17:11; Romans 15:4; 16:25-26; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Hebrews 1:1-2; 4:12; 1 Peter 1:25; 2 Peter 1:19-21.

II. God

There is only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. God is all powerful and all knowing. The eternal triune God exists in three Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.

A. God the Father

God as Father controls all things with providential care over His universe and His creatures according to the purpose of His grace.  He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. God is Father only to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ according to His appointment, yet He is fatherly in His attitude toward all men.

Genesis 1:1; 2:7; Exodus 3:14; 6:2-3; 15:11ff.; 20:1ff.; Leviticus 22:2; Deuteronomy 6:4; 32:6; 1 Chronicles 29:10; Psalm 19:1-3; Isaiah 43:3,15; 64:8; Jeremiah 10:10; 17:13; Matthew 6:9ff.; 7:11; 23:9; 28:19; Mark 1:9-11; John 4:24; 5:26; 14:6-13; 17:1-8; Acts 1:7; Romans 8:14-15; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 4:6; Colossians 1:15; 1 Timothy 1:17; Hebrews 11:6; 12:9; 1 Peter 1:17; 1 John 5:7.

B. God the Son

Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, taking upon Himself complete, yet sinless, humanity while never ceasing to be God. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature  identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without a sin nature.  He redeemed from sin those who were elected unto salvation. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples. He ascended into heaven and is now seated at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to rule over the world from Israel for one thousand years. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever present Lord.

Genesis 18:1ff.; Psalms 2:7ff.; 110:1ff.; Isaiah 7:14; 53; Matthew 1:18-23; 3:17; 8:29; 11:27; 14:33; 16:16,27; 17:5; 27; 28:1-6,19; Mark 1:1; 3:11; Luke 1:35; 4:41; 22:70; 24:46; John 1:1-18,29; 10:30,38; 11:25-27; 12:44-50; 14:7-11; 16:15-16,28; 17:1-5, 21-22; 20:1-20,28; Acts 1:9; 2:22-24; 7:55-56; 9:4-5,20; Romans 1:3-4; 3:23-26; 5:6-21; 8:1-3,34; 10:4; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2:2; 8:6; 15:1-8,24-28; 2 Corinthians 5:19-21; 8:9; Galatians 4:4-5; Ephesians 1:20; 3:11; 4:7-10; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:13-22; 2:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; 3:16; Titus 2:13-14; Hebrews 1:1-3; 4:14-15; 7:14-28; 9:12-15,24-28; 12:2; 13:8; 1 Peter 2:21-25; 3:22; 1 John 1:7-9; 3:2; 4:14-15; 5:9; 2 John 7-9; Revelation 1:13-16; 5:9-14; 12:10-11; 13:8; 19:16.

C. God the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He directed men to write the Scriptures, which are fully inspired by God. Through illumination He enables men to understand truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts men of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He calls men to the Saviour, and effects regeneration. He baptized everyone that was chosen by the Father to be saved during this dispensation of the church age into the Body of Christ on the day of Pentecost recorded in the book of Acts. He accomplishes Christian sanctification, comforts believers, and manifests himself through spiritual gifts by which believers serve God, when and if they are in submission to Him. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption of the inheritance. His presence in the Christian is the guarantee that God will bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ when they will enjoy sharing in the inheritance with Jesus the Son of Man .  He enlightens and empowers believers in worship, evangelism, and service.

Genesis 1:2; Judges 14:6; Job 26:13; Psalms 51:11; 139:7ff.; Isaiah 61:1-3; Joel 2:28-32; Matthew 1:18; 3:16; 4:1; 12:28-32; 28:19; Mark 1:10,12; Luke 1:35; 4:1,18-19; 11:13; 12:12; 24:49; John 4:24; 14:16-17,26; 15:26; 16:7-14; Acts 1:8; 2:1-4,38; 4:31; 5:3; 6:3; 7:55; 8:17,39; 10:44; 13:2; 15:28; 16:6; 19:1-6; Romans 8:9-11,14-16,26-27; 1 Corinthians 2:10-14; 3:16; 12:3-11,13; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30; 5:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:19; 1 Timothy 3:16; 4:1; 2 Timothy 1:14; 3:16; Hebrews 9:8,14; 2 Peter 1:21; 1 John 4:13; 5:6-7; Revelation 1:10; 22:17.

III. Mankind

Mankind is the special creation of God, made in His own image. He created them male and female as the crowning work of His creation.  In the beginning man was innocent of sin and was given by his Creator, freedom of choice. By his own choice man sinned against God and brought guilt and sin upon the human race. Through the temptation of Satan, Adam transgressed the command of God, and fell from his original innocence whereby all of his posterity have been declared guilty; and his posterity inherit a sinful nature . Therefore, as soon as they are capable of moral action, they become transgressors and are under condemnation. Only the grace of God can bring man into  fellowship with Himself and enable man to fulfil the creative purpose of God. The sacredness of every person is evident in that God created mankind in His own image; therefore, every person of every people group possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.

Genesis 1:26-30; 2:5,7,18-22; 3; 9:6; Psalms 1; 8:3-6; 32:1-5; 51:5; Isaiah 6:5; Jeremiah 17:5; Matthew 16:26; Acts 17:26-31; Romans 1:19-32; 3:10-18,23; 5:6,12,19; 6:6; 7:14-25; 8:14-18,29; 1 Corinthians 1:21-31; 15:19,21-22; Ephesians 2:1-22; Colossians 1:21-22; 3:9-11.

IV. Salvation

Salvation is by appointment of the Father and it involves the redemption of the whole man, and was accomplished by Jesus Christ, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for all of his people. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification.

A. Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God’s grace whereby  a person becomes a new creature in Christ Jesus. It is the impartation of a new nature, whereby the sinner is given new life, and ability to believe unto justification.

Regeneration results in repentance unto God, which is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

B. Justification is God’s gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who believe in Christ having been regenerated by God, declaring them, yet not making them righteous. Justification brings the believer into a relationship of peace and favour with God. The sole condition for justification is faith alone in Christ alone.

C. Sanctification began in eternity when God set apart persons for salvation and is experienced in regeneration.   In sanctification the individual is set apart to God’s eternal purpose, and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerate person’s life, although it is not guaranteed to be the experience of every believer. Sanctification requires submission to the Lordship of Christ, which is not a condition to justification. The Bible does not teach that submission and obedience will be manifested in all believers. If a believer does not submit to the ministry of Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit, his experience in life will be characterized by failure, evidenced by disobedience and sinful acts which may continue throughout their lives, yet will not affect their eternal salvation. 

D. Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed. In God’s eternal purpose for His elect, this is seen by Him as an accomplished fact even now.Which can not be altered even by a life of unfaithfulness and disobedience. Christians can have assurance of this fact because it is an act of God, apart from our works, either good or bad, and is based upon faith which is not of ourselves; it is a gift of God.

Genesis 3:15; Exodus 3:14-17; 6:2-8; Matthew 1:21; 4:17; 16:21-26; 27:22-28:6; Luke 1:68-69; 2:28-32; John 1:11-14,29; 3:3-21,36; 5:24; 10:9,28-29; 15:1-16; 17:17; Acts 2:21; 4:12; 15:11; 16:30-31; 17:30-31; 20:21; 20:32; Romans 1:16-18; 2:4; 3:23-25; 4:3ff.; 5:8-10; 6:1-23; 8:1-18,29-39; 10:9-10,13; 13:11-14; 1 Corinthians 1:18,30; 6:19-20; 15:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17-20; Galatians 2:20; 3:13; 5:22-25; 6:15; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-22; 4:11-16; Philippians 2:12-13; Colossians 1:9-22; 3:1ff.; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; 2 Timothy 1:12; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 2:1-3; 5:8-9; 9:24-28; 11:1-12:8,14; James 2:14-26; 1 Peter 1:2-23; 1 John 1:6-2:11; Revelation 3:20; 21:1-22:5.

V. God’s Purpose of Grace

Election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners.  It is the glorious display of God’s sovereign goodness, and is infinitely wise, holy, and unchangeable. It excludes boasting and promotes humility.

All of God’s elect are preserved to the end. All those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit, can never fall away from being positionally in the state of grace, but shall be preserved to the end. Believers may fall into sin through neglect and temptation, whether by moments or by years, whereby they grieve the Spirit and bring reproach on the name of Christ and bring correction on themselves; yet they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.

Genesis 12:1-3; Exodus 19:5-8; 1 Samuel 8:4-7,19-22; Isaiah 5:1-7; Jeremiah 31:31ff.; Matthew 16:18-19; 21:28-45; 24:22,31; 25:34; Luke 1:68-79; 2:29-32; 19:41-44; 24:44-48; John 1:12-14; 3:16; 5:24; 6:44-45,65; 10:27-29; 15:16; 17:6,12,17-18; Acts 20:32; Romans 5:9-10; 8:28-39; 10:12-15; 11:5-7,26-36; 1 Corinthians 1:1-2; 15:24-28; Ephesians 1:4-23; 2:1-10; 3:1-11; Colossians 1:12-14; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14; 2 Timothy 1:12; 2:10,19; Hebrews 11:39–12:2; James 1:12; 1 Peter 1:2-5,13; 2:4-10; 1 John 1:7-9; 2:19; 3:2.

VI. The Church

The New Testament speaks  of the church as the Body of Christ which includes all of the redeemed during this age commonly referred to as the Dispensation of Grace, believers from every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation.

The Local Church is made up of persons belonging to the one body of Christ, who gather in their locality for the purpose of encouraging one another unto good works.  Ideally, all believers in each community would be walking together in unity under the Headship of Christ Jesus.

A New Testament gathering of the Lord Jesus Christ is autonomous, but not independent of other believers. Christians are encouraged to be baptized and live their lives in accordance to God’s word. Although each individual believer is responsible and accountable to Christ as Lord, we are also responsible and accountable to one another as brethren. Each congregation operates under the Lordship of Christ through democratic processes, led by the example of spiritually mature men exercising servant leadership. The purpose of local church gatherings is for fellowship and exhortation promoted by a common meal and the teaching of the scriptures. 

Matthew 16:15-19; 18:15-20; Acts 2:41-42,47; 5:11-14; 6:3-6; 13:1-3; 14:23,27; 15:1-30; 16:5; 20:28; Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 3:16; 5:4-5; 7:17; 9:13-14; 12; Ephesians 1:22-23; 2:19-22; 3:8-11,21; 5:22-32; Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:18; 1 Timothy 2:9-14; 3:1-15; 4:14; Hebrews 11:24-25, 39-40; 1 Peter 5:1-4; Revelation 2-3; 21:2-3.

VII. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper

So-called Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s co-crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of  the believer with his Saviour.  Baptism ought to follow closely after salvation.

The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the body of Christ, through partaking of a full meal, including the bread and the fruit of the vine, in order to both memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming, and eternal fellowship with Him.

Matthew 3:13-17; 26:26-30; 28:19-20; Mark 1:9-11; 14:22-26; Luke 3:21-22; 22:19-20; John 3:23; Acts 2:41-42; 8:35-39; 16:30-33; 20:7; Romans 6:3-5; 1 Corinthians 10:16,21; 11:23-29; Colossians 2:12.

  VIII Last Things

According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth to rule and to reign as its King for a period of one thousand years. Prior to this the church will have been taken up to be with Him into heaven where they will be judged at the bema seat of Christ and will receive rewards for living lives of obedience, and will suffer lose for acts of disobedience. The remainder of the world’s population will suffer judgment from God during a tribulation period of seven years. After the Millennial reign of Christ, the dead will be raised and Christ will judge the unredeemed in righteousness where they will be consigned to the Lake of Fire, the place of everlasting punishment.

We completely reject any theology that allegorizes Christ's earthly reign or rids of it all together. 

Isaiah 2:4; 11:9; Matthew 16:27; 18:8-9; 19:28; 24:27,30,36,44; 25:31-46; 26:64; Mark 8:38; 9:43-48; Luke 12:40,48; 16:19-26; 17:22-37; 21:27-28; John 14:1-3; Acts 1:11; 17:31; Romans 14:10; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 15:24-28,35-58; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Philippians 3:20-21; Colossians 1:5; 3:4; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; 5:1ff.; 2 Thessalonians 1:7ff.; 2; 1 Timothy 6:14; 2 Timothy 4:1,8; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 9:27-28; James 5:8; 2 Peter 3:7ff.; 1 John 2:28; 3:2; Jude 14; Revelation 1:18; 3:11; 20:1-22:13.