| The Bible |
- We Believe the Scriptures were given by inspiration of
the Spirit of God who wrote every word through holy men so that
the Bible (scriptures) is without error [2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet.
1:21]
- We Believe the Authorized Version, (KJV), is the Holy
Spirit's preserved words of God. We do not believe the KJV was
produced by inspiration. We do believe the Bible teaches that
all God gave by inspiration He supernaturally preserved through
preservation. Guided by the Scriptures and the Spirit of God Who
guides us to all Truth, we believe as follows:
- The Spirit of God is given to guide us to all Truth [John
16:13]. The Lord Jesus declared that the Word of God is truth
[John 17:17]. The Holy Spirit will guide us to the version
approved by God.
- We are told to study to show ourselves approved unto God
[2 Timothy 2:15]. Those who carefully look into this matter
may expect the promise to be fulfilled which says, "seek
and ye shall find..."
- We are told to try the spirits, to see if they be of God
[1 John 4:1]. We are warned that there are seducing spirits
which teach doctrines of devils, and that these will be peculiarly
active in the last days [1 Timothy 4:1-4]. It is to be expected
that Satan will cleverly work to deceive Christians and dilute
the authority of God's Words.
- We are given specific criteria by which to evaluate the
spirit behind any version [1 Tim 4:1-4; 1 John 4:2-3; 2 John
7-10; Gal 1:7-9; Deut. 4:2 with Prov. 30.6; and Rev 22:19].
When the KJV is examined in the light of these tests, it is
clear the Spirit of God testifies to us that the KJV is the
preserved words of God.
- We Believe the Bible is our only absolute authority for
faith and practice.
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| The Trinity |
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- We Believe there is one God; that God is the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit; that while each of these is a separate
Person, they share equally in the One Nature and Essence of God;
and that this is called the Godhead in the Scripture [Deut. 6:4;
1 Jo. 5:7; 1 Tim 3:16; Jo. 1:1-14; Acts 5:1-4; Col. 2:9; Rom.
8:9-11].
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Jesus Christ |
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- We Believe the Word is Christ, the eternal God, by whom
all things are made and consist; and that Christ Jesus is "God
manifest in the flesh" [1 Tim. 3:16], was born of a virgin,
the only begotten of the Father; that He lived a sinless, miraculous
life, died on a cross suffering the judgment of our sins in His
own body, was buried in a nearby tomb, and arose bodily from the
grave the third day, alive, according to the Scriptures [John
1:1-14; Col. 1:15-17; 1 Tim. 3:16; He. 1:3; Phil. 2:5-11; Matt.
1:18-20; Heb. 4:15; John 20:30-31; Matt 26-27; 1 Co. 15:1-8];
He lives evermore [Rev. 1:18; Heb 7:25]
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The Holy Spirit |
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- We Believe the Holy Spirit is God; that he dwells in
the believer at salvation and that Jesus baptizes the surrendered
believer with the Spirit who then fills the believer empowering
him for service; we believe the Holy Spirit fills the body which
is Christ's temple today, prefigured by the Old Testament Temple;
and that this filling is grounded upon the sacrifice of the blood
of the Lamb, and effected at the dedication of the temple in obedience
to God. We believe the Spirit directs the Church's ministry today
and flows through believers into the world [Acts 5:1-4; Matt.
3:11; Acts 1:5; 2:1-5; 11:16; John. 16:7,14; Ac. 4:30,31; Rom.
8:9-11; 12:1,2; Eph. 5:18; Acts 1:8; 2:4; 13:2; 16:6; 19:2; 1
Co. 12-14].
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Satan |
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- We Believe Satan was created by God and made the covering
cherub; he was perfect in all his ways until iniquity was found
in him; he is a liar and the father of it; he set himself against
God and declared he would exalt himself above God's stars, and
he coveted the likeness of God; he was denied and cast down and
deceived 1/3 of God's angelic host to follow him into his rebellion.
- We Believe Satan is God's enemy. God has condemned Satan
and his devils to burn forever in the Lake of Fire. Their judgment
is set for a future time; meanwhile, Satan continues to oppose
God's will and ways and seeks to overthrow God's rule in man's
heart; he has succeeded so far as to establish himself as god
of this world; but Christ has conquered him [Ezek. 28:13-19; Is.
14:12; Rev 12:4; Jo. 8:44; Matt. 25:41; 8:29; 4; 2Co. 4:4; Jo
16:33; Col. 2:15; 1 Jo. 4:4; Eph 6:12].
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Man |
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- We Believe man was created male and female and in the
image and after the likeness of His maker, God; that God made
him a moral agent with the prerogative to exercise his will freely
to submit to God's will, that man's greatest purpose is to love
God; that, however, man exercised the prerogative of his will
to disobey God, and so followed Satan in sin; and that through
sin man's nature became sinful, and that this nature is passed
on to all Adam's race. Albeit retaining God's image, by sin, man
took on Satan's nature. We believe man has a conscience given
to him by God, by which he may know God's law; that this conscience
may be silenced through sin; and we believe God has given every
man a divinely appointed measure of faith; that Jesus draws all
to Himself by the Cross [Gen. 1:26,27; 3; Rom. 3:10-23; 5:12;
2:14; 12:3; John 8:44; James 3:9; 1 Jo. 3:8].
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Sin |
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- We Believe the wages of sin is death, that all have sinned,
that those who die in their sin cannot go to heaven and must suffer
the eternal fires with Satan and his devils; that, however, God
has provided salvation for mankind through Jesus Christ; that
this salvation is by grace through faith alone without works of
righteousness; that salvation is made available by Jesus Christ
through His sacrificial death on the cross which paid man's debt
for sin; that salvation is received through Jesus Christ alone
by confessing with the mouth the Lord Jesus, believing in the
heart that He arose from the dead, and calling on His name to
be saved. [Rom. 6:23; 3:23; John. 8:21-24; Matt. 25:21; Rev. 21:8;
Eph 2:8,9; 5:8,9; 10:9-13; 1 Jo. 5:13].
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Salvation |
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- We Believe Christians cannot lose their salvation, but
we do not believe this means Christians may live any way they
choose without eternal consequences. We believe Christians will
be chastened for sin now, in this life; and in the life to come
sinning Christians will suffer loss of rewards at the judgment
seat of Christ. They will receive the things done in their body,
according to what was done; and that both good and bad works will
be judged. We, with the Apostle Paul, take this judgment very
seriously, and testify to a holy regard for the fear of the Lord
who is Holy, Holy, Holy [Rom. 8:38,39; He. 12:6-11; 1 Co. 3:11-16;
2 Co. 5:9-11; Is. 6:3]
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End Times |
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- We Believe Jesus Christ will physically return for all
believers; and that He could return any moment to rapture all
Christians out of this world before the tribulation begins; that
he will then return to the earth with His saints to establish
His kingdom and authority on this planet [Acts 1:1-11; 1 Thess.
4:13-18; 3:13; Rev 19:11-15; 20:1-5; Cf. 11-15].
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The Church |
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- We Believe the church is Christ's body, that it is local,
visible congregation of baptized believers who are committed to
the Lord and to His Word, and who are organized in accordance
with the Scriptures with the mission to reach the world with the
gospel message [Eph 1:22, 23 Matt 28:18-20; Rev 1:20}
- We Believe the Lord's churches are independent; i.e.,
not governed by any denominational board or hierarchy; His churches
are not organized under the oversight of any affiliation; none
of the many wonderful leaders among the independent Baptist churches
exercise anything more than what influence each individual church
leadership recognizes as coming from the HEAD, which is Christ
ALONE; His churches are organized according to Jesus' clear instruction
with one Bishop, usually referred to as senior Pastor, and whatever
deacons might be thought necessary to assist the pastor in the
ministry of the Church [Rev 2-3; Acts 9:31; 15:41; Rom. 16:16;
Acts 6, 15; Eph 1:22; 5:23; 1 Tim. 3; Phil. 1:1].
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Baptism |
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- We Believe water baptism is the baptism of repentance
given by God to John the Baptist and commanded for all believers
by Jesus Christ to His churches; it pictures the death, burial
and resurrection of Jesus Christ; it is necessary for obedience,
but not essential for salvation. Baptism identifies a believer
publicly as a disciple of Jesus Christ. It is for believers only.
For baptism to be genuine it must be Scriptural: the baptism of
repentance is by full immersion in water, and administered by
a New Testament Church with biblical authority [ Rom. 6:1-4; 1
Co. 1:17; Matt. 28:19; Acts 2:38; 1 Pet. 3:21; Acts 19:1-5].
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The Lord's Table |
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- We Believe the Lord's Table was given by Jesus
Christ to His future Bride, the Church, as a special memorial
for her to observe during His absence. The elements of the Table
are representative of the body and blood of Jesus Christ; and
the receiving of these by the believer is a testimonial of our
faith in Christ Jesus' death on the cross for our sins, and the
power of the blood of Jesus to wash away our sins. Because of
our belief in the Bible's teaching concerning the Church, we believe
this memorial service was given especially to His churches, and
that it is closed to any who are not born again, identified as
a disciple of Jesus Christ by biblical baptism, and united with
His Church [1 Co. 11; Matt 26:26ff].
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Separation / Personal Holiness |
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- We Believe separation is commanded in the Scripture;
that it is God's will that believers separate themselves from
the world by denying ungodly lusts, shunning ungodly activities,
and pursuing holiness in attitudes and actions; that it is God's
will for believers to separate from false brethren, and from error
in doctrine; while maintaining a loving disposition toward the
sinner, we refuse the sin and reject the heretic [2 Co. 6:17;
1 Jo. 2:15; Titus 2:12; Eph 5:3; 2 Co. 7:1; Rom. 16:17; Titus
3:10; Jo. 3:16]
- We do not affiliate with the WCC or NCC, or any other group
denying any of the fundamentals of the Christian faith.
- We believe it is insulting to our Holy God when we fail
to maintain clear distinctions between the profane and the
holy [ Ezek 22:26; 44:23]
- We Believe it grieves the Holy Spirit of God when believers
bicker in bitterness and wrath and anger; that evil speaking should
be put away with all malice; that believers ought to be marked
by a spirit of tenderheartedness, forgiving one another, supporting
one another in brotherly love; that because so much discord is
found among believers, prayers are hindered and revival tarries
[Eph. 4:30-32; Matt. 18:15-20; Acts 4:24-31]
- We Believe it quenches the Holy Spirit when believers
yield to the flesh, refuse to distinguish themselves from the
world in dress and manners, and attempt to win the world by identifying
with the fashions and amusements of this adulterous and rebellious
generation. We believe churches which accommodate the carnality
of worldly Christians defile the conscience of the wicked, and
encourage Satan in his effort to sow tares among the wheat, and
harden believer's hearts against humble repentance and so shutting
the door against any hope for true, Holy Ghost revival in our
land [ 1 Thes. 5:19; Gal:16-21; 1 John 2:15-16; 1 Co. 7:31 with
Deut. 22:5; 1 Tim 2:9; 1 Pet 1:15, 16; 1 Co. 3; 1 Tim 4:1-4; Matt.
13:25; 2 Chron. 7:14; Is. 58:1,2; Jer. 10:17-21]
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Worship |
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- We Believe the Holy Spirit is limited by believers who
refuse to worship according to the Spirit and Truth; that the
Holy Spirit desires to operate in and through the congregation
manifesting Christ Jesus, comforting, counseling, convicting and
correcting as needed; but that because we grieve, quench and/or
limit the Holy One of Israel, the Churches are woefully lacking
in true experience of the Holy Ghost; that as a consequence of
this lack of genuine experience of the Holy Ghost in our worship,
many have attempted to substitute carnal stimulation of the flesh
through fleshly music and encouraging a carnal emotionalism; even
going so far as to fake the demonstration of the Spirit through
staged healing and pagan ecstatic utterance passed off as the
spiritual gift of tongues. While we certainly do not believe excitement
and enthusiasm for the Lord and expressions of genuine affection
for Him in public worship tend toward any evil; we do believe
the Holy Ghost is concerned about what vessel He uses to effuse
His Glory; that fleshly worship has never been acceptable to Him
[Ps. 78:41; John 4:24; 1 Cor. 12-14 & Acts; John 15:26; 16:8-13;
Acts; 1 Co. 3; Gal. 5:16-21; Rom 7-8; 1 Co. 14; Ps. 150; 1 Thes.
4:4; 2 Tim. 2:20, 21; Ezek. 44:23; 2 Co 6:17]
- A Special note regarding the gift of tongues is thought
necessary in light of the confusion and controversy Satan
has succeeded at working among Christians over this doctrine.
- The Bible teaches the Jews require a sign [1 Co. 1:22]
- Tongues were given for a sign [1 Co 14:22]
- The Bible predicted that God would announce His offer
of the kingdom to Israel by the sign gift of tongues;
that they would reject it and thereby forfeit the Kingdom
[Is. 28:11, 1 Co. 14:21]
- The Bible teaches this did in fact occur; Israel was
cast away, or cut off [Ac. 2:5; 28:27, 28; Ro. 11:20b-21]
- The Bible predicted Jesus would be born of a virgin
as a sign to Israel [Is. 7:14]. This occurred. It is now
history. We do not look for this sign today, even though
it is still found in Scripture. Likewise, we believe the
gift of tongues has served its purpose; it is a fulfilled
prophecy [Is. 28:11; Acts 2; 1 Co. 13:8]
- We are particularly concerned about the current emphasis
on "signs" as that by which we validate, or approve
a ministry because, first, the Bible clearly indicates it
is a proper knowledge and teaching of Scripture that approves
a ministry [1 Tim 2:15-16; 1 Co. 11:19] and second, it is
by means of "signs" and miracles that Satan will
deceive the world in the end time [Rev. 13:11-18]
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Human Sexuality |
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- We Believe sodomy (homosexuality) is an abomination to
God and a curse to society; (while we love the sinner, we reject
the sin); [Ro. 1:26, 27; Lev 18:22]
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Abortion |
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- We Believe the Bible recognizes the infant in the womb
to be a person and therefore must condemn abortion as murder [Lu
1:41; Jer 1:5; Ps 139:14-16].
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Civil Government |
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- We Believe the Lord Jesus has commanded us to obey the
laws of government, to honor those in authority, and to pray for
them. We believe the authority of government is not unlimited;
and that our allegiance to conscience and faith supersedes our
allegiance to government; that, however, this does not mean if
we disagree in conscience or faith with the laws of our government
we are obliged to take up arms; we believe Jesus has given us
only the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God; that our
battles are spiritual and not carnal. Nonetheless, it is required
of believers to exercise their role in the community as both salt
and light; and so all believers are encouraged to participate
in the political process, as did Daniel, and Joseph, et al; and
to utilize the protections afforded to us by our laws as did the
Apostle Paul before us. [Ro. 13:1-9; 1 Peter 2:13-17; Acts 5:29;
2 Co. 5:20; Eph 6:9; Eph 6:12-18; Matt. 5:13,14; Acts 21-23]
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Believer's Body |
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- We Believe the New Testament Temple is the body of the
believer, and every Christian is a New Testament priest. As the
Spirit (Shekinah Glory) dwelt between the Cherubim of the ark
in the Holy Place of the Old Testament Temple, now He dwells in
the heart of the believers. As the Glory of the Lord filling the
body of believers. We believe every New Testament priest is called
to service the New Testament Temple, offering the sacrifices of
praise, prayer, surrender of body and spirit in holiness, and
to participate in sacrificial giving [ 1 Co. 6:19; 1 Pe. 2:5;
Gal. 4:6; Acts 4:30, 31; He. 13:15; Ps. 141:2; Ro. 12:1-2; 1 Co.
6:20; 2 Co. 7:1-2; Phil. 4:18].
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