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DOCTRINAL STATEMENT
I. The Scriptures
The
Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation
of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It
has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any
mixture of error, for its matter.
II. God
There
is one and 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; and His perfect
knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including
the future decisions of His free creatures. The eternal triune God
reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct
personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.
III. Man
Man is the special
creation of God, made in His own image. He created them male and female
as the crowning work of His creation. The gift of gender is thus part
of the goodness of God's creation. In the beginning man was innocent of
sin and was endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice. By his free
choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race.
Through the temptation of Satan man transgressed the command of God,
and fell from his original innocence whereby his posterity inherit a
nature and an environment inclined toward sin.
IV. Salvation
Salvation
involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all
who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, who by His own blood
obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense
salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and
glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus
Christ as Lord and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. Growth in
grace should continue throughout the regenerate person's life.
VI. The Church
A
New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local
congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith
and fellowship of the gospel; observing the two ordinances of Christ,
governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges
invested in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the
ends of the earth. Each congregation operates under the Lordship of
Christ. In such a congregation each member is responsible and
accountable to Christ as Lord. Its scriptural officers are pastors and
deacons.
The New Testament speaks also of the church as the
Body of Christ which includes all of the redeemed of all the ages,
believers from every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation. |
