· IN ESSENTIAL BELIEFS - WE HAVE UNITY..
“There is one Body and one Spirit...there
is one
Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and
Father of us all...” Ephesians 4:4-6
· IN NON-ESSENTIAL BELIEFS
- WE HAVE LIBERTY..
“Accept him whose faith is
weak,
without passing judgment on disputable matters...
Who are you to judge someone else’s servant?
To his own master he stands or falls ...
So then each of us will give an account of himself to God...
So whatever you believe about these things
keep between yourself and God.”
Romans 14:1, 4, 12, 22
· IN ALL OUR BELIEFS -
WE SHOW LOVE..
“...If I hold in my mind not only
all human knowledge
but also the very secrets of God, and if I have the faith
that can move mountains - but have no love,
I amount to nothing at all.” 1 Corinthians
13:2
When we talk about what we believe, we have disunity.
When we talk about who we believe in, we have unity!
Therefore . . .
“We
will agree to disagree agreeably!”
Essentials we believe
1. ABOUT THE BIBLE
THE BIBLE IS GOD’S WORD
TO MAN.
“All scripture is given
by inspiration of God, and is profitable
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction
in righteousness, that the man of God may be thoroughly
equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17
The Bible is God’s inerrant
Word to us, infallible as originally given by God through human authors under
the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit, and is absolutely
true and trustworthy. It is our only standard of faith
and practice.
Hebrews 4:12 * 2 Peter 1:20-21 * Matthew 5:18
* Psalm 119
2. ABOUT GOD
THERE IS ONE TRUE AND LIVING GOD.
“...one God and Father
of all, who is above all,
and through all...” Ephesians 4:6
“... In the name of the
Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit..” Matthew 28:19
There is one true and living
God, the Creator and Sustainer of all things. He is infinite,
eternal, unchangeable, &
is revealed to us as the Godhead existent in three co-equal,
co-eternal, & co-substantial persons: the Father, the Son,
& the Holy Spirit.
Genesis 1:1, 26, 27; 3:22 * Ephesians 1:3-6;
13-14 Matthew 28:19 Philippians 2:5-6 * John 1:1, 3, 14,18 *
Isaiah 9:6
1) GOD THE FATHER
“Every good
gift and every perfect gift is from above,
and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom
there is no variation or shadow of turning.” James
1:17
The first person of the Trinity who orders and disposes all
things according to His own purpose and grace, and who continually
upholds, directs, and governs all creatures and events for His
own glory. Fatherhood denotes spiritual relationship, first
within the Trinity, second within mankind, creatively in relation
to all men, but spiritually only in relation to those who have
been saved by His grace from their sin and have come to Him
through Jesus Christ.
2) GOD THE SON
“And the Word
became flesh and dwelt among us,
and we beheld His glory as of the only begotten of
the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14
Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah
of the Old Testament, born of a virgin, lived a sinless life,
offered Himself as the perfect
sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on the cross,
rose from the dead to provide justification for every believer,
ascended to the right hand of God where He presently intercedes
for all believers, and will again, in the fullness of the Father’s
time, return in visible, triumphant, personal form to overthrow
sin, judge the world, and establish His Kingdom on earth.
25
3) GOD THE SPIRIT
“He will give
you another Helper ...even the Spirit of truth...
He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness,
and of judgment...
He will guide you into all truth...”
John 14:16-17; 16:8, 13
The Holy Spirit was sent from God to convict the world of sin,
righteousness, and judgment; and to save us from sin. He lives
in every Christian from the moment of salvation. He provides
the Christian with power for living, understanding of spiritual
truth, and guidance in doing what is right. He gives every believer
spiritual gifts when they are saved. As Christians we should
seek to live under His control daily.
“At salvation,
we get all of God. When we trust God to fill us with His
Spirit (take control of
our lives), God then gets all of us!”
3. ABOUT MAN, SIN AND SATAN
MAN’S CONDITION IS ONE OF SIN & SEPERATION
FROM GOD.
“So
God created man in His own image. Of the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you
eat of it you shall surely die.” Genesis 1:26; 2:17
“For the wages of sin is death...” Romans 6:23
God created man in His spiritual image
directly and immediately (not by evolution); for the purpose
of fellowship with God and bringing glory to God. Man was tempted
by Satan and sinned, and because of this, all have been
born with a nature to sin since that time. Every person
has tremendous potential for good, but we are all marred by
rebellion and disobedience toward God, which the Bible calls
sin. Sin separates us from God, others, and all good things.
When a person dies without the forgiveness of Christ, they spend
eternity in hell. All persons need to be saved from
their sin, but not all persons are saved.
Genesis 1:26-28; 3:1-19 * Romans 5:12; 6:23
* Rev. 20:10 * Is. 14:12-17
4. ABOUT SALVATION
GOD HAS ACTED IN JESUS CHRIST TO SAVE US FROM SIN.
“For
there is one God and one Mediator between God and men,
the Man Christ Jesus,
who gave Himself a ransom for all...” 1 Timothy 2:5
“He who hears My word
and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall
not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life...
And I give them eternal life, and they will never perish;
neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand...”
John 5:24; 10:28
Jesus Christ is the only Savior from
sin. He provided forgiveness and atonement for our sins on
the cross, and rose again to provide
life and justification. Apart from Christ, there is no salvation.
All men are under condemnation through personal sin. Deliverance
from condemnation comes only by the righteousness of Christ
by grace through faith, and not through good deeds. The Spirit
gives new life to the one who makes this life commitment
to
Jesus, and he is saved by God’s power forever.
Acts 4:12 * Ephesians 2:8-9 * John 3:16-19 John
5:24; 6:47; 10:28-30
5. ABOUT THE CHURCH
JESUS ESTABLISHED THE CHURCH TO CONTINUE HIS MISSION
AND MINISTRY ON EARTH.
“...on
this rock I will build My church, and the gates of
Hades shall not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18
“...Christ also loved the church and gave Himself
for it...” Ephesians 5:25
A New Testament church is a voluntary association of
baptized believers who have covenanted together to
follow the teachings of the Bible.
It is a self-governed organization served and led by
pastor-elders.
Colossians 1:18 * 1 Corinthians 11:23-38 *
Heb. 13:7,17 * Eph. 4:7-12
6. ABOUT LAST THINGS
JESUS CHRIST WILL RETURN TO THE EARTH!
“...This same
Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven,
will come in like manner as you saw Him go...”
Acts 1:11
“...looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing
of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ...” Titus
2:13
When Jesus Christ returns to the earth,
the dead will be raised and Christ will judge all men according
to their works. Unbelievers will be cast into eternal punishment
and outer darkness prepared for the devil & his angels. The saved will spend eternity with God in their resurrected
bodies.
Matt 16:27 * Luke 17:21-37 * 1 Thes. 4:14-18
2 Pet.3:7-14 * Rev. 20-22
7. ABOUT DEATH AND RESURRECTION
EVERYONE WILL FACE JUDGMENT BEFORE GOD: SOME TO ETERNAL
LIFE, OTHERS TO ETERNAL CONDEMNATION.
“It is appointed
for men to die once, but after this the judgment.”
Hebrews 9:27
“To be absent from the body and to be present
with the Lord.” 2 Cor. 5:8
“And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before
God...
And they were judged, each according to his works.
Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire.”
Rev. 20:12-14
Death occurs when a person’s
soul leaves the body & passes immediately
into the presence of Christ for judgment. There is separation
of soul and body until
the first resurrection when the spirit, soul, and resurrected
body will be reunited in glorified form in heaven forever.
All
men will be bodily resurrected, the saved to everlasting life
- the lost to condemnation.
Rev. 6:9-11; 20:6, 13-15 * Phil. 1:23 * 1 Corinthians
15 * 2 Cor. 5:8
