Why do we stress sound doctrine?
Because the very health and life of the church depends on it!
If the church strays from sound doctrine, the gospel itself will eventually be compromised. If the gospel is compromised, in time the church will die. The church must either grow or die. The gospel message in its fullness is how the church will grow, both deeper and wider. The gospel comes to us by means of sound doctrine or the instruction of the apostles. Kerrville Bible Church seeks to be an educational venue, not an entertainment venue. Come and grow with us!
If the church strays from sound doctrine, the gospel itself will eventually be compromised. If the gospel is compromised, in time the church will die. The church must either grow or die. The gospel message in its fullness is how the church will grow, both deeper and wider. The gospel comes to us by means of sound doctrine or the instruction of the apostles. Kerrville Bible Church seeks to be an educational venue, not an entertainment venue. Come and grow with us!
Click the buttons below or keep scrolling to read our core commitments, statement of faith, and doctrinal statement.
Core Commitments
- The Authority of God’s Word - We believe the Bible is inerrant, authoritative and sufficient for all matters of spiritual life and godliness
- We hold a High View of God - a central focus on Christ and dependence on the Holy Spirit
- A Right View of Man - as made in God’s image yet fallen, spiritually dead and separated from God, in need of salvation through Christ.
- Sound Doctrine - The church exists as “the pillar and support of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15). Pastors are given the charge to nourish themselves and their people on “the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine” (I Timothy 4:6). The church is a teaching institution not an entertainment venue.
- Personal Holiness - The church exists as a “called out” group of saints, to be separated from the defilement of the world (2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1) in service to God.
- Spiritual Authority - Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church and this church. Christ has delegated some measure of authority to a plurality of qualified and chosen elders in each local body (1 Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1, Hebrews 13:7,17 and 1 Peter 5:1-5) who are responsible to shepherd, protect and lead the flock and who will one day give an account to God for this duty.
Statement of Faith
- We believe that there is one God, Creator of all things, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
- We believe that the Holy Scriptures, consisting of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, were originally given by God, divinely inspired, without error in the original writings, and constitute the only infallible, inerrant Word of God and are the authority in all matters of faith and practice.
- We believe that Adam and Eve, created in the image of God, were tempted by Satan, chose rebellion against God and fell into disobedience and sin. Adam’s sin has passed to all people (Jesus Christ being the only exception), who as a result have a sinful nature, are unable to save themselves from the wrath of God and need to be saved.
- We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ – God manifest in the flesh – and in His virgin birth, sinless life, divine miracles, vicarious and atoning death on the cross, bodily resurrection, ascension and exaltation to the right hand of the Father, and in His bodily, visible and personal return to the earth in power and glory.
- We believe that salvation is the free gift of God to unworthy sinners based on the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ as presented in the Holy Scriptures. Salvation is granted by God’s grace alone by regeneration by the Holy Spirit, through faith in Christ alone and repentance from sin, and not on the basis of man’s good works.
- We believe in the Spirit-filled life whereby the Holy Spirit, who permanently indwells all believers, enables them to live holy lives, to witness and to work for the Lord Jesus Christ despite opposition from the world, the flesh and the devil. However, we deny the eradication of indwelling sin in the believer prior to glorification.
- We believe that Christ commanded His followers to make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that Christ commanded.
- We believe in the spiritual unity of all true, born-again believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.
- We believe in the bodily resurrection of both the saved and the unsaved; the saved to the resurrection of life and eternal glory and the unsaved to the resurrection of judgment and eternal punishment.
Revised March 28, 2016
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Doctrinal Statement
Preamble - The Elders of Kerrville Bible Church recognize that any doctrinal statement is but a fallible human effort to summarize an infallible divine revelation. But this in no way detracts from the importance of such a statement. In fact, elders are annually required to sign a statement affirming agreement with this Doctrinal Statement. The affirmations which follow carefully specify our teaching position with regard to major biblical doctrines and current trends, and thus provide a framework for preaching and teaching at Kerrville Bible Church, as well as an anchor to protect against theological drift.
The Godhead - We believe and teach that there is one God (Mark 12:29), the living and true God, existing eternally in three persons: the Father, the Son (John 1:14; Heb. 1:1-3), and the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3-4) – each having precisely the same nature, attributes, and perfections. (Matt. 28:18-19; 2 Cor. 13:14; Rev. 1:4-6)
The Bible - We believe and teach that “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God” resulting from God (2 Tim 3:16) having superintended human authors with their own experience, personality, methods, and style to produce the very words of Scripture (Mark 12:26, 36, 13:11; Acts 1:16; Eph. 2:20, 3:5; Heb. 1:1-2) – the Word of God – without error in the original writings (2 Pet. 1:20-21). We believe and teach that all the Scriptures center on the Lord Jesus Christ and when properly understood, lead to Him (Luke 24:27, 44; John 5:39; Acts 17:2-3, 18:28, 26:22-23, 28:23). We believe and teach the Bible to be the revelation of God and His will for the salvation and practical instruction of man (Romans 15:4; I Cor. 2:13; 10:11; 2 Tim. 3:16-17). We also believe and teach God’s revelation is completed in the sixty-six books of the Bible; and therefore there is no new revelation. (Heb. 1:1-2; Rev 22:18)
Creation - We believe and teach the literal interpretation of the Genesis account of creation, using a normal historical/literal/grammatical hermeneutic. We believe and teach that science makes no contribution to creation since science requires observation of the event and no one was present to observe these events except God who caused the Scriptures to reflect the facts. Science also requires duplication of the creation events as verification and creation cannot be duplicated by man. (Job 38-40) We believe and teach that God spoke all of creation into existence in six 24-hour days, that He created Adam from the dust of the ground and Eve from a bone from Adam’s side and that the age of the earth/creation should be measured in thousands of years instead of millions or billions of years. We believe and teach that creation came about out of nothing and was instant as described in Genesis one, and was not part of an evolutionary process. We reject the “gap theory” of creation as well as any theories involving theistic evolution. (Gen. 1-2; Col. 1:16; Heb. 11:3)
The Father - We believe and teach that God the Father, unlimited in holiness, power, and majesty, especially showed His exceedingly great love in giving His only beloved Son to redeem man from sin for eternal fellowship with Him (John 3:16). This act of grace was carried out according to His eternal, sovereign plan (Gen. 3:15; Isaiah 53:1-10). The nature of the Father is completely and perfectly revealed in the Son. (John 14:6-9; Col. 1:15, 18-20)
The Lord Jesus Christ - We believe and teach that Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God and continues to be the God-Man forever (John 1:1, 14, 18). We believe and teach that Jesus is the second person of the Holy Trinity, being of the one and same essence, both co-equal and co-eternal with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit (Col. 1:17-19; Heb. 1;3). We believe and teach that He was born of the virgin Mary, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35), entered into human flesh in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man by shedding His precious blood for the forgiveness of our sins (Eph. 1:7). We believe and teach that He Himself, through His substitutionary death on the cross, is the propitiation for our sins (Romans 3:24-26); and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world (1 John 2:2) and that, along with His bodily resurrection from the dead (Romans 4:25), guaranteed redemption and salvation for all those who repent and believe. We also believe and teach that He later ascended into heaven, exalted at the right hand of God (Eph. 1:20-21; Phil. 2:9-10; Heb. 1:3, 12:2), where He is our High Priest and Advocate. (Heb. 3:1, 4:14, 7:23-25, 9:24; I John 2:1)
The Holy Spirit - We believe and teach that the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Godhead, eternal in being, took up His abode in the world to reveal and glorify Christ and to apply the saving work of Christ to save men (I John 2:20-27). Beginning on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4), according to the divine promise, the Holy Spirit never departs from the church, nor from the feeblest of believers (John 14:16-17), but indwells (Romans 8:9,14-16; I Cor. 6:19; Eph. 2:22) and seals the believer unto the day of redemption (Romans 8:23; Eph. 1:13, 4:30). We believe and teach that His abode in the world in this special sense will cease when Christ comes to receive His own at the completion (or Rapture) of the church. We believe and teach that under the New Covenant certain well-defined ministries are committed to the Holy Spirit. The following ministries are found in Scripture: the restraining of evil according to His divine will (2 Thess. 2:7); the convicting of the world respecting sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:7-11); the regeneration of all the elect (John 3:6); the indwelling of all believers (Romans 8:9, 14-16; I Cor. 6:19; Eph. 2:22); the sealing of all believers unto the day of redemption (Eph. 1:13, 4:30); the baptizing of all believers into the one Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12-13); the distribution to every saint of at least one spiritual gift (1 Cor. 12:11; Eph. 4:7-16; 1 Pet. 4:10-11); the filling of the Spirit (Acts 4:8, 31; Eph. 5:18); and the teaching and guiding of the Spirit to enable all saints to walk pleasing to the Lord (John 16:12-15; I Cor. 2:11-13; 2 Cor. 3:3-6).
Satan and his Demons - We believe and teach that Satan and demons are personal beings and fallen angelic creatures of God, who are the open and declared enemies of God and man. (Job 1:6-7; Isaiah 14:12-17; Matt. 4:2-11; II Cor. 4:3-4, 11:3, 14-15)
Man - We believe and teach that man was created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26), but fell from his original state of spiritual life through sin against God (Gen. 2:17), which was transmitted to the entire human race with Christ being the only exception (Gen. 5:3, 6:5). We also believe and teach that every child of Adam is born into the world with a nature, which not only possesses no spark of divine life, but is totally depraved apart from divine grace (Psalm 14:1-3, 51:5; Jer. 17:9; John 3:6, 5:40; Romans 3:10-18, 8:6-8; Eph. 2:1-3;). Man can only obtain spiritual life and salvation through the Redeemer, Jesus Christ (John 6:53; I John 3:8).
Salvation - We believe and teach that salvation is the free gift of God to unworthy sinners based on the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ as presented in the Holy Scriptures. Salvation is granted on the basis of God’s grace alone, not man’s good works, by regeneration by the Holy Spirit, through faith in Christ alone (John 1:12, 3:16-18, 36, 6:35-40; Acts 20:20-21, Romans 3:21-28, 4:1-5, 10:9-13; Eph. 2:8-9) and repentance from sin (Mat. 3:2, 4:17; Mark 1:15, 6:12; Luke 5:32, 13:1-5, 24:44-47; Acts 2:37-39, 3:17-26, 17:30-31, 20:20-21, 26:17-20; 2 Cor. 7:10, 12:21; 1 Thess. 1:9; Heb. 6:1). At salvation, the believer immediately passes out of spiritual death into spiritual life, and from the old creation into the new; being justified, accepted before the Father according as Christ, His Son, is accepted; loved as Christ is loved, having his place and portion as linked to Him, and one with Him forever. (John 5:24, 17:23; Acts 13:39; Romans 5:1; 1 Cor. 3:21-23; Eph. 1:3; Col. 2:10; 2 Peter 3:18; 1 John 4:17, 5:11-13) We also believe and teach that the greatest degree of reformation, the highest attainment of morality, the most attractive culture, baptism or another ordinance, cannot help the sinner to take even one step toward heaven. Only by a new nature imparted from above, a new life implanted by the Holy Spirit through the Word, may one obtain salvation and thus become a child of God. (Lev. 17:11; Isaiah 64:6; Matt. 26:28; John 3:5, 18; Romans 5:6-9; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:13; 6:15; Eph. 1:7; Phil. 3:4-9; Titus 3:5; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:18-19, 23)
Assurance and Security - We believe and teach that God is the only One who can give the believer assurance of salvation (I John 3:9-10, 4:7, 5:9-13; Jude 24). We believe and teach that the Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to give us assurance. Also He “bears witness with our human spirit that we are the children of God” (Romans 8:1, 16, 29-30). The salvation of every believer is secure for all eternity from the moment of new birth (John 10:27-30, 17:3). The security is guaranteed by the fact that the life, which is imparted, is eternal life by the sealing ministry of the Holy Spirit. (Eph. 1:13-14, 4:30)
Sanctification - The Bible refers to Christians as “saints,” as those who have been set apart unto God. We believe and teach that sanctification is threefold:
Church Ordinances - We believe and teach that the Lord Jesus Christ instituted the ordinances of water baptism and the Lord’s Table to be observed by all believers until His return. Baptism was instituted by the Lord to symbolize the work of the Holy Spirit identifying the believer with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection (Romans 6:3-7; Col. 2:12). Baptism is commanded by the Lord Jesus (Matt. 28:19-20) and was practiced by the New Testament Church (Acts 2:38-48). We practice the ordinance of baptism by immersion after conversion and believe that it is the solemn responsibility of every believer to bear this testimony of trust in Jesus Christ by being baptized. We also believe and teach that baptism is commitment to the Lord in accepting the role of disciple and expressing the desire to walk in newness of life as directed by scriptural doctrine (Acts 8:26-40).
We believe and teach that the Lord’s Supper was instituted as a memorial, which focuses the believer’s worship upon Christ and His work on the cross (1 Cor. 11:20-34). The Lord’s Supper reminds us of the basis of our fellowship with Him, promotes an atmosphere of thankfulness in the church, and motivates our anticipation of His Second Coming through a common hope of future deliverance (Matt. 26:26-30; Mark 14:22-26; Luke 22:7-38). We believe and teach that each believer is responsible to partake of the bread (signifying His body broken for us) and the drink (signifying His blood shed for us) in a worthy manner having a right relationship with the brethren and the Holy Spirit so as not to grieve either. (Matt. 5:21-24)
Responsibility of the Believer - We believe and teach that all believers should walk by the Spirit in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Lord and to be separated from worldly attitudes and conduct (Romans 12:1-2, 14:13). We believe and teach that it is the obligation of every believer to witness by life and by word to the truths of Holy Scriptures and to seek to proclaim the Gospel to all the world (Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; 2 Cor. 5:18-20); that it is the responsibility of all believers to remember the work of the Lord in prayer (Eph. 6:18-19) and to support that work through the local church according to the means by which God has prospered him (1 Cor. 16:2; 2 Cor. 8:1-9, 15). We believe and teach that every believer has the privilege of being used by the Holy Spirit in order for the Body of Christ to grow in love and be edified. (Acts 1:8; I Cor. 12:4-7; Eph. 4:11-16; Heb. 10:25)
Spiritual Gifts - We believe and teach that some of the gifts of the Spirit were temporary gifts and were used as foundational and sign gifts to the church in order to authenticate the church and the work of the apostles until the writing of the New Testament (1 Cor. 12:4-13; 2 Cor. 12:12; Heb. 2:3-4). The sign gifts were given to confirm God’s message, messengers, and mission and as a sign of judgment to unbelieving Israel (Isaiah 28:11; 1 Cor. 14:21-22). We believe and teach that the sign gifts (healings, effecting of miracles, tongues and interpretation of tongues) were of a temporary nature and have ceased because they were never intended to be characteristic of the lives of believers (1 Cor. 13:8; Eph. 1:13, 4:11-16). God may, through His sovereign wisdom, directly perform supernatural and miraculous acts of physical healing or other miracles apart from the spiritual giftedness of any individual, whereas all the sign gifts permanently ceased in the first century.
We do not believe “tongues” are a sign of receiving the Holy Spirit or Spirit-baptism, nor do we believe that the Spirit-baptism is a “second work of grace after salvation to receive power to live the Christian life.” (1 Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:2, 14)
We believe and teach that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to the church for the common good of all believers. Since each gift is given according to God’s sovereign will and discretion, the possession of any gift is of grace and does not constitute spiritual maturity (Romans 12:1-21; I Cor. 12:11-13; Eph. 4:7-16). The proper use of the gifts are for the edification of the body; to promote united worship of God in the congregation, giving preeminence and glory to Jesus Christ (John 16:14), and continually to facilitate the growth of each member of the body into maturity in Christ (1 Pet. 4:10-11).
We believe and teach that the Holy Spirit administers spiritual gifts to the church (Romans 12:1-21; 1 Cor. 12:11-13; Eph. 4:7-16). The Holy Spirit glorifies neither Himself nor His gifts by ostentatious displays, but He does glorify Christ by implementing His work of redeeming the lost and building up believers in the most holy faith (John 16:13-14; Acts 1:8; 1 Cor. 12:4-11; 2 Cor. 3:18).
We believe and teach, in this respect, that God the Holy Spirit is sovereign in the bestowing of all His gifts for the perfecting of the saints today and that speaking in tongues and the working of sign miracles in the beginning days of the church were for the purpose of pointing to and authenticating the apostles as revealers of divine truth, and were never intended to be characteristic of the lives of believers (1 Cor. 12:4-11, 13:8-10; 2 Cor. 12:12; Eph. 4:7-12; Heb. 2:1-4).
We believe and teach that no one possesses the gift of healing today but that God does hear and answer the prayer of faith and will answer in accordance with His own perfect will for the sick, suffering, and afflicted (Luke 18:1-8; John 5:7-9; 2 Cor. 12:6-10; James 5:13-16; I John 5:14-15).
Marriage, Divorce, Remarriage, and Sexuality - We believe and teach that marriage was given by God as part of His common grace, and that it has no meaning other than as He has provided (Gen. 2:18–24). We teach that marriage is subject to the curse of the Fall but that believers, living in obedience to the Scripture and under the control of the Holy Spirit, can begin to experience peaceful, productive, and fulfilled marriage as intended by God (Gen. 3:16; 1 Peter 3:7).
We believe and teach that the marriages of believers are to illustrate the loving relationship of Christ and His church, with the husband loving his wife as Christ loves the church and the wife submitting to her husband’s loving leadership as the church submits to Christ (Eph. 5:18–33).
We believe and teach that as believers’ marriages are to illustrate Christ’s relationship with His church, believers should choose to marry those who share their faith and regenerate life (2 Cor. 6:14).
We believe and teach that the term “marriage” has only one meaning and that is marriage sanctioned by God which joins one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in scripture (Gen. 2:23–24).
We believe and teach that marriage is always a public, formal, and officially recognized covenant between a man and a woman. We teach that without such a covenant, which may include a “common law marriage,” where valid in specific cases under pertinent law, prolonged conjugal cohabitation does not establish, and is not equivalent to, marriage (John 4:18). We teach that where no such covenant exists, or can be discerned, between a cohabiting couple prior to coming to faith in Christ, family units should be preserved to the extent possible and, if otherwise appropriate, solemnization encouraged. We teach that where a valid marriage has been established prior to coming to faith in Christ, the couple should remain married (1 Cor. 7:24).
We believe and teach that God hates divorce, permitting it only where there has been unrepentant sexual sin (Mal. 2:14–16; Matt. 5:32, 19:9) or desertion by an unbeliever (1 Cor. 7:12–15). We teach that remarriage is permitted to a faithful partner, but only when the divorce was on biblical grounds.
We believe and teach that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other. We teach that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman (Heb. 13:4).
We believe and teach that any form of sexual immorality, such as adultery, fornication, homosexuality, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, pedophilia, pornography, any attempt to change one’s sex or disagreement with one’s biological sex, is sinful and offensive to God (Lev. 18:1–30; Matt. 5:28; Rom. 1:26–29; 1 Cor. 5:1, 6:9; 1 Thess. 4:1–8).
We believe and teach that homosexuality, in particular, is subject to God’s wrath of abandonment, is a matter of choice and not inherited status, and epitomizes man’s ungrateful rebellion against God (Rom. 1:18–28).
We believe and teach that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture or the doctrines of the church. We teach that the faithful proclamation of the Scripture, including the call to repentance, does not constitute hate speech, or hateful and harassing behavior, but is instead a fundamental part of the church’s loving mission to the world (Matt. 28:16–20; 2 Cor. 5:11–20; 1 Tim. 1:5; 2 Tim. 4:1–2).
We believe and teach that God offers redemption and forgiveness to all who confess and forsake their sin, including sexual sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. We teach that His forgiveness is total and complete (Ps. 103:11–12, 130:3–4; Is. 43:25, 44:22; John 5:24; Col. 2:13–14) and that God imputes the full righteousness of Christ (2 Cor. 5:21) to the believing sinner. We teach that the forgiven sinner has been cleansed from the guilt of sin, set apart unto God, or made holy, and justified before Him (1 Cor. 6:9–11).
We believe and teach that any man or woman who has received that forgiveness is “in Christ” and is a “new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17).
Abortion - We believe and teach that life begins at conception and therefore abortion is wrong and is a failure to love, appreciate, value and care for an innocent and helpless human life. We uphold the sanctity of human life as created in the image of God (Genesis 1-2; Psalm 139:13-18) from womb to the tomb. God is the Creator and sustainer of all life and every human being is a testimony of who God is, worthy of respect and dignity. To take a life through abortion is a clear violation of God’s commandment, “You shall not commit murder” (Exodus 20:13), and yet, because of the Cross, can be forgiven (Rom. 5:8).
Future Events - Christ in the air to receive the believers who have fallen asleep in Him, and those who are alive on the earth (John 14:1-3; 1 Cor. 15:51-52; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; Rev. 3:10). After the translation (Rapture) of the Church, the seventieth week of Daniel (seven-year tribulation period) will begin. The whole period of the seven years of tribulation will be a time of judgment on Israel and the Gentile nations (Jer. 30:7; Dan. 9:27; Matt. 24:15-25; 1 Tim. 4:1-3; 2 Tim. 3:1-5; Rev. 16:19-21). We believe and teach that the great tribulation of the earth will be climaxed by the bodily return of the Lord to the earth (Acts 15:16-17). Christ, in great glory, will bring with Him the church-age saints (His bride) as He begins the program to restore the creation from the curse, bind Satan, give Israel her promised land, and fulfill the covenants in a thousand-year reign (Millennial Kingdom). At the end of the thousand-year reign, Christ will give the Kingdom to the Father and all believers from all ages will dwell in the new heavens and new earth with the new Jerusalem at its center. (Deut. 30:1-10; Isaiah 11:9, 65:17, 66:22; Ezekiel 37:21-28; Romans 8:19-23, 11:25-27; 1 Cor. 15:24; 2 Pet. 3:10; Rev. 21-22)
We believe and teach that at death the spirit and soul of the believer passes immediately into the presence of the Lord and, at the Rapture, the body will be resurrected in a glorified condition (1 Cor. 15:21-26, 35-49; 2 Cor. 5:9; Phil. 1:21, 23). We believe and teach that the spirit and soul of the unbeliever at death experience condemnation and misery until the final judgment of the Great White Throne at the close of the thousand-year Kingdom (Luke 16:19-26). At this final judgment, the soul and spirit of the unbeliever are united with a body and cast into the lake of fire, not to be annihilated, but to be punished forever with eternal destruction and banishment from the presence of the Almighty Lord of Glory. (Matt. 25:46; 2 Thess. 1:7-9; Rev. 20:11-15)
Revised March 28,2016
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The Godhead - We believe and teach that there is one God (Mark 12:29), the living and true God, existing eternally in three persons: the Father, the Son (John 1:14; Heb. 1:1-3), and the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3-4) – each having precisely the same nature, attributes, and perfections. (Matt. 28:18-19; 2 Cor. 13:14; Rev. 1:4-6)
The Bible - We believe and teach that “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God” resulting from God (2 Tim 3:16) having superintended human authors with their own experience, personality, methods, and style to produce the very words of Scripture (Mark 12:26, 36, 13:11; Acts 1:16; Eph. 2:20, 3:5; Heb. 1:1-2) – the Word of God – without error in the original writings (2 Pet. 1:20-21). We believe and teach that all the Scriptures center on the Lord Jesus Christ and when properly understood, lead to Him (Luke 24:27, 44; John 5:39; Acts 17:2-3, 18:28, 26:22-23, 28:23). We believe and teach the Bible to be the revelation of God and His will for the salvation and practical instruction of man (Romans 15:4; I Cor. 2:13; 10:11; 2 Tim. 3:16-17). We also believe and teach God’s revelation is completed in the sixty-six books of the Bible; and therefore there is no new revelation. (Heb. 1:1-2; Rev 22:18)
Creation - We believe and teach the literal interpretation of the Genesis account of creation, using a normal historical/literal/grammatical hermeneutic. We believe and teach that science makes no contribution to creation since science requires observation of the event and no one was present to observe these events except God who caused the Scriptures to reflect the facts. Science also requires duplication of the creation events as verification and creation cannot be duplicated by man. (Job 38-40) We believe and teach that God spoke all of creation into existence in six 24-hour days, that He created Adam from the dust of the ground and Eve from a bone from Adam’s side and that the age of the earth/creation should be measured in thousands of years instead of millions or billions of years. We believe and teach that creation came about out of nothing and was instant as described in Genesis one, and was not part of an evolutionary process. We reject the “gap theory” of creation as well as any theories involving theistic evolution. (Gen. 1-2; Col. 1:16; Heb. 11:3)
The Father - We believe and teach that God the Father, unlimited in holiness, power, and majesty, especially showed His exceedingly great love in giving His only beloved Son to redeem man from sin for eternal fellowship with Him (John 3:16). This act of grace was carried out according to His eternal, sovereign plan (Gen. 3:15; Isaiah 53:1-10). The nature of the Father is completely and perfectly revealed in the Son. (John 14:6-9; Col. 1:15, 18-20)
The Lord Jesus Christ - We believe and teach that Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God and continues to be the God-Man forever (John 1:1, 14, 18). We believe and teach that Jesus is the second person of the Holy Trinity, being of the one and same essence, both co-equal and co-eternal with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit (Col. 1:17-19; Heb. 1;3). We believe and teach that He was born of the virgin Mary, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35), entered into human flesh in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man by shedding His precious blood for the forgiveness of our sins (Eph. 1:7). We believe and teach that He Himself, through His substitutionary death on the cross, is the propitiation for our sins (Romans 3:24-26); and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world (1 John 2:2) and that, along with His bodily resurrection from the dead (Romans 4:25), guaranteed redemption and salvation for all those who repent and believe. We also believe and teach that He later ascended into heaven, exalted at the right hand of God (Eph. 1:20-21; Phil. 2:9-10; Heb. 1:3, 12:2), where He is our High Priest and Advocate. (Heb. 3:1, 4:14, 7:23-25, 9:24; I John 2:1)
The Holy Spirit - We believe and teach that the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Godhead, eternal in being, took up His abode in the world to reveal and glorify Christ and to apply the saving work of Christ to save men (I John 2:20-27). Beginning on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4), according to the divine promise, the Holy Spirit never departs from the church, nor from the feeblest of believers (John 14:16-17), but indwells (Romans 8:9,14-16; I Cor. 6:19; Eph. 2:22) and seals the believer unto the day of redemption (Romans 8:23; Eph. 1:13, 4:30). We believe and teach that His abode in the world in this special sense will cease when Christ comes to receive His own at the completion (or Rapture) of the church. We believe and teach that under the New Covenant certain well-defined ministries are committed to the Holy Spirit. The following ministries are found in Scripture: the restraining of evil according to His divine will (2 Thess. 2:7); the convicting of the world respecting sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:7-11); the regeneration of all the elect (John 3:6); the indwelling of all believers (Romans 8:9, 14-16; I Cor. 6:19; Eph. 2:22); the sealing of all believers unto the day of redemption (Eph. 1:13, 4:30); the baptizing of all believers into the one Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12-13); the distribution to every saint of at least one spiritual gift (1 Cor. 12:11; Eph. 4:7-16; 1 Pet. 4:10-11); the filling of the Spirit (Acts 4:8, 31; Eph. 5:18); and the teaching and guiding of the Spirit to enable all saints to walk pleasing to the Lord (John 16:12-15; I Cor. 2:11-13; 2 Cor. 3:3-6).
Satan and his Demons - We believe and teach that Satan and demons are personal beings and fallen angelic creatures of God, who are the open and declared enemies of God and man. (Job 1:6-7; Isaiah 14:12-17; Matt. 4:2-11; II Cor. 4:3-4, 11:3, 14-15)
Man - We believe and teach that man was created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26), but fell from his original state of spiritual life through sin against God (Gen. 2:17), which was transmitted to the entire human race with Christ being the only exception (Gen. 5:3, 6:5). We also believe and teach that every child of Adam is born into the world with a nature, which not only possesses no spark of divine life, but is totally depraved apart from divine grace (Psalm 14:1-3, 51:5; Jer. 17:9; John 3:6, 5:40; Romans 3:10-18, 8:6-8; Eph. 2:1-3;). Man can only obtain spiritual life and salvation through the Redeemer, Jesus Christ (John 6:53; I John 3:8).
Salvation - We believe and teach that salvation is the free gift of God to unworthy sinners based on the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ as presented in the Holy Scriptures. Salvation is granted on the basis of God’s grace alone, not man’s good works, by regeneration by the Holy Spirit, through faith in Christ alone (John 1:12, 3:16-18, 36, 6:35-40; Acts 20:20-21, Romans 3:21-28, 4:1-5, 10:9-13; Eph. 2:8-9) and repentance from sin (Mat. 3:2, 4:17; Mark 1:15, 6:12; Luke 5:32, 13:1-5, 24:44-47; Acts 2:37-39, 3:17-26, 17:30-31, 20:20-21, 26:17-20; 2 Cor. 7:10, 12:21; 1 Thess. 1:9; Heb. 6:1). At salvation, the believer immediately passes out of spiritual death into spiritual life, and from the old creation into the new; being justified, accepted before the Father according as Christ, His Son, is accepted; loved as Christ is loved, having his place and portion as linked to Him, and one with Him forever. (John 5:24, 17:23; Acts 13:39; Romans 5:1; 1 Cor. 3:21-23; Eph. 1:3; Col. 2:10; 2 Peter 3:18; 1 John 4:17, 5:11-13) We also believe and teach that the greatest degree of reformation, the highest attainment of morality, the most attractive culture, baptism or another ordinance, cannot help the sinner to take even one step toward heaven. Only by a new nature imparted from above, a new life implanted by the Holy Spirit through the Word, may one obtain salvation and thus become a child of God. (Lev. 17:11; Isaiah 64:6; Matt. 26:28; John 3:5, 18; Romans 5:6-9; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:13; 6:15; Eph. 1:7; Phil. 3:4-9; Titus 3:5; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:18-19, 23)
Assurance and Security - We believe and teach that God is the only One who can give the believer assurance of salvation (I John 3:9-10, 4:7, 5:9-13; Jude 24). We believe and teach that the Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to give us assurance. Also He “bears witness with our human spirit that we are the children of God” (Romans 8:1, 16, 29-30). The salvation of every believer is secure for all eternity from the moment of new birth (John 10:27-30, 17:3). The security is guaranteed by the fact that the life, which is imparted, is eternal life by the sealing ministry of the Holy Spirit. (Eph. 1:13-14, 4:30)
Sanctification - The Bible refers to Christians as “saints,” as those who have been set apart unto God. We believe and teach that sanctification is threefold:
- POSITIONAL sanctification, which means that a person now stands before God as holy and is already complete because our perfect representative Jesus Christ took all our unholiness away through His sacrifice (Heb. 10:10, 14).
- However, the believer retains his sin nature in this life so that his present state is no more perfect than his experience in daily life. There is therefore, a PROGRESSIVE sanctification wherein the Christian is to “grow in grace,” and to “be changed” into the likeness of Christ by the unhindered power of the Spirit (John 17:17; Romans 12:2; 2 Cor. 3:18, 7:1; Eph. 4:24, 5:25-27; Heb. 12:10).
- We believe and teach also that the child of God will ULTIMATELY be fully sanctified in Christ when he shall see his Lord and shall be “like Him” in his resurrected, glorified body (Col. 1:22; 1 Thess. 5:23-24).
Church Ordinances - We believe and teach that the Lord Jesus Christ instituted the ordinances of water baptism and the Lord’s Table to be observed by all believers until His return. Baptism was instituted by the Lord to symbolize the work of the Holy Spirit identifying the believer with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection (Romans 6:3-7; Col. 2:12). Baptism is commanded by the Lord Jesus (Matt. 28:19-20) and was practiced by the New Testament Church (Acts 2:38-48). We practice the ordinance of baptism by immersion after conversion and believe that it is the solemn responsibility of every believer to bear this testimony of trust in Jesus Christ by being baptized. We also believe and teach that baptism is commitment to the Lord in accepting the role of disciple and expressing the desire to walk in newness of life as directed by scriptural doctrine (Acts 8:26-40).
We believe and teach that the Lord’s Supper was instituted as a memorial, which focuses the believer’s worship upon Christ and His work on the cross (1 Cor. 11:20-34). The Lord’s Supper reminds us of the basis of our fellowship with Him, promotes an atmosphere of thankfulness in the church, and motivates our anticipation of His Second Coming through a common hope of future deliverance (Matt. 26:26-30; Mark 14:22-26; Luke 22:7-38). We believe and teach that each believer is responsible to partake of the bread (signifying His body broken for us) and the drink (signifying His blood shed for us) in a worthy manner having a right relationship with the brethren and the Holy Spirit so as not to grieve either. (Matt. 5:21-24)
Responsibility of the Believer - We believe and teach that all believers should walk by the Spirit in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Lord and to be separated from worldly attitudes and conduct (Romans 12:1-2, 14:13). We believe and teach that it is the obligation of every believer to witness by life and by word to the truths of Holy Scriptures and to seek to proclaim the Gospel to all the world (Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; 2 Cor. 5:18-20); that it is the responsibility of all believers to remember the work of the Lord in prayer (Eph. 6:18-19) and to support that work through the local church according to the means by which God has prospered him (1 Cor. 16:2; 2 Cor. 8:1-9, 15). We believe and teach that every believer has the privilege of being used by the Holy Spirit in order for the Body of Christ to grow in love and be edified. (Acts 1:8; I Cor. 12:4-7; Eph. 4:11-16; Heb. 10:25)
Spiritual Gifts - We believe and teach that some of the gifts of the Spirit were temporary gifts and were used as foundational and sign gifts to the church in order to authenticate the church and the work of the apostles until the writing of the New Testament (1 Cor. 12:4-13; 2 Cor. 12:12; Heb. 2:3-4). The sign gifts were given to confirm God’s message, messengers, and mission and as a sign of judgment to unbelieving Israel (Isaiah 28:11; 1 Cor. 14:21-22). We believe and teach that the sign gifts (healings, effecting of miracles, tongues and interpretation of tongues) were of a temporary nature and have ceased because they were never intended to be characteristic of the lives of believers (1 Cor. 13:8; Eph. 1:13, 4:11-16). God may, through His sovereign wisdom, directly perform supernatural and miraculous acts of physical healing or other miracles apart from the spiritual giftedness of any individual, whereas all the sign gifts permanently ceased in the first century.
We do not believe “tongues” are a sign of receiving the Holy Spirit or Spirit-baptism, nor do we believe that the Spirit-baptism is a “second work of grace after salvation to receive power to live the Christian life.” (1 Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:2, 14)
We believe and teach that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to the church for the common good of all believers. Since each gift is given according to God’s sovereign will and discretion, the possession of any gift is of grace and does not constitute spiritual maturity (Romans 12:1-21; I Cor. 12:11-13; Eph. 4:7-16). The proper use of the gifts are for the edification of the body; to promote united worship of God in the congregation, giving preeminence and glory to Jesus Christ (John 16:14), and continually to facilitate the growth of each member of the body into maturity in Christ (1 Pet. 4:10-11).
We believe and teach that the Holy Spirit administers spiritual gifts to the church (Romans 12:1-21; 1 Cor. 12:11-13; Eph. 4:7-16). The Holy Spirit glorifies neither Himself nor His gifts by ostentatious displays, but He does glorify Christ by implementing His work of redeeming the lost and building up believers in the most holy faith (John 16:13-14; Acts 1:8; 1 Cor. 12:4-11; 2 Cor. 3:18).
We believe and teach, in this respect, that God the Holy Spirit is sovereign in the bestowing of all His gifts for the perfecting of the saints today and that speaking in tongues and the working of sign miracles in the beginning days of the church were for the purpose of pointing to and authenticating the apostles as revealers of divine truth, and were never intended to be characteristic of the lives of believers (1 Cor. 12:4-11, 13:8-10; 2 Cor. 12:12; Eph. 4:7-12; Heb. 2:1-4).
We believe and teach that no one possesses the gift of healing today but that God does hear and answer the prayer of faith and will answer in accordance with His own perfect will for the sick, suffering, and afflicted (Luke 18:1-8; John 5:7-9; 2 Cor. 12:6-10; James 5:13-16; I John 5:14-15).
Marriage, Divorce, Remarriage, and Sexuality - We believe and teach that marriage was given by God as part of His common grace, and that it has no meaning other than as He has provided (Gen. 2:18–24). We teach that marriage is subject to the curse of the Fall but that believers, living in obedience to the Scripture and under the control of the Holy Spirit, can begin to experience peaceful, productive, and fulfilled marriage as intended by God (Gen. 3:16; 1 Peter 3:7).
We believe and teach that the marriages of believers are to illustrate the loving relationship of Christ and His church, with the husband loving his wife as Christ loves the church and the wife submitting to her husband’s loving leadership as the church submits to Christ (Eph. 5:18–33).
We believe and teach that as believers’ marriages are to illustrate Christ’s relationship with His church, believers should choose to marry those who share their faith and regenerate life (2 Cor. 6:14).
We believe and teach that the term “marriage” has only one meaning and that is marriage sanctioned by God which joins one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in scripture (Gen. 2:23–24).
We believe and teach that marriage is always a public, formal, and officially recognized covenant between a man and a woman. We teach that without such a covenant, which may include a “common law marriage,” where valid in specific cases under pertinent law, prolonged conjugal cohabitation does not establish, and is not equivalent to, marriage (John 4:18). We teach that where no such covenant exists, or can be discerned, between a cohabiting couple prior to coming to faith in Christ, family units should be preserved to the extent possible and, if otherwise appropriate, solemnization encouraged. We teach that where a valid marriage has been established prior to coming to faith in Christ, the couple should remain married (1 Cor. 7:24).
We believe and teach that God hates divorce, permitting it only where there has been unrepentant sexual sin (Mal. 2:14–16; Matt. 5:32, 19:9) or desertion by an unbeliever (1 Cor. 7:12–15). We teach that remarriage is permitted to a faithful partner, but only when the divorce was on biblical grounds.
We believe and teach that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other. We teach that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman (Heb. 13:4).
We believe and teach that any form of sexual immorality, such as adultery, fornication, homosexuality, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, pedophilia, pornography, any attempt to change one’s sex or disagreement with one’s biological sex, is sinful and offensive to God (Lev. 18:1–30; Matt. 5:28; Rom. 1:26–29; 1 Cor. 5:1, 6:9; 1 Thess. 4:1–8).
We believe and teach that homosexuality, in particular, is subject to God’s wrath of abandonment, is a matter of choice and not inherited status, and epitomizes man’s ungrateful rebellion against God (Rom. 1:18–28).
We believe and teach that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture or the doctrines of the church. We teach that the faithful proclamation of the Scripture, including the call to repentance, does not constitute hate speech, or hateful and harassing behavior, but is instead a fundamental part of the church’s loving mission to the world (Matt. 28:16–20; 2 Cor. 5:11–20; 1 Tim. 1:5; 2 Tim. 4:1–2).
We believe and teach that God offers redemption and forgiveness to all who confess and forsake their sin, including sexual sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. We teach that His forgiveness is total and complete (Ps. 103:11–12, 130:3–4; Is. 43:25, 44:22; John 5:24; Col. 2:13–14) and that God imputes the full righteousness of Christ (2 Cor. 5:21) to the believing sinner. We teach that the forgiven sinner has been cleansed from the guilt of sin, set apart unto God, or made holy, and justified before Him (1 Cor. 6:9–11).
We believe and teach that any man or woman who has received that forgiveness is “in Christ” and is a “new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17).
Abortion - We believe and teach that life begins at conception and therefore abortion is wrong and is a failure to love, appreciate, value and care for an innocent and helpless human life. We uphold the sanctity of human life as created in the image of God (Genesis 1-2; Psalm 139:13-18) from womb to the tomb. God is the Creator and sustainer of all life and every human being is a testimony of who God is, worthy of respect and dignity. To take a life through abortion is a clear violation of God’s commandment, “You shall not commit murder” (Exodus 20:13), and yet, because of the Cross, can be forgiven (Rom. 5:8).
Future Events - Christ in the air to receive the believers who have fallen asleep in Him, and those who are alive on the earth (John 14:1-3; 1 Cor. 15:51-52; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; Rev. 3:10). After the translation (Rapture) of the Church, the seventieth week of Daniel (seven-year tribulation period) will begin. The whole period of the seven years of tribulation will be a time of judgment on Israel and the Gentile nations (Jer. 30:7; Dan. 9:27; Matt. 24:15-25; 1 Tim. 4:1-3; 2 Tim. 3:1-5; Rev. 16:19-21). We believe and teach that the great tribulation of the earth will be climaxed by the bodily return of the Lord to the earth (Acts 15:16-17). Christ, in great glory, will bring with Him the church-age saints (His bride) as He begins the program to restore the creation from the curse, bind Satan, give Israel her promised land, and fulfill the covenants in a thousand-year reign (Millennial Kingdom). At the end of the thousand-year reign, Christ will give the Kingdom to the Father and all believers from all ages will dwell in the new heavens and new earth with the new Jerusalem at its center. (Deut. 30:1-10; Isaiah 11:9, 65:17, 66:22; Ezekiel 37:21-28; Romans 8:19-23, 11:25-27; 1 Cor. 15:24; 2 Pet. 3:10; Rev. 21-22)
We believe and teach that at death the spirit and soul of the believer passes immediately into the presence of the Lord and, at the Rapture, the body will be resurrected in a glorified condition (1 Cor. 15:21-26, 35-49; 2 Cor. 5:9; Phil. 1:21, 23). We believe and teach that the spirit and soul of the unbeliever at death experience condemnation and misery until the final judgment of the Great White Throne at the close of the thousand-year Kingdom (Luke 16:19-26). At this final judgment, the soul and spirit of the unbeliever are united with a body and cast into the lake of fire, not to be annihilated, but to be punished forever with eternal destruction and banishment from the presence of the Almighty Lord of Glory. (Matt. 25:46; 2 Thess. 1:7-9; Rev. 20:11-15)
Revised March 28,2016
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